Rolex marks 100 years of the Oyster at the 2026 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA
On Saturday 24 January 2026, Daytona International Speedway® hosts the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, opening the endurance season and celebrating 100 years of the Oyster. First proven on Daytona Beach, the waterproof Oyster case still defines Rolex’s focus on reliability under pressure and its link to this historic circuit.
In 1933, Sir Malcolm Campbell wore a Rolex Oyster as he drove Bluebird to 272 mph (438 km/h) on Daytona Beach, reinforcing Rolex’s role in performance timekeeping and forging a connection that now runs from land speed records to modern endurance racing.
Key Highlights
- Rolex marks the Oyster centenary at the 2026 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, recalling its record-breaking heritage on Daytona Beach.
- The 64th edition assembles 60 cars across four categories, including 11 Grand Touring Prototype entries.
- Rolex Testimonee Jenson Button returns trackside after his overall podium in 2024.
- Hurley Haywood and Scott Pruett share the record for most overall victories, with five wins each.
- Winning drivers receive specially engraved Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona watches.
A grid defined by endurance
The 64th running of the race fields 60 cars across four categories, with 11 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) entries from five manufacturers. Over 24 hours, teams must manage traffic, fatigue and changing conditions, where pit work, consistency and racecraft often matter as much as outright speed.
Porsche Penske Motorsport again targets honours after securing its 20th overall win at Daytona last year, showing how preparation, strategy and reliability must complement pace on this circuit.
Rolex Testimonee Jenson Button, third overall in 2024 and now retired from professional racing, calls the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA an intense way to open the calendar. With steep banking, constant overtaking and sustained speeds, the circuit offers little margin for error, and Button now returns as a spectator to see a new grid face the same demands.
Winning, measured in seconds and in steel
Hurley Haywood and Scott Pruett, each with five overall victories and long-standing ties to Rolex, remain closely associated with this race. Pruett, who last won in 2013 and received a specially engraved Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona, views Daytona as a test of human and mechanical endurance where traffic, strategy and evolving conditions can compress the winning margin to seconds.
Rolex’s partnership with Daytona International Speedway® dates back to the late 1950s, and 2026 marks 60 years since the event adopted the full 24-hour format. In 1963, Rolex introduced the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona, and in 1992 the relationship was formalised when the race adopted the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA name, aligning circuit and chronograph as a symbol of achievement for drivers who prioritise precision and reliability.
Rolex and the wider world of motor sport
Rolex’s relationship with endurance racing extends from Daytona to the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as events often described as the Triple Crown of Endurance Racing: the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, the Twelve Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Across these races, accurate timing and reliability mirror the demands placed on the Oyster Perpetual and the Cosmograph Daytona. For almost 30 years, Rolex has also supported gatherings such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® and the Goodwood Revival, alongside Testimonees including Sir Jackie Stewart, Tom Kristensen, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, Jamie Chadwick and Nyck de Vries, reinforcing a shared culture of performance and preservation.
Why it matters
The 2026 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA crystallises a century of Rolex innovation, from the original Oyster to the Cosmograph Daytona, in an arena where timing is inseparable from performance. For collectors and enthusiasts in the Gulf and beyond, the race shows how a Rolex watch functions as a symbol of prestige and as a tool proven at the limits of endurance.
Readers across the GCC can follow Rolex’s milestones in motor sport and watchmaking and see how these long-standing partnerships continue to shape the brand’s legacy on and off the track.
