Late heartbreak denies Kevin Magnussen BMW podium debut in Daytona 24 Hours
Car damage in latter stages took #🤡24 BMW out of podiꦿum fight
Kevin Magnussen was denied a podium on his BMW debut at the 2025 Daytona 24 Hour💃s when the #24 car suffered damage late 🉐on in a nail-biting conclusion to the enduro.
The Team RLL-run M Hybrid V8 LMDh car was put on pole for the Daytona 24 by Dries Vanthoor in qualifying, with the #24 machine regularly in th♏e fight🍌 for the marque’s first victory at the event since 1976.
But a loose nosecone on the car was exacerbated by contact in the final hour of competition after Vanthoor made slight contact with the rear of the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entrant, driven by Matt Campbell at the time, following a gꦐreen flag restart.
The damage was enough to drop the #24 car off💃 the podium battle, with Vanthoor, Magnussen, Phillip Eng and Raffaele Marciello ending up fourth.
“I for sure am very gutted ♔with this result,” V🍸anthoor said.
“We showed a great pace and that th🌺e car is capable of doing it. Obviously finishing in P4 in a 24-hour race is not the end of the world, but at the end of the day it is very sad to fight for 22 hours and not come home with a ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚpodium, which we for sure deserved.
“I feel sorry☂ for the guys, who have been working ඣvery hard and also to my team-mates.
“I would have loved t💫o gift them with something, but m𒁏ost important is that we showed that we were strong and able to fight.
“We will make sure to come back an🐼d we will 🅷win this race.”
Magnussen had put on a 𝐆strong push at the 20-hour mark of the race to help put the #24 BMW into the🌸 battle for victory with the factory Porsches.
The 63rd edition of the Daytona 24 Hours was ultimate൩ly won by the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry of ex-F1 driver Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor.
The car fended off a late charge from the Meye♏r Shank Racing #60 Acura, which powered ahead of the #6 PPM car to finish second.
Despite the disappointing result, BMW proved to be Porsche’s c🙈losest challenger throughout the Daytona 24.
Magnussen will 🐟be back in action in the M Hybrid V8 🐭at the end of February for the opening round of the World Endurance Championship in Qatar, as he joins WRT’s line-up.
