10 key points to better understand the differences between the two most famous endurance races in the world
The 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans are the two most renowned one day motorsport events worldwide, as well as the most important endurance races on their respective continents. Their prestige is due to their long standing traditions, the spectacle they offer, and the iconic nature of the circuits on which they are held.
In addition to the on track action, both competitions provide unparalleled entertainment for spectators: from autograph sessions with drivers to fireworks displays, museum visits, and a wide range of food options.
Brembo is now at home in both races: cars equipped with Brembo calipers have won the last 21 editions of Le Mans, remaining unbeaten since 2004. An extraordinary streak. And at Daytona—where Brembo made its debut later—the successes are also remarkable.
1) Circuit
The 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, located in northwestern France. Initially 17.26 km long, the track was gradually shortened, reaching 13.629 km in 2018. Some sections consist of public roads normally open to traffic throughout the year. The circuit features 38 corners.
The 24 Hours of Daytona is held at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. The endurance race uses the Sports Car Course layout, a 5.729 km configuration that, after the start/finish line, heads inward instead of continuing toward Turn 1. It includes 12 corners.
2) Speed
On Saturday, June 11, 1988, at 8:46 p.m., Roger Dorchy reached 405 km/h on the 6 km straight at the wheel of the Peugeot WM P88 (Group C). It remains the highest top speed ever recorded at the 24 Hours of Le Mans—a record made unbreakable by the subsequent addition of two chicanes on the Hunaudières straight in 1990.
The top speed record at Daytona is 358.837 km/h, set in 2013 by Colin Braun in a Ford powered by a 3.5 liter V6. On the 24 Hours layout, however, top speeds are lower: in recent years, they have not exceeded 325 km/h.
3) Lap Time
The race lap record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is 3:17.297, set during lap four of the 2019 edition by Mike Conway in the Toyota TS050 Hybrid, with an average speed of 248.6 km/h. The qualifying lap record belongs to Jackie Oliver, who in 1971 clocked a 3:13.6 in a Porsche 917.
The lap record for the 24 Hours of Daytona dates back to 2024: during qualifying, Pipo Derani drove the Cadillac to a time of 1:32.656, averaging 222.601 km/h. In 2022, Paul Loup Chatin set the race lap record at 1:35.532 in an Oreca 07, with an average of 215.900 km/h.
4) Distance Covered
Due to higher average speeds, cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans cover much greater distances. The record was set in 2010 by Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Bernhard, and Romain Dumas in the Audi R15+ TDI, completing 397 laps, or 5,410.713 km.
At the 24 Hours of Daytona, lower speeds and the shorter track make overtaking more difficult. As a result, the total distance is shorter. The record belongs to Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi, and Renger Van der Zande, who in 2020 completed 833 laps in the Cadillac DPi VR, equivalent to 4,772.48 km.
5) Gaps
Despite its long lap length, in the most recent edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the first four cars completed the same number of laps (387), and four others finished just one lap behind. In 2024, as many as nine cars finished on the lead lap.
In the 2025 edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the top three cars were separated by less than five seconds. In 2024, five cars finished on the lead lap, four of them within only 16 seconds. Even smaller was the gap in 2023: just 11 seconds separated the top four finishers.
6) Starters
Up to 62 cars—including the “Garage 56” innovative entry running outside classification—are allowed to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To find a lower number of starters, one must go back to 2020, when only 59 cars participated.
Sixty one cars lined up for the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2024 the field consisted of 59 entrants, but in 2023 and 2022 the number returned to 61. This seems to confirm recovery from the downturn that saw only 49 starters in 2021 and just 38 in 2020.
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7) Lead Changes
In the latest edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there were 65 lead changes. The Ferrari 499P driven by Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica, and Yifei Ye led for 140 laps, while the sister car of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Alessandro Pier Guidi led for 95 laps.
The 24 Hours of Daytona was even more hotly contested, with an astonishing 76 lead changes among the GTP category cars, and just as many in LMP2. In GTD PRO, 10 different cars took turns in the lead, and in GTD an impressive 17 cars held the top spot at least once.
8) Pit Stops
In the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, a total of 1,901 pit stops were recorded. The winning team completed 32 stops, while the second placed Porsche 963 managed one fewer, setting the lowest total time spent in the pits: 42 minutes and 6 seconds.
At the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona, the winning Porsche 963 made 32 pit stops—one fewer than the second placed Cadillac V Series R, which finished just 2.112 seconds behind.
9) Driver Rotations
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, each crew is composed of a maximum of three drivers. The last victory achieved by a two driver lineup dates back to 1984, with Henri Pescarolo and Klaus Ludwig in the Porsche 956B. The first win by a trio occurred in 1965 with Masten Gregory, Ed Hugus, and Jochen Rindt in the Ferrari 250 LM.
At the 24 Hours of Daytona, most teams prefer to rotate four drivers. Among the top 15 finishers in 2025, only the winning team and the third placed crew fielded just three drivers. In the last 11 editions, a three driver crew won only in 2018 and 2025. Remarkably, the 1997 winning car featured seven drivers.
10) Caution Periods
In the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, only one safety car intervention occurred, lasting 39 minutes and 21 seconds due to the crash of an Oreca 07 Gibson. Additionally, there were four full course yellow periods totaling 33 minutes and 39 seconds.
At the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona, caution periods numbered 17, amounting to 6 hours, 1 minute, and 5 seconds. The longest neutralization occurred less than three hours into the race and lasted 31 minutes and 55 seconds. Conversely, on the morning of the second day, the race ran uninterrupted for 4 hours and 53 minutes.
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Bonus: Brakes
After highlighting all these differences, it is worth noting the one element that unites the winning cars at both Le Mans and Daytona: the braking system. One of its key strengths lies in Brembo’s monobloc calipers made of aluminum lithium alloy, ideal for achieving an optimal stiffness to weight ratio and ensuring consistent braking performance from the first to the last corner.
Brembo’s innovations in endurance racing also include developments in carbon disc technology. As early as 2001, Brembo enabled the Audi R8 of Team Joest—driven by Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro, and Tom Kristensen—to win the race without replacing discs or pads even once.
Another Brembo innovation is the spline drive system for attaching the brake bell to the friction ring, introduced in 2008.
Brembo has also optimized disc and pad dimensions, enabling significant weight reductions that contribute to faster lap times. Brake size and mass are crucial not only under braking but also during acceleration and cornering, as they are part of the unsprung mass.