
Tower Motorsports’ No. 8 LMP2 navigating Turn 6 of the Daytona International Speedway road course. (Photo: Tyson Gifford | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In motorsports, achieving the ultimate dream can be surreal, but end up in heartbreak.
Rolex 24-winning LMP2 outfit Tower Motorsports has been stripped of their victory in the LMP2 class by IMSA officials following an infraction involving the skid block on their Oreca 07 Gibson which Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Alvarez, John Farano and Job van Uitert piloted to a rollercoaster of a class victory. They rallied back from multiple spins and incidents, including one on the opening lap of the event, in the 63rd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
In a statement from IMSA, the team’s skid block underneath the car was worn past the threshold in which the FIA deemed legal in a given race (5 mm), which ultimately saw to the No. 8 being scored in the 12th and final position in the LMP2 class. IMSA also outlined in their statement that the team made an effort to put forth a protest towards the penalty, which was ultimately dismissed by IMSA.
The closing driver in the No. 8, Sebastien Bourdais. took to social media to release a statement.
“The rear third damper that controls rear ride height failed, allowing the rear to come down too much, subsequently over-wearing the rear skid,” Bourdais wrote, shedding light on what could have been the root cause of the team’s untimely demise.
Bourdais continued his statement criticizing IMSA’s officiating and standing by his team, stating that “IMSA always used common sense when enforcing rules that were breached by technical failure. Unfortunately, not today. I want to thank everyone in the team for their flawless execution and dedication. Making them look like cheaters makes me sick as they always operate by the book.”
Team leader Ricky Capone has also gone on to express his displeasure in the penalty in a statement to Sportscar365.
“Tower Motorsports is deeply disappointed by IMSA’s decision to penalize our No. 8 LMP2 entry following post-race technical inspection at the 24 Hours of Daytona,” he said. “The No. 8 has consistently passed technical inspection throughout the event and in previous competitions without issue. We firmly believe that this outcome does not reflect any wrongdoing or competitive advantage on our part.”
Capone also added his thoughts regarding the dismissal of their attempt to protest the decision.
“We filed a formal protest, which IMSA has denied, while we respect the regulatory process, we are extremely disheartened by this decision.”
This is not the first penalty of this manner in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship as it came into play in the GTP and overall win of the 2023 Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen. The scored winners of Porsche Penske Motorsports suffered the same penalty that was handed to the Tower Motorsports team this year, setting a precedent for this issue.

The United Autosport No. 22 LMP2 as the sun rises on the Rolex 24 at Daytona. (Photo: Jared Bokanoski | The Podium Finish)
The penalty put the pole-winning No. 22 United Autosport entry of Daniel Goldburg, Paul di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and James Allen, who received his second win in the event after his historic photo-finish win with Proton Competition in 2023, on the top step of the podium. This officially made them the LMP2 class champions of the 2025 edition of the Rolex 24. Less than a year removed from their LMP2 class win in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, the victory provided them with a true charge of momentum to open the 2025 campaign.
Closing the LMP2 podium in official scoring was the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen entry of Ben Keating, Mathias Beche, Benjamin Pedersen and Rodrigo Sales.
In the GTD category, the only other penalty throughout the field was issued to the No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, which was docked for a drive time violation after Steven McAleer was found to have exceeded IMSA’s rule of a four-hour maximum drive time in a six-hour window.