February in Daytona

The 1986 Daytona 24 Hours was an endurance sports car race held on February 1-2, 1986 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. The race served as the opening round of the 1986 IMSA GT Championship.

This event always attracted active Formula One drivers, whose racing and testing season had not yet begun. A good opportunity to get some racing mileage after a long winter without, and to make a few dollars!

Belgian Thierry Boutsen, an Arrows-BMW F1 driver and a former winner of the race, was no exception. He was entered in a Brun Motorsport Porsche 962 (picture above), alongside Argentinian Oscar Larrauri.

Victory overall and in the GTP class went to the Holbert Racing Porsche 962 driven by Al Holbert, Derek Bell and Al Unser Jr. (picture below). No luck this time for Boutsen – winner in 1985 in a Porsche 962 – as he and Larrauri spent too much time in the pits, repairing failing components in their car, and finally retired the car.