The Northern Irishman put in a sensational performance on his IMSA and Daytona debut to qualify third fastest for Paul Miller Racing and lead from the front at the start of the iconic endurance race, before bad luck cruelly befell the #48 BMW crew just before one-third distance.
Harper and his long-standing team-mate Max Hesse are teaming up for their first season in the premier sportscar racing series in North America this year. They’re being joined by experienced pair Augusto Farfus and Jesse Krohn for the endurance events, starting at Daytona.
Preparations for the season opener began with the official ‘Roar before the Rolex 24’ testing event the week prior (17-19 January). They made strong progress in their BMW M4 GT3 EVO across the first two days in the dry, before torrential rain halted play on the final day.
They returned to the track on Thursday, with one practice session to fine-tune the car ahead of the all-important qualifying session. Harper was trusted with tackling the 15-minute session and put in an exceptional performance, going third fastest in the ultra-competitive GTD PRO class.
Night practice followed that evening to provide some crucial practice under the cover of darkness, before one last practice session the next day completed their preparations. The Paul Miller Racing team were feeling confident of a strong showing heading into the twice round-the-clock spectacle.
Harper was in the car for the beginning of the race and enjoyed a brilliant start, charging into the GTD PRO class lead by the exit of the first corner. Heading the field for the first few laps of his IMSA career, the two-time GT3 champion went on to comfortably settle in the leading pack in the early stages.
The 24-year-old stayed in the top three throughout a hotly-contested opening two hours of the race and was running in third place when he ended his first double stint. As day turned to night in Florida, Farfus, Krohn and then Hesse continued their podium assault before disaster struck at the 7.5-hour mark.
As the action restarted following a safety car period, a multi-car incident in the prototype field ahead led to cars being scattered across the track. While Hesse reacted well and slowed in avoidance, the Lamborghini behind didn’t brake and slammed into the back of their BMW, causing heavy damage.
While a phenomenal effort from the Paul Miller Racing personnel ensured the car could return to the track, more than 50 laps were lost along with any chance of a front-running result. The focus therefore turned to making it to the race finish and securing as many championship points as possible.
That mission was ultimately successful as the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO ran faultlessly for the remainder of the race and took them to the chequered flag in 12th position. Harper completed two more double stints in that time, building his experience in the car and with the team to take into the next IMSA rounds.
Daniel Harper: “I’m absolutely gutted with how the race panned out. I really enjoyed taking the start and the opening double stint was great fun. We’d firmly established ourselves in the top three heading into the night and we were confident we could maintain that podium challenge throughout. We were flying and the car was on rails, but luck was against us. There was nothing Max could have done to avoid the incident, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The mechanics did a great job to get the car fixed and it ran perfectly to the chequered flag. I loved my first IMSA experience. The racing is crazy and great fun. Their safety car process puts all the cars back into their class order together on circuit for the restarts, which makes it very interesting and means you’re always fighting it out for position in class. I’m looking forward to what is going to be a very exciting year in the championship. We’ve shown on the first weekend that we have the pace to be a real contender in the GTD PRO class and we move on to Sebring ready to be right in the fight at the front again.”
The 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season continues in seven weeks’ time, with Harper set to complete in another North American endurance classic for the first time as he contests the 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (12-15 March).
