Michael Cooper took charge of the Grand Sport (GS) class in the final stages of the BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway to claim overall victory in the four-hour opening round of the 2025 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Cooper guided the No. 44 Accelerating Performance McLaren Artura GT4 from fifth to first in the closing 20 minutes, executing a series of clean passes to seize the lead before maintaining an advantage of 0.327s over Jan Heylen (No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS) at the checkered flag.
Moisey Uretsky drove a lengthy two-hour, 40-minute opening stint prior to handing the McLaren to Cooper in eighth place. Cooper, who has extensive ties to McLaren, enjoyed coming to grips with the latest evolution of the Artura as he diced with Heylen and Billy Johnson, who eventually finished third in the No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 he shared with Robert Michaelian.
Leader Heylen allowed the front end of his Porsche to drift slightly wide at the apex of Turn 7, the corner that takes the cars from the infield section of Daytona International Speedway onto the iconic banking between Turns 1 and 2 of the oval with about seven minutes on the clock. The McLaren drew level on the back stretch and eased in front entering the Le Mans chicane.
Heylen, who co-drove with Luca Mars, was unable to pressure Cooper into a mistake in the final three laps, allowing Cooper and Uretsky to claim their first race win in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition. It was McLaren’s first win at Daytona since 2021. Additionally, the rebranded team (previously Baby Bull Racing) won on debut with the McLaren, after campaigning the Porsche in previous seasons.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Cooper, who also has a Rolex 24 At Daytona win on his resume (2022, Le Mans Prototype 3 class with Riley). “I drove the previous version of the McLaren, so this felt very familiar. It’s an amazing GT4 car and all the guys did an incredible job.
“Moisey ran the first couple stints, way longer than we needed him to, and he handed me over a clean car that I was able to fight with Jan and Billy and take it to the front. Right after I passed Jan, we both just sailed it into and sailed it into Turn 1 a couple times, using everything up and trying to get away.”
Uretsky added, “Cooper brought it home. The Porsche is a fast car, but Cooper was smart about it, and he picked the right moment. I knew once he had the lead, he wasn’t going to give it up.”
Heylen, a former GS class champion in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, looked to be in solid shape until Cooper made his charge as the race crept into twilight on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course.
“It’s tough to be this close and then lose it in the last two or three laps,” Heylen said. “Maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive early on, but they were the better car today – it’s as simple as that.”
Sam Paley and Jenson Altzman (No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4) finished fourth, while Spencer Pumpelly, Andy Lally, and Thomas Collingwood rallied to claim fifth in the No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.