GT Le Mans was its usual ragged self as BMWs, Corvettes, Fords and Porsches shared the lead throughout the event.
After missing out on pole position, the BMW Team RLL M6s were the class of the field in race trim as Alexander Sims and Bill Auberlen led a significant portion of the race in the No. 25 and withstood intense pressure from Ford Chip Ganassi Racing's Richard Westbrook in the No. 67 Ford GT (+4.416s) that faded in the final minutes.
A spate of cut left-front tires with both BMW M6s hampered the factory cars, but fortune swung back in the No. 25's favor with a pit stop that took place moments before a yellow flag.
"That was long overdue," Auberlen said. "It was always bad luck that took us out of it. We've done a lot of testing and development. That's the first win for the M6 GTLM and I'm so proud of this team.
"In racing, you need some luck. How much better could it have been that we had a flat tire, came into the pits, didn't lose any time, did a driver change, and then a yellow comes out and puts us back to P1. We're super fortunate, but grateful to be here."
Brand-new Porsche driver Gimmi Bruni served a drive-through penalty for passing under yellow, but was mercurial in the No. 912 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR and almost had third secured until he was forced to pit with two minutes remaining to tend to a left-front tire puncture. Bruni's misfortune promoted Antonio Garcia, who spun moments into the race, to third in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R (+5.227s).

PC experienced lesser drama to open the race as a spin by the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports entry while avoiding the crashing WTR Cadillac initially gave BAR1 Motorsports the lead, but it didn't last long as the undefeated No. 38 entry recovered and won with immense ease.
Pato O'Ward, James French and Kyle Masson covered the No. 26 BAR1 entry by three laps at the checkered flag and had 19 laps over the sister BAR1 car that completed the PC field. The win also came while dealing with a failed air jack system during the final pit stops.
"All the guys did a great job," said team owner Brent O'Neill. "At the end of the day when the air jacks failed, nobody panicked. Everything worked out. It's awesome."
If Prototype was a crapshoot, GTLM was a constantly rotating affair up front, and PC was all but inevitable, GT Daytona gave fans a proper six-hour fight as the pole-winning No. 93 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 and second-place No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS GT3 were rarely more than a few feet from each other throughout the day. Only in the latter stages, where a tire problem took the Audi out of the podium hunt, did the battle boil down the No. 93 Acura and the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3.
Home state favorite Andy Lally would not be denied as he and Katherine Legge earned back-to-back victories for MSR and Acura as the No. 93 barely kept Alessandro Balzan and the No. 63 (-0.592s) behind at the finish line.

"That is the only way to do it," Lally said. "I don't know where those laps came from. Man, we're in Victory Lane in New York!"
Legge was impressed by her teammate's inspired drive.
"Huge thanks to Andy; he was a frickin' rock star there," she said. "We got another one. Two in a row; hard to believe it."
In defeat, Balzan found some solace in strengthening the GTD championship lead he holds with teammate Christina Nielsen.
"I want to be honest: I was going for the win," he said. "For today, P2 is good for the championship."
UP NEXT: Opening practice at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Friday, July 7.