RLL Team McLaren Makes its Debut at the 64th Running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona

RLL Team McLaren

Pre-Race Notes
Rolex 24 at Daytona – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Florida
Round 1 of 10 in the 2026 WeatherTech Sports Car Championship – GTD PRO Class

DATE:     Thursday – Sunday, January 22 – 25, 2026

PRACTICE / QUALIFYING BROADCASTS:     Practice: Live on IMSA.com on Thursday from 10:05-11:35 a.m. ET and 6:15-7:45 p.m. ET; Friday from 11:20-12:20 p.m. ET / Live on IMSA.com on Thursday, January 22 from 2:30 – 2:45 p.m. ET

RACE BROADCAST:     All races can be streamed live in their entirety on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App with authentication or Peacock Premium.

TRACK LAYOUT:     3.56-mile, 12-turn road course
RACE LENGTH:     24 hours

RLL’S TOP START / FINISH AT DIS (24 HR):     1st by D. Vanthoor in 2025 (GTP class) / 1st in 2019 and 2020 (GTLM); will be team’s 13th 24-hour event here

NOTES & QUOTES:

RLL TEAM MCLAREN MAKES ITS DEBUT AT DAYTONA
The season-opening 64th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona will mark the competitive debut of RLL Team McLaren as well as RLL and McLaren Automotive’s return to the fiercely competitive GTD PRO category. Max Esterson and Nikita Johnson will be the team’s full-season GTD PRO drivers for the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with Dean MacDonald and Jüri Vips joining the lineup for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The program is a multi-year collaboration with McLaren Automotive that will see the team return to IMSA’s GTD PRO class in 2026 with the McLaren GT3 EVO. The team participated in the IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway November 15-16 with Esterson, Vips and MacDonald and in the No. 59 entry and Nikita Johnson joined the trio at Roar.

MCLAREN’S SPORTS CAR HISTORY
McLaren made its mark in sports car racing in 1995 with the F1 GTR, writing history by winning that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Returning to sports car racing in 2012 with the championship-winning 12C GT3, McLaren continues to be a force on the international GT scene. The current GT3 EVO has proven to be very successful, winning races in FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Europe series and other regional and domestic series.

RLL’S SPORTS CAR HISTORY
RLL, founded in 1992 and known for its success across both open-wheel and sports car racing, has a rich history in sports car competition. The team first entered sports car racing in 2007, fielding a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in the American Le Mans Series GT2 class with drivers Tommy Milner and Ralf Kelleners and finished fourth in the 12-race championship, highlighted by multiple podiums. The following year, the team campaigned an Aston Martin DB9 in select SCCA World Challenge events, earning a pole and runner-up finish at Road Atlanta.

From 2009 to 2025, RLL partnered with BMW Motorsport in a successful 17-year collaboration that delivered numerous race wins and championships across multiple GT platforms and culminated with a race and pole-winning program in the GTP class from 2023-2025. The team previously competed in IMSA’s GTD PRO class under the BMW M Team RLL banner in 2022 while simultaneously preparing for their two-car factory GTP program debut in 2023. During that period, RLL secured pole position at Watkins Glen and GTD PRO podium finishes at Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans.

MAX ESTERSON ON HIS 24-HOUR RACING DEBUT
“I can’t wait to start the season with RLL and McLaren at Daytona on Saturday. We had a productive test at the Roar last weekend but still have a few things to fine tune in practice this week. I’m hoping to stay out of trouble and still be on the lead lap and in the fight come the end of the race.”

NIKITA JOHNSON ON HIS QUICK ACCLIMATION TO THE TEAM
“I signed with RLL for the IMSA GTD PRO season the week before the Roar and so there was no testing with the team prior to that. The team and co-drivers have been great to work with and they adjusted the team’s run plan to give me extra seat time, which I appreciate. I ran both day and night sessions and was always provided a clear purpose for each session. I adapted quickly to the GTD car, the track and the traffic. I am really looking forward to the 24 hour race and doing my part to take care of the car and to help put us up front and battle for the win after the sun comes up. Go RLL Team McLaren!”

MCLAREN FACTORY DRIVER, DEAN MACDONALD, ON HIS DAYTONA DEBUT
“I’m looking forward to finally seeing the green light on Saturday at Daytona. Although it’s not my first 24-hour race, it is still very special to be racing in the Daytona 24-hour race for the first time. RLL have been amazing in making all of us feel as comfortable as possible leading up to the event with it being such a short time frame from everything getting confirmed but I feel it has all went smoothly so far.
“It has been good to work with all the drivers as well and I hope with the experience I have in a McLaren GT3, that I have been able to help my teammates with how to approach the car and also put the team in a position that we can be competitive come the race. I think, as drivers, we have all gotten familiar with the track pretty quickly, but I feel the biggest challenge come the race is going to be traffic management with the GTP and LMP cars. The test has gone well, I felt the car was in a good balance window from the off so the team have done a great job there, so it has been about trying to refine the little things like driver changes and pit stops to make sure they go to plan in the race as well. Like all of the 24 hour races I’ve done previously, it will just be about staying out of trouble and being smart. We just need to make it through the night without any incidents so we are still in the fight come the last few hours”

JURI VIPS ON HIS IMSA AND DAYTONA DEBUT
“The Roar test went well. We had no issues and went through our program. I feel a lot more comfortable in the car than after the November test. I feel like I’m getting quite used to the systems in the car now which was the big, new thing for me that I wasn’t used to before. I feel good; I think we’re in a good place. We did a lot of pitstop practices as well with driving changes because that’s one of the things that’s different for me and very important as well in this race so yeah, I think I think we’re in a very good place for the 24 Hours of Daytona.”