RLL Team McLaren Gained Valuable Experience in Rolex 24 at Daytona Program Debut; Promising Second-Place Start Limited by Tire Pressure Sensor Failure

RLL Team McLaren
Rolex 24 at Daytona – Daytona International Speedway
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO Class
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – January 25, 2026

RLL Team McLaren Gained Valuable Experience in Rolex 24 at Daytona Debut; Promising Second-Place Start Hindered by Tire Pressure Monitoring System Issue Which Contributed to Eventual 12th Place Finish

SUMMARY:
RLL Team McLaren made its program debut at the 64^th Rolex 24 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway and finished 12th in the GTD PRO class after a promising second-place start. Qualifier Macdonald ran a double stint to open the race but once he turned the car over to Vips approaching the three-hour mark of the race, the team was forced to go to the garage due to a tire pressure monitoring system failure they had been unable to correct in the pits. After some quick teamwork between RLL and McLaren technical staff, the problem was diagnosed and fixed and Vips returned to the track 22 laps down. IMSA’s longest caution period in history came out in the night due to low visibility from fog and lasted six hours and 33 minutes. Once daylight returned and the fog dissipated, the race returned to green conditions at approx. 7:18 a.m. ET, and the team was later able to get two wave around’s under a full course caution at approx. 9 a.m. ET. By the race’s end at 1:40 p.m. ET, they had moved ahead of two class cars that had issues and the No. 59 ultimately took the checkered flag in 12th place, 20 laps down to the class leader. Valuable experience was gained that will help the team this season.

MAX ESTERSON, No. 59 McLaren GT3 EVO: “Overall, I think we made good improvements from the Roar. We seemed to have good speed, and I think we could have maybe fought for the win given our pace. I had a lot of fun in my stints and passed a lot of cars. It was not an ideal start to the race but it’s good we were able to keep going to learn as much as possible. We learned how the car changed throughout the race, and in different weather, which was all valuable information.”

NIKITA JOHNSON, No. 59 McLaren GT3 EVO: “I’m happy to be here this season with RLL and McLaren. It was a little bit of a tricky start of course with senser issue and then just not having driven the GT car until the Roar; there was a lot of learning to do on my side. I made improvements but there is still more to go on my side. I can’t thank RLL and McLaren as well as my teammates enough for helping me. It was a pretty good experience for my first time in endurance racing and driving a GT car so it was tricky but very fun. Overall, I gained a lot of experience with the car in a short amount of time and especially with the tires because I’m not used to them, so I learned a lot about how to save them. I made some mistakes on pushing a little too hard at the beginning or the end of stints. I was just good to get that personal data that I will review and do better at Sebring.”

DEAN MACDONALD, No. 59 McLaren GT3 EVO: “It’s obviously been an experience, one that I’m really grateful to be able to do. Not everyone gets a chance to do the race so this was really nice. I think, all in all, there are a lot of positives that have come from this. We’ve obviously had strong pace, a strong car and strong reliability and the team has done an amazing job, Even at the Roar and test before it at the end of last year, It was good just to see the finish for the team after all of that. This feels like one that might have gotten away a little bit. I feel like we could have had a bit of a fighting chance at the end of this one. It is what it is but that’s racing sometimes.”

JURI VIPS, No. 59 McLaren GT3 EVO: “It was a real shame about the tire pressure sensor issue early on because we started in a good position and we had great pace, which probably rubs a little more salt in the wounds but overall it was a fantastic experience for my first endurance race. It was also my first time with multi-class racing which was lots of fun. There were a lot of positives to take away from an enjoyment perspective. Thanks to everyone at RLL and McLaren for their hard work for this event.”