The race did not fully follow the build-up pattern. Before the race, Aston Martin looked strongest on peak pace, Corvette looked strong on repeatable pace and straight-line speed, and Ferrari looked deep across sectors and cars. In the race, Lexus and Corvette moved to the front of the performance picture.

Lexus had the best outright and short-run race pace, while Corvette had the strongest long-run profile, best speed-trap package, and the highest completed mileage. Aston Martin and Ferrari remained competitive, but their build-up strengths were not quite as decisive in race conditions. Porsche stayed in the leading group, while BMW, McLaren, Ford and Mercedes-AMG were generally a step behind on average pace.

The simple read is: Lexus was fastest, Corvette was strongest over the race distance, and the build-up form only partly predicted the race.

Lap Times – Drivers – Sectors – Speed Trap

Lap Times

The race picture changed from the build-up. In practice and qualifying, Aston Martin had the best single-lap edge, Corvette looked strong on repeatable pace, and Ferrari had good depth. In the race, the centre of performance shifted towards Lexus and Corvette.

The #78 Lexus was the fastest car on outright race pace and short-run averages, while the #33 TF Sport Corvette became the strongest long-run reference. The #33 led the deeper race averages and completed the most laps, so its performance was not just a short burst. The second Lexus, #87, was also very strong, confirming that this was a make-level strength rather than only one car.

#33 was the fast car in the race, more than making up for its and the other Corvette’s poor shot at qualifying.

Aston Martin remained close, especially the #23 and #27, but did not quite convert its build-up single-lap advantage into the same race-long dominance. Ferrari stayed competitive and had several cars in the leading pack, but its race pace was less clearly ahead than its build-up sector depth suggested. Porsche was solid, particularly the #91 and #92, while BMW, McLaren, Ford and Mercedes-AMG generally sat further back on average race pace.

Drivers

The leading driver pace came from José María López and Hadrian David in the Lexus camp, with López especially strong over the short and medium averages. That fits the car-level picture, where both Akkodis ASP Lexus entries were near the front.

For Corvette, Jonny Edgar was the standout, leading the longer driver average and backing up the #33 car’s race-long strength. Nicky Catsburg, Charlie Eastwood and Ben Green also supported the wider Corvette race pace picture. Aston Martin still had strong performances from Eduardo Barrichello, Mattia Drudi, Zacharie Robichon, Jonny Adam and Valentin Hasse Clot, but the advantage was less decisive than in the build-up.

This is influenced by when the drivers were on track – was it during happy hour.

Ferrari had depth through Alessio Rovera, Daniel Serra, Dennis Marschall, Lorenzo Patrese, Lilou Wadoux and others, but no single Ferrari driver group clearly controlled the race pace. Porsche’s Ayhancan Güven, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera were also strong, keeping Porsche relevant even if it was not the overall race benchmark.

Sectors

Overall, the sector data shows that the race was not just a repeat of practice. Lexus gained relative strength across the lap, Corvette’s straight-line and long-run package held up, and Ferrari’s build-up acceleration advantage did not translate into the same overall race superiority.

The race sectors show a different shape to the build-up. In the build-up, Ferrari was very strong in acceleration zones, Aston Martin in technical areas, Corvette in straight-line sections, and Porsche in selected fast/flowing parts. In the race, Lexus became much more prominent, especially in S1, S2, the Esses, the run to Porsche, and the Mulsanne/Daytona combined sections.

Extra Sectors

Slow Corner Sectors

Fast Corner Sectors

Low Speed Acceleration Sectors

Medium Straights

Long Straights

Corvette remained excellent in the longer straight and high-speed sections, especially S3 and D140/Indianapolis/Arnage. That explains why the #33 was so effective over the longer averages. Ferrari still showed well in short acceleration areas such as Daytona Exit, Ford Exit and Start Lap, but it was less dominant across the full sector set than it had been in the build-up. Aston Martin remained strong through Dunlop and some medium/technical sections, while Porsche retained good pace in selected fast areas.

and that leads into Speed Trap…

Speed Trap