IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona Thrills Largest Crowd in History

Click for more information.

What was said to be a record crowd at the Rolex 24 at Daytona this past weekend were on hand to view some of the closest, fierce racing in recent IMSA history that resulted in several cars contending up to the checkered flag in four out of the five classes after two circuits around a Rolex watch. So in AutoInformed’s opinion the “sport” of Sports Car Racing is healthy and off to what should be a great 2023 season.

Given the crowd size and a new broadcast contract with an international audience and specifically tailored automaker advertisements keyed to the Rolex 24, the “business” of racing is good as well. These successes will no doubt play into the “politics” of racing with as yet unknown effects as there will be pressure to adjust performance output specifications and other rule changes from competitors. (Rolex 24 At Daytona Results )

Click for more information.

Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist drove the pole-starting No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to a 4.190-second victory, to win the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class win in the first race with hybrid-powered prototypes. It was the second consecutive Rolex 24 victory for the Meyer Shank, which led an historic number, at 365, of the 783 laps. However, the Acura hybrid only finished 4.19 seconds ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport. Cadillac Racing’s Cadillac V-LMDh cars from Chip Ganassi Racing finished third (with driver Renger van der Zande in the No. 01) and fourth (Earl Bamber in the No. 02). The top four hybrids were separated by 11.176 seconds after 24 hours of racing. on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course. The event marked the successful racing debut for the electrified Acura ARX-06 prototype sports car, the second successive win at Daytona for the Meyer Shank Racing team, and the third consecutive Rolex 24 win for Acura in the Rolex 24.

The debut of Porsche Penske Motorsport, the Porsche 963 in GTP saw the No. 7 race car of Felipe Nasr (Brasil), Matt Campbell (Australia) and Michael Christensen (Denmark). The sister car of Mathieu Jaminet (France), Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Dane Cameron (USA) had to retire due to mechanical issues.

“It was a really tough day for the team, but days like today are things we build upon for the future,” said Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport, Jonathan Diuguid. “I look forward to the future and we will learn for all of the races, beginning in Sebring.”

All three drivers of the No. 6 Porsche 963 kept the car in the top-five throughout the first half the race, running as high as second for large chunks of the race and proving they were one of the cars to beat. However, Tandy suffered an off during the 5:00 am hour, resulting in damage to the nose, rear wing and underbelly of the Porsche 963. After making repairs and only losing three laps in the process, the No. 6 continued in the top-five as problems hindered other competitors but back to just one-lap down with two hours to go, a gearbox problem knocked the No. 6 out of the event.

The No. 7 Porsche 963 was as bugged with drive issues in the first stint with Felipe Nasr, then having to go behind the wall five hours into the event with Michael Christensen behind the wheel with an electrical system issue. It dropped them 19 laps down. Several other mechanical issues eventually dropped the No. 7 some 34 laps down from the leaders over the course of the race’s 24 hours.

The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 driven by Philipp Eng (AUT), Augusto Farfus (BRA), Marco Wittmann (GER) and Colton Herta (USA) was competitive before issues with the hybrid system resulted in a brake problem in the final quarter of the race that cost a substantial amount of time. Final driver Philipp Eng crossed the finish line in sixth place.

The #25 car had to be pushed to the pits to make an extended repair stop in the BMW M Team RLL garage after about an hour. A number of components had to be replaced after failure of the hybrid powertrain – a common component used by all manufacturers with the BMW V8 the unique component. The repair took around two and a half hours and meant that Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Colton Herta, who was racing in both cars, were forced to drive right at the back of the field. They still managed to finish the race in 48th place.

LMP2

In LMP2 the No. 55 Proton Competition ORECA LMP2 07 three days after the car was significantly damaged in a Rolex 24 practice session, James Allen literally provided a photo finish at 0.016 seconds over Ben Hanley in the No. 04 Crowdstrike by APR ORECA. Actually, four cars were potential winners during the last hour. The No. 35 TDS Racing and No. 88 AF Corse ORECAs were in the hunt as well.

LMP3

LMP3 was the biggest, yawn, disappointment of the race. The No. 17 AWA Duqueine D08 with drivers Anthony Mantella, Wayne Boyd, Nico Varrone and Thomas Merrill dominated. Most other cars in the class endured mechanical or other concerns during the race. The margin of victory for the No. 17 AWA Duqueine over the second-place No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320 was 12 laps. It was the first IMSA victory for Mantella, Boyd and Varrone. Merrill now has two career IMSA wins. Sean Creech Motorsport, due to run the entire series, leave Daytona with the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup points lead.

GTD Pro and GTD

The more recognizable GT classes – GTD Pro and GTD – also provided plenty of entertainment for fans of racing cars that actually look like buyable street cars and share some components from brands such as Porsche, Lexus, Aston Martin, Corvette, Mercedes AMG. (autoinformed.com on: NASCAR – Johnson, Rockenfeller, Button to Drive Camaro ZL1 at the 24-Hour Le Mans Race in June; Corvette Z06 GT3.R 2024 Racecar Shown at Daytona)

Corvette Racing started its 25th season of competition with a runner-up class finish Sunday in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner teamed up for the second-place GT Daytona (GTD) PRO result in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. After a drive back from two laps down in the middle of the night – due to a flat left-rear tire and a rear brake change – the No. 3 C8.R moved back to not just contention for the Rolex victory but to the lead just before sunrise Sunday morning. With a little more than three hours to go, Milner took over from Taylor and drove two stints of hard, intense racing that saw the Corvette and two other competitors swap the GTD PRO lead. Milner was replaced by Garcia for the  chaotic final one hour, 45 minutes. They were beaten by Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist drove the pole-starting No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to a 4.190-second victory, to win the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class win in the first race with hybrid-powered prototypes. (discussed above)

The top three cars – the 3 Corvette, the 14 Lexus and 79 Mercedes – swapped back and forth through three full-course caution periods in the span of an hour and 20 minutes before a final 26-minute run to the flag with Garcia coming home second in class.

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers Maro Engel (GER), Jules Gounon (AND), Daniel Juncadella (ESP) and Cooper MacNeil (USA) brought the #79 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by WeatherTech Racing across the finish line as the second GT3 car. In the process, the team also secured the class win in the hard-fought GTD-Pro classification.

Reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTD class champions Heart of Racing [HOR] and drivers Roman De Angelis (CDN), Ian James (GBR), Darren Turner (GBR) and Marco Sørensen (DEN), underlined a winning start to the team’s title defence for the Seattle-based Aston Martin Racing partner team. The win is Aston Martin’s first in the Daytona 24 Hours in its 12th attempt since its debut in 1964. This opens the British ultra-luxury sportscar brand’s racing season in its 110^th anniversary year.

Vantage was a competitive factor in both of the event’s GT classes, but Heart of Racing was the GTD class winner was the first GT car to finish the race. HOR was chased all the way home by Aston Martin Racing partner team Magnus Racing, with the #44 Aston Martin Vantage, whose driver crew of John Potter (USA), Andy Lally (USA), Spencer Pumpelly (USA) and Nicki Thiim (DEN) finished second in GTD as the third GT car home, making it a double podium finish for Aston Martin.

With the goal of making it through the night unscathed in a race that is notorious for regular contact and high attrition, both GTD Vantages started steadily with James (HOR) and Potter (Magnus) staying out of trouble in the early running. But strong stints ensured both cars were firmly established in the top five by the evening. The HOR #27 was never out of the top three throughout the long night, and for a long period until about two hours before dawn the team’s #23 GTD Pro class entry (for homologated GT3-specification cars), manned by AMR works driver Ross Gunn (GBR), Alex Riberas (ESP) and David Pittard (GBR) also led its class before running into technical issues.