61st Rolex 24 at Daytona: A look at the winners in all five classes

DAYTONA BEACH — Meyer Shank Racing defended its overall Rolex 24 crown from 2022, giving Acura its third championship in a row.

But the No. 60 team was far from the only winner on Sunday.

Drivers, owners and crew across five classes had reason to celebrate at the drop of the checkered flag on the 61st running of the event.

Here is a look at all five winners:

ROLEX 24 RACE RECAP: No. 60 Acura wins in Daytona; 3 straight for Helio Castroneves

ALL OF THE SIGHTS: Rolex 24 at Daytona images

5 TAKEAWAYS: Meyer Shank Racing No. 60 Acura claims second straight Rolex 24 overall title

GTP

Class winner: Meyer Shank Racing Acura — Helio Castroneves, Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Simon Pagenuad

Runner-up: Konica Minolta Acura — Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Ricky Taylor, Brendon Hartley

Third place: JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac — Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic Duval, Ben Keating

What they said: “We’ve won this race now twice, we’ve won the Indianapolis 500, people need to be aware that we’re just as good as anybody out there and we’re prepared to go get the best drivers and the best talent and the best equipment in the world,” said Jim Meyer, team co-owner. “It’s not acceptable to us to just do OK. We’re here to be able to beat, whether it’s Penske or Andretti or Ganassi or (McLaren Racing chief executive) Zak Brown’s team, every day. That’s what we’re here for.”

LMP2

Class winner: Proton Competition Oreca — Fred Poordad, James Allen, Giammaria Bruni, Francesco Pizzi

Runner-up: Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca — George Kurtz, Ben Hanley, Matt McMurry, Esteban Gutierrez

Third place: AF Corse Oreca — Francois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Julien Canal, Nicklas Nielsen

What they said: “I don’t think I was breathing coming out of Speedway (Turn) 4 up to the start line,” said James Allen, who passed Ben Hanley at the line to win by 0.016 seconds. “That was such a crazy moment for me I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like that and I’m not sure I will again. That was such an amazing feeling.”

LMP3

Class winner: AWA Duqueine — Wayne Boyd, Nico Varrone, Thomas Merrill, Anthony Mantella

Runner-up: Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier — Lance Willsey, Joao Barbosa, Nico Pino, Danny Soufi

Third place: Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier — John DeAngelis, Christopher Allen, Connor Bloum, Cameron Shields

What they said: “The boys were laughing at me because every two minutes on the radio I was asking how long was left,” said Boyd, who piloted the final stretch with an 11-lap cushion. “Such a fortunate position at the end with how many laps we were ahead, that’s when everything can go wrong. It was just trying to position ourselves on the track to avoid any trouble … I can’t describe the feeling of it, but definitely relief is right up there.”

GTD Pro

Class winner: WeatherTech Racing Mercedes — Cooper MacNeil, Jules Gounon, Maro Engel, Daniel Juncadella

Runner-up: Corvette Racing — Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, Tommy Milner

Third place: Vasser Sullivan Lexus — Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, Mike Conway

What they said: “In the latter half of my stint I was thinking to myself, ‘You know, I’m not having very much fun. This is a lot of pressure, this is hard, my body hurts, I’m 6-foot-5 … it’s not easy’,” said Cooper MacNeil, who won his first race at Daytona in his 13^th and final attempt. “It’s not easy, but once the helmet goes on, the rest of that nonsense goes out the window. You try to focus on the job at hand and try not to hit anything.”

GTD

Class winner: Sanford-based Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin — Roman De Angelis, Marco Sorensen, Ian James, Darren Turner

Runner-up: Magnus Racing Aston Martin — John Potter, Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly, Nicki Thiim

Third place: Inception Racing McLaren — Brenan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff, Ollie Millroy, Marvin Kirchofer

What they said: “I hope the pictures don’t come out of me bawling my eyes out when we won, because it’s pretty embarrassing,” 21-year-old Roman De Angelis said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: ROLEX 24 CLASS WINNERS: A look at all five winners from Daytona