Ben Keating will line up in just one car at the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours in January, ending his long-running tradition of splitting driving time across two entries.
After years of pulling double duty in the blue-riband round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, the American has revealed that he will focus his efforts on a single LMP2 effort with PR1/Mathiasen.
While the California-based squad is yet to announce its full line-up for the season-opener, Keating is listed alongside Misha Goikhberg, Parker Thompson and Tristan Vautier in the #52 Oreca 07 for this week’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway.
“So for the last five, six years, I’ve done the Rolex 24 with PR1 Mathiasen. I think in eight out of the last 10 years, I’ve done Daytona in two different cars for the same race,” Keating told Motorsport.
“In this particular race, I’m going to do LMP2 with PR1 again, but I’m only going to be in one car.
“That’s still fun. It’s still going to be a great time. But that’s the plan – one car in LMP2 with PR1.”
#52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, ORECA LMP2 07: Ben Keating
Photo by: Courtesy of IMSA
Keating has driven a wide range of GT and prototype machinery on both sides of the Atlantic, establishing himself as one of the most successful and recognizable gentlemen drivers of his generation.
He has even raced in the top category at Daytona, first driving JDC-Miller’s Cadillac DPi V.R to the overall podium in 2023, before reuniting with the team last year at the wheel of a Porsche 963 LMDh. On each of those occasions, he also doubled up in the LMP2 category.
This year, Keating co-drove PR1/Mathiasen’s Oreca 07 entry to third place in the LMP2 division, while also sharing a Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch and Scott McLaughlin in GTD Pro.
The 54-year-old said scaling back to a single car at Daytona was a direct consequence of his decision to leave IMSA and race full-time in the WEC’s LMGT3 class this year.
“Because of not being in that [IMSA] paddock, the relationships aren’t as strong as they were,” he explained.
“It’s good. It’s good for everybody.
“Everybody loves to have a car that does what you want it to do. The Oreca LMP2 is an incredibly designed car. It does what you want it to do. It’s fun to drive.”
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