Filipe Nasr and Porsche Penske Motorsports Capture the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona
Daytona Fl. (January 27th +28th 2024)
It’s nearly one o’clock on Saturday the 27th and the green flag is getting ready to drop at Daytona International Speedway for the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona, the twice around the clock kickoff to the IMSA racing season. In just a few moments the packed field will be competing for one of endurance racings crown jewels in what has rapidly become a record setting event this year.
While there are slightly less cars in this year’s running (59 this year compared to 62 last year), there are record setting entries in the GTP, LMP2, GTD and GT classes. This was possible due to IMSA removing the LMP3 class from their premier WeatherTech Championship for this season. But there would be more records that would fall.
Whether it was the near summer like weather, the Drive To Survive effect where the Netflix hit series is causing all motorsports to see a rise in interest, the resurgent GTP class or most likely a combination of all of this, the Rolex saw record attendance. The prime infield location was sold out well in advance. Indeed you could really feel the excitement for the race to start.
This year’s GTP field grew by one car this year, but the changes to the class were far bigger than the one extra car. Last year’s winner Myers Shank Acura would not be there to defend their title as Myers Shank and Acura parted ways and the team was unable to secure a new deal with a manufacturer in time for the race and the season. Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti would now be running both Acura ARX-06 GTP cars. Besides the Usual teams BMW M Team RLL, Porsche Penske, Cadillac Racing, and Whelen Engineering Cadillac, which are all factory teams, there would be two privateer teams now in class, Proton Competition and JDC -Miller MotorSports both piloting the Porsche 963.
With a full season of racing under the collective belts of all the teams and manufacturers, there was now a solid knowledge base to work with on the cars. No longer were teams concerned with reliability and learning the vastly complex hybrids. Now everyone was working to extract extra performance from them. Indeed, the field was fast. So fast that the Whelen Engineering Cadillac piloted by Pipo Derani grabbed the pole award and smashed the lap record for Daytona International Speedway in the process with a blistering lap of 1:32.656. But they weren’t the only team to break the record. Every one of the cars in the GTP was under the old track record.
As the FIA has eliminated the LMP2 category from the WEC (World Endurance Championship) and with the LMP3 class being eliminated as well, IMSA saw the LMP2 class grow this year. WEC stalwarts United Autosports made the move to IMSA and grabbed the pole award for the Rolex. Other teams expanded into the class such as AO Racing with another fan favorite livery in “Spike”. Last year’s LMP3 class winners Riley made the jump to LMP2 and also brought along former formula 1 star driver Felipe Massa to help drive for the team. Sean Creech Motorsports was another one of the teams that also transitioned from LMP3 to LMP2.
Last year’s edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona was all about the revitalized GTP class, this years edition focused on the GTD and GTD PRO cars. The big news for this year’s edition are the addition of two new American cars competing in class, the Ford Mustang GT3 and the Corvette ZO6 GT3.R. This will be the first time in years that these two classic marquees will be facing off against each other in sports car caring. But they wouldn’t be the only manufacturer bringing a new car to the field. Aston Martin brought their new Vantage GT3 EVO and McLaren finally arrived in the GTD Pro class with their 720S GT3 EVO in the hands of Pfaff Motorsports.
With all the changes and additions to the classic race , it was no wonder that everyone was excited for the green flag to be waved and racing to get under way. At 1:40 all eyes were on the starters flag and the front straight . As the cars came off of NASCAR turn four and onto the straight for the traditional rolling start, the flag waved, and the race was finally underway. The action started early and was fierce. Action Express and their Cadillac led the way, but the no. 7 Porsche Penske nailed the start and passed the Chip Gnassi Cadillac to grab second place. But the Cadillac fought back and soon the two Cadillac’s were leading the way. When an incident between the GTD Pro Lexus RC F GT3 car and an LMP2 caused the first caution of the race, the whole GTP field dove into the pits. But it was the no. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura that took a short pit spot and got out first to grab the lead in the race.
The one hour mark of the race found the no. 10 Acura still in the lead, followed by the no. 01 Cadillac, then the no. 7 Penske Porsche and pole sitter no. 31 Cadillac As the race progressed in the GTP class, things started to settle out and it was clear that the race would come down to either the no. 31 Action Express Cadillac or the no. 7 Porsche Penske car.
With nineteen hard fought hours in the books, Matt Campbell and Filipe Nasr combined to give their Porsche Penske 963 a hard fought ten second advantage over No. 31 Action Express Cadillac. With a bit more than an hour to go in the race Tom Bloqvist behind the wheel of the Cadillac pulled off a daring pass by splitting slower traffic as both he and the Porsche being piloted by Filipe Nasr were closing on turn one. Blomqvist built up a 2.2 second lead. Unfortunately, a full course caution brought the field back together. When the pits were finally opened and all the cars dove in for their final splash of fuel and fresh tires, the Penske Porsche crew was the quickest and got their car out first.
This was all that the Porsche Penske team needed to hold on for the last thirty minutes of the race. As the checkered flag was finally waved, the No. 7 Porsche Penske 963 piloted by Filipe Nasr, Matt Campbell, Josef Newgarden, and Dane Cameron captured the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the first win since 1969 at Daytona for Penske. Coming in a scant two seconds behind in second place was the No. 31 Action Express Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R piloted by Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, and Tom Blomqvist. Rounding out the top three was the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 driven by Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta and Jenson Button.
The LMP2 class was a toughly fought contest. Throughout the race any one of five different teams had their chance at the class victory. The main protagonists were the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 and the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA. For the first twenty hours of the race no team established themselves as a clear favorite. But the final four hours the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA and their team of Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch, and Christian Rasmussen pulled away from the field and led 132 of the final 136 laps to nab the class win over No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 driven by George Kurtz, Colin Braun, and Toby Sowery by nearly seven seconds. Nabbing the final podium spot was one of the newcomers to the LMP2 class, Riley, and the No. 74 Oreca LMP2 07 driven by Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon, and Felipe Massa.
GTD Pro was a different story from the other classes. While AO Racing captured the pole for the race in their Porsche 911 GT3 R in the fan favorite livery known as Rexy for its uber creative green dinosaur look, there would be no stopping Risi Competizione and their No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado. Qualifying fifth would not be a problem for the squad. Even a pit fire in the first six hours of the race couldn’t hold the team back. The team led the final eighty two laps of the race and 215 laps overall. Taking second spot was AO Racing in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Laurin Heinrich, Seb Priaulx and Michael Christensen. Rounding out the top three was No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 driven by Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen and Sheldon van der Linde.
The GTD class saw the most action with twelve of the twenty three cars in class taking turns leading the race. For the Winward Racing No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 their 17th starting spot on the grid didn’t bode well for a successful campaign in the Rolex. But the team maintained its poise and gradually found themselves contending. During the waning hours of the race, the team took the lead. But In the last hour of the race the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 stopped with smoke pouring out from the hood causing a full course caution and of course bringing the field together. But Daniel Morad in an extended stint in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 managed to pull out a 2.731-second class victory. The No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Simon Mann, Francois Heriau, Miguel Molina, and Kei Cozzolino finished second, and the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Manny Franco, Albert Costa Balboa, Alessandro Balzan and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli was third.
The Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona has long been considered one of IMSA’s and endurance racings crown jewels. The twenty four hour classic has a long history of delivering breathtaking racing and loads of action. This year’s 62nd running very much lived up to its storied history and provided an incredible kickoff to the 2024 IMSA racing season and the WeatherTech Championship. The next stop for IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship will be the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on March 13-16.
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