Mazda breaks 26-year lap record at 24 Hours of Daytona

The long-standing record was set by Toyota in 1993.

Mazda has smashed the lap record of Daytona International Speedway's road course. The No. 77 Mazda RT24-P accomplished this feat during qualifying ahead of the 24 Hours of Daytona, and thus attained pole position.

Driven by Olly Jarvis, the prototype racer put down a time of 1:33.685 on the 3.56-mile course, beating a record that has stood for 26 years. That record, a time of 1:33.875, was set in 1993 by PJ Jones's in a AAR Toyota Eagle Mk III GTP.

In fact, Jarvis had already beat the record during practice with an even faster time of 1:33.398, but official records don't count unless they happen during qualifying or racing.

Mazda has a long-standing history at the 24 Hours of Daytona. In 1979, the Hiroshima carmaker took its first win with a then freshly debuted first-generation RX-7 sports car. The RX-7 came in first in the smaller-displacement GTU class and fourth overall.

The race continues until Sunday, January 27, at 2:00 pm local time.