Pre Race
Kevin is back!
Our favorite Danish racing driver, Kevin Magnussen, is back on track this weekend. The race ace – who last year ended his Formula 1 career with Haas F1 Team and signed a deal with the legendary German sportscar team BMW M Motorsport – is on the entry list for the legendary 24-hour race Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
This will be Kevin’s first race as a factory driver for BMW M Motorsport, and he’ll be sharing his new race car, the BMW M Hybrid V8, with Belgian Dries Vanthoor, Swiss Rafaele Marciello, and Austrian Philipp Eng.
This year’s version of the American classic features no fewer than 61 cars on the starting grid, and Magnussen and his teammates will compete for the overall victory – and the coveted Rolex Daytona watch, which traditionally comes with the win – in the 12-car strong GTP class.
Kevin couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to the weekend. After a superb qualifying session by Dries Vanthoor on Thursday, the four-man team will start from pole position when the race begins Saturday afternoon local time!
“Our pole position is such a strong start to the season and a huge achievement by the whole team. Dries (Vanthoor, ed.) drove incredibly well, and it’s a great motivation ahead of the 24-hour race on Saturday. I’m looking forward to getting started and hope that we’ll be in the same position when we cross the finish line on Sunday,” said Kevin Magnussen.
“It’s just fantastic to be back at Daytona. I’ve raced here twice before with Cadillac, and it’s a legendary and enormously challenging event. The atmosphere among the American fans is amazing,” he added.
The 2025 edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona kicks off on Saturday at 1:40 PM local time (GMT-5). Tune in on Viaplay, Motorvision TV or IMSA.com for live transmission.
Race Day
Close but no cigar for Kevin Magnussen who, together with his teammates from BMW Motorsport finished in fourth place in this year’s edition of the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona – Kevin’s first assignment as a factory driver for the German Hypercar team.
Kevin shared his BMW Hybrid V8 with Belgian Dries Vanthoor, Swiss Raffaele Marciello, and Austrian Philipp Eng. The four-driver squad started the race from pole position. Thanks to a strong pace, high stability, and excellent work in the pit lane, the team remained in the fight for victory throughout the entire race. However, close racing with rivals from Porsche in the final stages necessitated a last-minute pit stop, ultimately dashing their hopes of a podium result.
“Naturally, it’s an incredibly disappointing way to end what looked like a superb start to the season. But there are still plenty of positives to take from the weekend. We had great speed, and apart from that frustrating incident in the final stint, we managed to run a clean race. The car completed the race without any technical issues, which proves that all the hard work the team has put into developing the car has paid off,” said Kevin Magnussen.
“It has been great to finally get started with my new assignment in sports car racing, and I’m looking forward to the season opener in the World Championship series in Qatar next month, and especially the 12-hour race at Sebring in March,” he said.
Well, done, Kev! We’re looking forward to more action when the Danish race ace returns to the track for the first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Doha, Qatar, on February 28.
📸 Jamey Price
