The 2026 Michelin Pilot Challenge has begun, and Daytona’s annual 4 hour epic was absolutely a race of two halves. A chaotic opener filled with questionable driving standards saw the field rack up almost 2 hours of Full Course Yellow conditions, as it struggled to get going. Nevertheless, the second half was full of action and incredibly close in both the GS and TCR classes.

GS – Rebel Rock Break Winless Streak In Aston Martin 1-2, Winward Complete Podium

Rebel Rock Racing are a staple of the IMSA MPC, yet suffered one of their worst years in 2025 going winless. Now though thanks to an inspired strategy, Robin Liddel brought home the car for the team’s first win in over a year, sharing the drive with Frank DePew and Andrew Davis. Locked in a duel with the fellow Aston Martin of #14 of MPC debutants Circle H Racing, the crucial call was made at the final stop. Whereas the newcomers, who took advantage of the cooler temperatures suiting the Aston in the latter half of proceedings to find themselves in an unlikely lead, had taken just two tyres on their final stop Rebel Rock’s #71 crew gambled on a longer stop but took four fresh tyres. Liddel came in clutch though, eventually taking the lead with less than 10 minutes remaining after fighting his way back to the front.

Meanwhile over at Ford, they were left scratching their heads. Qualifying had them looking like the strongest manufacturer in the field, and the early proceedings only confirmed that. From the off, former MX5 Cup racer Nate Cicero established an lead that was as comfortable as it was dominant, leading a Blue Oval 1-2 in the early stages, with the #46 of Team TGM hanging on their coat tails. But as the cooler temperatures arrived and the evening extended its influence, both were left stranded outside the top five.

Winward Racing aren’t exactly what you’d call regular visitors to this series, and their Mercedes AMG GT4 was clearly outnumbered when it came to representation in the field, but Dan Arrow and Bryce Ward gave their chosen brand a podium finish in the closing stages, beating out the ever-present Turner Motorsport #95 of Luca Mars and Dillan Macharvern to the final podium spot. The sister machine, Vin Barlettta and Robby Foley’s #96 also snagged a top ten finish, their race culminating in 10th.

TCR – Back to Back Wins for Bryan Herta Autosport in Grandstand Finish, Heartbreak for Pegram and Victor Gonzalez Racing.

The TCR ruleset had a welcome boom in 2025, as TCR Europe found its feet again, TCR South America only strengthened its presense and the World Tour gave some great action too. But it will always have a great advocate in the MPC, where TCR had the pick of the racing.

Much like GS, the race evolved considerably over the four hours. Initially the story was all about Victor Gonzalez Racing’s #99, and the man piloting it in the opening hour: Franco Girolami. It’s not particularly surprising that he stormed through the field in the opening hour, he is of course a double TCR Europe Champion and is one of the most experienced in the IMSA TCR field. But by making up some 14 places in his opening stint it seemed they were on for a winner, especially considering he’d be handing over to the promising youngster, Tyler Gonzalez.

But the race would be taken from them, as despite leading the class at the end of the first hour and coming back from a drive through penalty, they’d eventually find themselves falling a lap behind the field in the final hour after an incredibly strong run thanks to a late drive through penalty after faltering late on. It was a dissapointing weekend too for the sister car, which retired before half distance.

That meant the final hour was down to a battle between the Bryan Herta Autosport duo of Josh Buchan, Bryson Morris and Mason Fillipi’s #33 and the sister #76 of Denis Dupont and Preston Brown. Two other cars would play factors in that final hour, with Mario Farnbacher puncturing his #72 Honda Civic of Pegram Racing with roughly half an hour to go.

The battle went down to the absolute wire, with Morris doing well to hold off Dupont for as long as he did, but the Belgian eventually made the winning move on the penultimate lap, taking advantage of traffic to slip up the inside at the International horseshoe.

Morris wouldn’t even hold onto his second place, as the battle for second was won on the very last lap thanks to a charging last stint from Cameron Lawrence in the HART #89 Honda. I genuinely couldn’t keep my eyes off of the TCRs as they really were practically stuck to each other’s bumpers for the entire final hour that was thankfully caution free.

In the end, Dupont would lead home Lawrence in 2nd, while Morris would at least secure a double podium for the Bryan Herta crew in a race that both quenched my thirst for TCR action and more than wetted my appetite for tomorrow’s Rolex 24, which I simply cannot wait for.

image credit: IMSA Media Centre.