[IMSA] 2025 Daytona 24h

WEC, Blancpain, Le Mans Series, Rolex and special events like the Le Mans 24h
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[IMSA] 2025 Daytona 24h

#1

Post by erwin greven »

Daytona Thursday Notebook

John Dagys’ first notebook from Roar Before Rolex 24 ahead of on-track action…

by John Dagys
January 16, 2025

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Photo: Jonathan Grace

***IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams unloaded on Thursday morning in preparation for this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 official pre-season test. Drivers, meanwhile, spent the day going through various media day activities at the Daytona 500 Club, which made for a productive first official day of the IMSA season.

***Sixty of the 61 entered cars are on-site, with the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo set to arrive on Friday after being prepped in a workshop in Orlando. A Mercedes-AMG spokesperson told Sportscar365 that the car was originally due to go to team owner Kenny Habul’s outpost in Mooresville, N.C. for the installation of IMSA-specific components but was delayed upon arrival in Atlanta due to the recent snowstorm.

***Riley has become the service provider for Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s GTP program. The Bill Riley-led operation took delivery of a Lamborghini SC63 chassis only last Tuesday and completed a successful shakedown at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C. earlier this week.

***Bill Riley told Sportscar365 that it’s been a “big effort” between his team and Lamborghini Squadra Corse over the last two weeks to be ready for the Roar.

***Lamborghini’s full factory effort is so far committed to the Michelin Endurance Cup races this year.

***IMSA has scratched its dedicated ‘Targeted Performance Testing’ for GTD Pro and GTD manufacturers this weekend in a recently revised weekend schedule that has seen the addition of a Bronze driver-only session on Sunday from 2:30-4 p.m. ET.

***Sportscar365 understands that the sanctioning body will instead take torque sensor data from all on-track sessions this weekend to dictate any potential Balance of Performance changes between the the test and race week, as it has done in recent years to the GTP class.

***An increased presence from California-based MagCanica Motorsports, the company that produces the IMSA-enforced torque sensors in GTP, GTD Pro and GTD, are on-site this weekend. The same units are also used in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

***Wayne Taylor Racing is utilizing a brand-new Cadillac V-Series.R chassis for its No. 40 car this weekend, while the No. 10 entry is the same chassis that Chip Ganassi Racing took to victory in last year’s season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans.

***WTR returns to a Dallara-chassied prototype for the first time since 2020 when it was also last affiliated with Cadillac.

***The team has hired ex-Red Bull Racing Formula 1 performance engineer Blake Hinsey as its new race engineer for the No. 40 Cadillac this year. Hinsey, who worked with Max Verstappen, most recently engineered the Lamborghini Iron Lynx LMDh program.

***Filipe Albuquerque revealed that he still had a balaclava and driving gloves at Dallara’s simulator facility from more than five years ago when he had driven Action Express Racing’s Cadillac DPi-V.R prior to his switch to Wayne Taylor Racing in 2021. “We just picked up where we left off,” he said.

***Pfaff Motorsports completed a shakedown of its brand-new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 at Circuit Florida, a private country club-style facility in Auburndale, Fla., prior to arriving at Daytona according to team manager Steve Bortolotti, who credited fellow Lamborghini GTD squads Wayne Taylor Racing and Forte Racing for their assistance in helping the Canadian squad get up to speed with the car.

***Bortolotti told Sportscar365: “They were very forthcoming from information. They had a test in December that they allowed me to attend and shadow. They made my life easy, and so did Lamborghini, obviously. That was huge. I don’t know how we would have ever made it if they didn’t do that. Tons of credit to those guys for being as welcoming of us to come in as they were.”

***Pfaff has yet to confirm its full-time driver lineup although Sportscar365 understands that an announcement from Lamborghini is set to be made on Saturday, with two of the four drivers in the car for the Rolex 24 understood to be the designated season-long pilots.

***DXDT Racing has yet to determine Robert Wickens’ co-driver for the sprint portion of the GTD season according to program manager Bryan Sellers, who confirmed to Sportscar365 that the first straight-line testing of Wickens’ hand controls is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at an undisclosed Florida airfield using a Pratt Miller test car.

***Laurens Vanthoor, who is set in the No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 for Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans, hinted to Sportscar365 that he could make a one-off IMSA GT appearance later this season.

***Vanthoor, who was named Sportscar365’s 2024 Driver of the Year, is hopeful of also contesting several other GT races this year in addition to defending his WEC Hypercar title, including the possibility of the Nürburgring 24 and CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, along with a return to the FIA GT World Cup in Macau.

***Sportscar365 understands that Vasser Sullivan was set to utilize a three-driver lineup for its No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 “quite late into the day” until a shuffle after a driver prospect failed to materialize in the No. 12 car. Kyle Kirkwood is listed to drive both the team’s GTD Pro and GTD entries in the race.

***Defending GTD champion and Rolex 24 class winner Philip Ellis believes the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos could be at a disadvantage, particularly at Daytona, in the debut of the mandated torque sensors on all WeatherTech Championship GT machinery.

***Ellis said: “We have a bit of a disadvantage with the Mercedes. We were not in the WEC where they already have the system running, the other manufacturers. It’s a new learning game for us, some catch up to do. It will be very tough but I think everybody on the team have a good group of people and a good engineering team as well that will help us get there.”

***Reigning LMP2 class champion Nick Boulle is currently only confirmed for the Rolex 24 in the No. 2 United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson, but told Sportscar365 that he’s “hoping we can put together some more races” with the Anglo-American team.

***Boulle, who won the LMP2 title with Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, said it’s “highly likely” he’ll take his 24 Hours of Le Mans automatic invite to the Polish squad. “We’re getting there,” he said. “We should have an announcement pretty soon.”

***IMSA has confirmed that the top three GTP and GTD Pro cars will be impounded overnight following the conclusion of the Rolex 24, in order to conduct a “more thorough and detailed inspection in a “controlled location” beginning on Mon. Jan. 27. The sanctioning body expects to release the cars by. 3 p.m. ET later that day.

***IMSA’s end-of-year sanctioned test, which was originally scheduled to return to December for this year, has moved back up by one month and is now set to occur at Daytona on Nov. 14-16 at the request of competitors.

***A number of people in the IMSA paddock have been affected by the Los Angeles fires, including Vasser Sullivan’s Townsend Bell, who lost two houses. Bell is slate to pull double duty between the No. 14 Lexus in GTD Pro and his NBC Sports broadcasting commitments.

***The Honda family of companies donated $1 million in disaster relief funds to the American Red Cross to support the tens of thousands impacted by the wildfires. It announced a doubling of its initial $500,000 pledge on Wednesday.

***WeatherTech Championship track action kicks off at 11 a.m. ET tomorrow for a one-hour and 15-minute scheduled session, followed by two hours of testing action in the afternoon, beginning at 3 p.m.

***There will also be test sessions for Michelin Pilot Challenge and practice for this weekend’s pair of season-opening VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races, which are set for Saturday and Sunday.
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#2

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Daytona Friday Notebook

John Dagys’ notebook from first day of on track action at Roar Before Rolex 24…

by John Dagys
January 17, 2025

***IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship cars took to Daytona International Speedway on Friday for the first of two test sessions at the Roar Before the Rolex 24. Tom Blomqvist topped the time charts in the opening session in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, while Dries Vanthoor set the quickest time of the day in the second session aboard the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.

***Vanthoor said: “We are far from there, but it’s thanks to those guys back working that it’s all improving. We’ve not been stopping trying to improve the car. We have been testing a lot and trying to improve our issues, and let’s see next week if they pay off or not. I think that it will really show if all the work with it [is] for nothing or for victory maybe.”

***In addition to SunEnergy1 Racing, GetSpeed’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was also a late arrival, following flight delays from its base in Germany. The car arrived from Miami last night and completed installation laps in the opening session before setting the eighth quickest time in GTD Pro in the afternoon.

***The 75 Express-run Mercedes-AMG was the only car not to take to the track in the first session as it put the finishing touches on what is a freshly re-tubbed chassis for the Munich-based team. Maro Engel completed the car’s first laps in the afternoon. Engel recorded the tenth quickest time in GTD Pro in Session 2.

***GetSpeed, in its first U.S. race, is receiving equipment and personnel support from RealTime Racing, the same team that operated Anthony Bartone’s GT World Challenge America program in 2023. RealTime team owner Peter Cunningham and team manager Nathan Bonneau are among those on-site.

***Cunningham told Sportscar365 that he’s hopeful of putting together a GT3 program of his own in GTWC America this year although stressed that nothing has been finalized. The SRO America-run series kicks off at Sonoma Raceway in late March.

***Acura Meyer Shank Racing team co-owner Mike Shank told Sportscar365 that one of the two Acuras used in the team’s two-car 2025 GTP program is a brand new chassis from Acura, while the other has been carried over after being used by Wayne Taylor Racing last season. “One and one,” said Shank. “One’s new and one’s not.”

***Shank outlined the team’s Roar targets: “The cars are kind of what they are at this point, not a whole much more development on that, so getting all four in on each car, happy and fixed up [is the goal]. We’re still catching up, but so far, so good. We’ll see how today goes and tomorrow.”

***Conquest Racing’s Ferrari is the same chassis that Daniel Serra and Giacomo Altoe took to GTD Pro class victory in last year’s round at Road America according to team owner Eric Bacherlart, who is fielding two additional 296 GT3s this weekend in the opening rounds of VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

***Richard Westbrook, who retired from full-time racing following last year’s Motul Petit Le Mans, is on-site this weekend helping his former team JDC-Miller Motorsports.

***A decision on Albert Costa’s full season co-driver in the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari could be made by the end of the Rolex 24 according to team principal Elton Julian, who confirmed that Ferrari factory ace Davide Rigon will be the team’s third driver for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans.

***Julian indicated that it continues to evaluate Thomas Neubauer, one of Ferrari’s newest factory drivers, this weekend after the Frenchman made his team debut in last year’s season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and is also confirmed for the Rolex 24.

***DragonSpeed has leased the majority of its LMP2 equipment, including the Oreca 07 Gibson chassis it most recently raced, to Pratt Miller Motorsports for its upstart operation this year.

***IMSA plans to conduct a test of its new prototype/GT category split during the first 30 minutes of Saturday morning’s test session. Race control will announce a ten-minute window prior to the start of the exercise, which the sanctioning body has requested the participation from each team in order to “familiarize each competitor with the 2025 process.”

***The new-for-2025 process sees the separation of the prototype category from the GT category first, followed by a split of the respective classes, LMP2 and GTD from GTP and GTD Pro.

***Wayne Taylor Racing is understood to have placed at least one Hypercar entry request for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. It would join fellow IMSA Cadillac squad Action Express Racing, should both teams be granted entries to the French endurance classic by the ACO selection committee.

***Action Express race strategist Peter Baron told Sportscar365 that they already have a third driver secured to replace the Hertz Team JOTA-bound Earl Bamber should the team receive an entry for a third consecutive year. Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti are AXR’s two other drivers.

***Bamber will also miss the WeatherTech Championship round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca due to his full-time FIA World Endurance Championship commitments, with the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup pilot Vesti set to replace him for that race.

***Baron told Sportscar365: “Last year was a tough year with all the things that happened on track. We’re really done with the 2024 drama. It’s a new group of drivers and everything is just new and fresh. We’re just really excited to make it a new year and a new start.”

***IMSA’s STEM program debuted on Friday, with 30 students from two local schools: Spruce Creek High School and Atlantic High School of nearby Port Orange, Fla. running through four stations that included a session at the IMSA tech inspection area and an up-close look on how a helmet and firesuit are used and handled for drivers and crews.

***IMSA President John Doonan said: “I’m so proud that we could kick this off this year. It’s something, that I think is incredibly important for the entire sport… Now that we have, thanks to Gainbridge and Konica Minolta, the resource to do it, backed up by Everfi (custom education) and their ability to not only support us on-site, but also when the students leave and when the educators leave, then they can refer to what they experienced.”

Davey Euwema & Jonathan Grace contributed to this report
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Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
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#3

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Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
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#4

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Vanthoor Puts BMW On Top in Opening Day of Roar

Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 paces Friday’s action at Roar Before Rolex 24…

Dries Vanthoor clocked a best lap of 1:35.424 early in Friday’s two-hour session in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, he shares with KMag, Marciello and Eng to edge out the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Nick Yelloly by 0.195 seconds.

Romain Grosjean set the third quickest time in the No. 63 Lamborghini SC63, while Sheldon van der Linde and Colin Braun completed the top-five for Team RLL and MSR, respectively.

Full Report of Session 2 here:
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/vant ... y-of-roar/

Session 2 Results



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#5

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Daytona Saturday Notebook

John Dagys’ notebook from second on-track day at Roar Before Rolex 24…

by John Dagys
January 18, 2025

***Sheldon van der Linde struck an upbeat tone after BMW M Team RLL led two of three sessions on Saturday, with the South African himself setting a 1:36.196 to go fastest in Session 4. “I think the car has made a huge step forward since the WEC season and I think that alone really shows this year,” he said. “I think the team has also made steps forward from the last two years as well. We’ve got a lot of new engineers, some from Cadillac, for example, as well, which definitely helps.”

***Van der Linde declined to comment on the identity of the new engineers when asked by Sportscar365.

***IMSA practiced its new-for-2025 GTD Pro and GTD class split in the day’s first session with a simulated yellow flag scenario, followed by the category and class divisions. The new rules will divide GTD Pro and GTD cars similarly to the already existing GTP and LMP2 class divisions that occur on restarts. All 61 cars in the field were requested by IMSA to participate.

***GTD class competitor and DXDT Racing driver Alec Udell told Sportscar365: “It’s similar to what we’ve done in this series in the past. The only thing that changes now is when you’re listening to the engineer, there’s a designation between the category split and class split. Ultimately, it is probably a nice thing from a sporting side because you get to be around the cars you’re racing, and you don’t feel like you’re being picked by another car for some reason.”

***Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nico Varrone added: “It was really smooth. I think everyone understands the process already from the one before so it was really easy to do. Hopefully, for the fans, it will bring more excitement and more close racing between classes, which I think will be better. It was really smooth and really clear for everyone.”

***Porsche Penske Motorsport replaced the battery and MGU on its No. 7 Porsche 963 following yesterday’s ‘red alarm’ that forced Felipe Nasr to abandon the car on the backstretch during the second session. The car returned to action without any reported issues on Saturday morning.

***It’s been revealed that two other 963s also encountered high voltage-related issues on Friday. The No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche changed its battery in the morning, missing most of the first session, while the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports lost time in the afternoon session with an undisclosed HV problem.

***Joey Hand has been reunited with his 1999 Star Mazda series championship-winning car chief Kyle Hall, who serves as crew chief on the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3.

***Hand, who remains a factory Ford Performance driver, told Sportscar365 that he’s currently confirmed at Gradient for the five Michelin Endurance Cup races only. “We haven’t talked about it but for now it’s the ones we have three drivers,” he said.

***Fellow Ford ace Harry Tincknell, meanwhile, indicated that the Rolex 24 could be his only WeatherTech Championship outing this year, with the Multimatic-contracted driver set to focus on his FIA World Endurance Championship duties with Heart of Racing Team’s Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH in the Hypercar class.

***Tincknell told Sportscar365: “I would say right now there are no plans for any more, but I am super happy to be back. I was sad not to be doing the long races here, so when the call came to do Daytona I was really excited. The primary focus will be on WEC.”

***While yet to be announced, Sportscar365 believes that Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis will be the season-long co-drivers in Heart of Racing’s solo Valkyrie GTP entry in the WeatherTech Championship, which is slated to debut in the next round at Sebring.

***Four-time IMSA champion Dane Cameron said he’s felt a huge weight off his shoulders returning to Daytona International Speedway after winning his first Rolex 24, with Porsche Penske Motorsport. The 36-year-old is with AO Racing in the LMP2 ranks this year.

***Cameron said: “It’s nice go to back to Daytona with the weight off the shoulders, for sure. That was always tough to go there every year with a lot of expectation and pressure from myself to try and get that one done. It’s nice to go there without that for once!”

***Era Motorsport’s Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2 car has been coined the ‘programmers’ car, with Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson joined by colleague Tobias Lutke, the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, who uses Heinemeier Hansson’s platform to power the popular e-commerce company.

***DHH told Sportscar365: “Tobi built Shopify on Rails by himself in the early days and was even on the Rails core team, and has been an amazing supporter of Ruby on Rails ever since. I’ve known him for 20 years and then he just started getting into racing a few years ago, first doing iRacing, and doing some club stuff and Radicals, moving onto LMP3s.”

***It’s understood that Lutke, the team’s designated Bronze-rated driver, will be in for all of LMP2 races this season except Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where he has a clashing business commitment. Lutke has outlined his ambition of taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future.

***With his first outing as a factory driver for BMW, Kevin Magnussen follows in the footsteps of his father Jan in representing the Bavarian brand on an international stage. Although the elder Magnussen is largely known for his lengthy and successful tenure with Corvette Racing, he joined BMW for the FIA World Touring Car Championship round at Macau in 2006.

***AO Racing is “investigating options” to have ‘Rexy’ on the GTD grid in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach according to team principal Gunnar Jeannette. The first sprint round of the WeatherTech Championship season will again not feature the GTD Pro class, leaving the option open for the team to potentially enter its Porsche 911 GT3 R for the 100-minute race.

***Sportscar365 understands that Laurens Vanthoor could be in contention for the ride, alongside Bronze-rated team owner PJ Hyett.

***Van der Steur Racing, which is making its GTD class debut as part of a Michelin Endurance Cup effort this year, has purchased both of Elias Sabo’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVOs that ran in SRO America competition in 2024. The Flying Lizard Motorsports driver made the mid-season switch to BMW machinery.

***The team is receiving support from Prodrive this weekend.

***While Luis Perez Companc is set to pilot an Oreca in this year’s Rolex 24, his son Matias is making his GT3 debut aboard an AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. He steps up after competing in Ferrari Challenge North America last year.

***The chassis in use for Trackhouse by TF Sport’s GTD Pro entry is the same car that will contest the European Le Mans Series later this year, team principal Tom Ferrier told Sportscar365. The two WEC cars, meanwhile, are currently in Dubai, where the team will conduct a shakedown test in the days immediately following the Daytona race.

***United Autosports’ pair of Orecas are both carrying a tribute decal to commemorate Ian Barnwell. The logistics specialist passed away in December after a short illness.
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#6

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Daytona Sunday Notebook

Sportscar365’s final notebook from Roar Before Rolex 24 as testing wraps up…

by John Dagys
January 19, 2025


***Heavy rains and lightning in the area delayed the start of the third and final day of on-track action at the Roar Before the Rolex 24, with the final all-class IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship session having been delayed from 9:45 to 12 p.m. ET.

***Neel Jani set the quickest time in the final session of the Roar for all drivers, leading a 1-2 for customer Porsche 963s after the pair of Penske Porsches sat out the rain-soaked session. An abbreviated 83-minute session for Bronze-rated drivers only completed the on-track action for the series later in the afternoon following the delayed start to the second VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race due to track conditions.

***Jani said: “For us we decided to drive because we had not yet had any experience in Daytona in the wet with the car. Definitely, just trying it out, seeing how the tire and pressures develop, especially on the banking, gathering data… Next week it looks like on qualifying day it could be wet. This way we have a bit of experience.”

***Click Here for the combined results from the three-day test, which was led by BMW M Team RLL’s Dries Vanthoor, whose pace-setting time was set on Friday.

***DXDT Racing has added a third Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to its existing fleet for its WeatherTech Championship program according to team manager Bryan Sellers. The chassis that is contesting the Rolex 24 with Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood and Pipo Derani will also be pressed into the service for the sprint races, driven by Robert Wickens and a yet-to-be-confirmed co-driver.

***Tatiana Calderon said Gradient Racing’s switch from Acura to Ford presents the team with “a world of opportunity” after it ran up against the “maximum” it could extract from the NSX GT3 Evo22 due to the previous car’s older age. “In the Acura, you knew what works,” Calderon told Sportscar365. “You go through that window and it’s like the maximum, really. You’re there or thereabouts. Here, there’s a world of opportunity of how much we can we lean on this.”

***Mattia Drudi’s WeatherTech Championship debut, racing as part of Heart of Racing Team’s GTD lineup, will carry personal significance for the 26-year-old, as it follows 25 years after a Daytona class win for his father. Luca Drudi triumphed as part of the lineup for Haberthur Racing, sharing a Porsche 996 GT3-R with Gabrio Rosa, Fabio Rosa and Fabio Babini in the GTU class.

***Kelvin van der Linde, who makes his debut as a BMW factory driver at Daytona with Paul Miller Racing, revealed that he had been under consideration for an earlier first outing in the Michelin 24H Dubai. “We worked on Dubai potentially maybe to go do that race, but it was pretty last minute,” van der Linde told Sportscar365. “So we said, let’s go to the Roar.”

***The South African hinted a reunion with younger brother Sheldon is on the cards, with him saying they are set to share a car “sooner rather than later.” The two van der Lindes made a number of high-profile shared starts in their Audi days, including an overall podium at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in 2018.

***New Acura Meyer Shank Racing signing Nick Yelloly left the door open to appearances in GT3 racing this season, despite Acura currently having no more presence in GT3 racing after the NSX GT3 Evo22 was effectively phased out.

***Yelloly told Sportscar365: “If there’s chances to race a GT car, I’m actually allowed to go and race a different GT car. And I would, so there isn’t any issues with that. I know 24H Spa is free this year in terms of calendar. If there’s a seat going for 24H Spa at some point, then I’d jump in it. No problem.”

***Ben Keating labeled his Rolex 24 outing with Trackhouse by TF Sport as “extremely useful” as he prepares to rejoin the Tom Ferrier-run operation in the FIA World Endurance Championship. “It’s seat time,” Keating told Sportscar365. “It’s the exact same car. It’s not the same tire, but it’s the same car, and it’s extremely useful. The WEC team is doing some testing before the season opener in Qatar, and I won’t be there, so this is my testing. I have other day job commitments but I have to tend to.”

***The 2025 WeatherTech Championship season marks the 14th consecutive year of the GM-Action Express Racing prototype affiliation. Whelen Engineering recently extended its primary sponsorship with Action Express Racing through 2027, which will mark ten years of the partnership.

***While Magnus Racing is officially hitting “pause” on its program following the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Sportscar365 understands that the team could still return for selected WeatherTech Championship races later this season, once team owner/driver John Potter’s increased business commitments settle down.

***IMSA has no plans to introduce torque sensors in the new-for-2025 GTDX class in VP Racing SportsCar Challenge in the future according to the sanctioning body’s technical director Matt Kurdock, who confirmed the GT3-spec cars will continue to be regulated by air restrictors or boost pressure levels.

***Kurdock told Sportscar365: “For the foreseeable future, we will continue [the current configuration]. That does involve having to dyno test engines when models are introduced. We’re clearly very sensitive to costs, especially in the support series.”

***On-track action will resume on Wednesday with Michelin Pilot Challenge and Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup practice, while practice, as well as qualifying, is on tap for the Rolex 24 on Thursday. Peacock and IMSA.tv will carry live coverage of qualifying on Thursday beginning at 2:05 p.m. ET.

***The new-look IMSA Radio team is expected to be announced in the coming days. Brian Till was joined by Ryan Myrehn for coverage of the season-opening VP Racing Challenge races this weekend.
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#7

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

2025 Rolex 24 Roar Night Test Session

Teams from the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship preparing for the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.


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#8

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

For those of us downunder what Aussie drivers are running at Daytona 24 this year?
[Token Aussies (ie Kiwis) included]


Short Answer: Six drivers apiece from Australia and New Zealand across all four classes.

Tell me more version.

First the Australians.


GTP Class Australia’s efforts will be headlined by Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Matt Campbell, who will join Mathieu Jaminet and Kevin Estre in a Porsche 963. Matt will be in the #7. Matt returns to Daytona as last year’s champion, having won the title with Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden.

More representation in LMP2..... United Autosport will field two drivers from Down Under. The #2 car will be led by last year’s IMSA SportsCar Championship champion Nick Boulle, Daytona 24 winner Ben Hanley, and two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Oliver Jarvis, and Aussie boy Garnet Patterson.

In the other UA entered #22 car Aussie James Allen will share that with ex F1 Paul Di Resta as well as IMSA podium finishers Daniel Goldburg and Rasmum Lindh.

Josh Burdon returns to the Riley fold in the #74 with also ex F1 Felipe Massa, Felipe Fraga, and Gar Robinson.

GTD Pro.... Kenny Habul will return to the GTD Pro ranks with a stacked line-up in his #75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 that he will share with Mikael Grenier, Jules Gounon, and Maro Engel.

In GTD, Scott Andrews returns to Lone Star Racing with Dan Knox, Eric Filgueiras, and Ralf Aron.
Tom Sargent makes his Daytona 24 debut with Wright Motorsports in its Porsche 911 GT3 R. That car will be co-driven by Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, and Porsche factory star Ayhancan Guven.



Thats it for the Aussies.... the Token Aussies (Kiwis) have a better GTP showing :sorrow: :sick:


GTP..... Earl Bamber joins the factory Cadillac team with ex-F 1 driver Jack Aitken, Frederik Vesti, and Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich in the #31 car.

Brendon Hartley will join Wayne Taylor Racing in another Cadillac alongside Filipe Albuquerque, another ex-Formula 1 driver Will Stevens, and Ricky Taylor in the #10 car.

One time Cadillac driver Scott Dixon joins Meyer Shank Racing in one of its Acura prototypes alongside Colin Braun, Felix Rosenqvist, and Tom Blomqvist in the #60 ARX-06.

In the LMP2 ranks...... After a standout season with TDR Racing, Hunter McElrea returns alongside Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen, and Charles Milesi in the #11

In GTD Pro, Probably the most publicised entry of all locally......Former adversaries (but now mates), the two now US domiciled Supercars champions Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen will join each other in the TF Sport-run Trackhouse entry. They will share the #91 Corvette Z06 GT3.R with endurance racing stalwart Ben Keating and rising NASCAR star Connor Zilisch. This one....

Image
The #91 Corvette that SVG and Scotty Mac will be sharing....

Of course that is just a small part of the full field.....

.FULL DAYTONA 24 hr ENTRY LIST

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#9

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Spotters Guide Update.

Official IMSA Spotters guide from Andy Blackmore (yes he is still doing IMSA SG's) will be available tonight US time, soTuesday for many of us.

So says this Tweet from AB.

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#10

Post by erwin greven »

Daytona Wednesday Notebook

John Dagys’ first notebook from race week at the Rolex 24 at Daytona…

by John Dagys
January 22, 2025

Image
Photo: Jurgen Tap/Porsche

***All 61 cars taking part in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona were assembled for a group photo on Wednesday morning, in what was a cold and rain-soaked day at Daytona International Speedway that saw IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams put the final touches on their cars ahead of tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions.

***A fire broke out in a building adjacent to the fuel station in the WeatherTech Championship paddock on Wednesday afternoon, prompting multiple trucks from the Daytona Beach, Fla. fire department to help put out the blaze. Michelin Pilot Challenge practice was briefly halted as a result of the fire.

***A statement from Daytona International Speedway read: “There was a structure fire located in the Yellow Garage area of Daytona International Speedway on [Wednesday] afternoon. There were no injuries and on-track activity resumed after a very brief delay. Thanks to the quick work of the Daytona Beach Fire Department and Daytona International Speedway Emergency Services team, the fire was quickly contained and extinguished. The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.”

***One Cadillac driver downplayed the Balance of Performance adjustments given to the Cadillac V-Series.R on Wednesday ahead of the start of official on-track activity, stating the car still holds a power disadvantage, especially at the first stage, which is still 20 kW (27 horsepower) less than the rest of the GTP field, which is all now at the maximum power output of 520 kW (697 hp). The Cadillac is also the heaviest GTP car, at 1060 kg.

***John Farano and Tower Motorsports are ready for the start of official on-track action tomorrow after an accident following the checkered flag in last weekend’s seventh and final test session at the Roar. Farano walked away from the incident, with only minor damage sustained to the car per a team spokesperson.

***Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle said the lap times from the Roar were “not so conclusive” which saw Gianmaria Bruni end up as the quickest in Porsche 963 machinery with the sixth best time of the weekend in the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports entry.

***Kuratle said: “We feel like we’re in very good shape and we are well prepared for the race weekend. We’re in the final stages of preparation of the cars. We’re looking forward for the race weekend to start because there’s been a lot of preparation to the race weekend.”

***The hybrid system failure on the No. 7 Penske Porsche on Friday was “something new to us” according to Kuratle. “The hybrid partners are still investigating the problem,” he said. “It’s nothing to be afraid of for the race weekend. We could isolate the problem but the exact root cause has not been defined.”

***Kuratle added that both Proton Competition and JDC-Miller’s high voltage-related issues were unrelated to that from the No. 7 car, which returned to action for the remainder of the event with a fresh hybrid powertrain.

***Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid confirmed that Julien Andlauer is effectively the team’s reserve driver this weekend if “the sky started falling.” He indicated Penske has the authority to pull the Frenchman from Proton’s lineup should they have the need.

***The two Penske Porsches, along with the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, are the only GTP entries with three-driver lineups.

***Diuguid said the off-season updates to the 963, which resulted in the German manufacturer taking its second Evo joker, should help the Multimatic-chassied car in changing conditions.

***He said: “In November we got the first exposure to them at Daytona. Everything worked as expected. It’s really about opening the operational window of the car for a variety of temperature ranges and things like that and track conditions. We’re really looking forward to the 24-hour race and seeing what we experience.”

***Sportscar365 understands that GTP teams will likely again have the option to run Michelin’s Soft tire compound during periods of the race, although a bulletin confirming the specific timeframe and allowance has yet to be communicated. Softs will be allowed during Thursday’s night practice and were permitted throughout the Roar running.

***Mercedes-AMG teams spent the downtime further refining their new torque sensor setup, which made gains on Saturday and Sunday of the Roar after the German manufacturer produced a firmware update to fix a communication issue between the Mercedes-AMG and IMSA-controlled ECUs.

***SunEnergy1 Racing’s Kenny Habul said: “Thanks to Mercedes-AMG, we made a big step Sunday. The car felt more like what we’re used to. Still a lot of work to do, but the car was pretty much in the window for me and was fun in the wet. We still have a lot to do just to figure out the power and spiking and different things, but we’ve come a long way from [earlier in the weekend] so I’m happy.”

***NASCAR Cup Series star Austin Cindric revealed that he watched the entire IMSA season from afar last year and had been looking at ways to enter the Rolex 24 prior to his last-minute call-up to replace the injured Ben Barker in the No. 64 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3.

***Cindric told Sportscar365: “I’ve definitely been bugging the Ford guys ever since they came out with a GT3 car, and in a lot of ways [ I was ] really happy when they decided to go racing in the GT category, but at the same time, personally, it also significantly limited any of my opportunities to do this race because as a Ford driver, I’m not going to race against racing against Fords.”

***Pilot Challenge team Precision Racing LA has partnered with the Salvation Army Los Angeles Chapter to aid those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. A dedicated donation website has been established for the Eaton Canyon Fire Fund, with team members, fans and supported encouraged to contribute.

***IMSA Radio’s lineup for this year has gone through a change in the booth and pit lane, with Ryan Myrehn joining John Hindhaugh for the season. Jonny Palmer and Peter Mackay will complete the booth rotation for the Rolex 24, with Joe Bradley, Nick Daman and Jamie Howe on pit lane for the season opener.

***Jeremy Shaw is no longer part of IMSA Radio while Shea Adam will continue with coverage of Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup only.

***Robert Wickens, formerly of BHA Hyundai, who will step up to the WeatherTech Championship sprint races with DXDT Racing, will join Hindhaugh and Myrehn in the IMSA Radio booth for Friday’s BMW M Endurance Challenge Pilot Challenge season opener.

***Pratt Miller Motorsports will again offer an ‘alternative broadcast’ on its YouTube page for fans to follow the action. The stream will begin approximately 10 minutes before the green flag for all WeatherTech Championship races featuring the team’s GTD Pro Corvettes and its new-for-2025 LMP2 entry.

***The IMSA Twenty-Four Premier at One Daytona, a free-of-charge fan-filled preview event to the Rolex 24, is set for this evening from 5:30-8 p.m., located directly across the street from the speedway, and will feature selected race cars competing this weekend, driver autograph sessions, pit stop demonstrations and more.
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/dayt ... tebook-17/
Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
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#11

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

. SPOTTER GUIDE


IMSA.TV official DAYTONA 24 Hrs International Live Stream (wont work in the US)

Starts 13:30 US Eastern Time / 18:30 GMT


Edit: LIVE NOW



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#12

Post by Everso Biggyballies »


* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
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#13

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

New Stream link for 'part 2'. LIVE NOW


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#14

Post by erwin greven »

Geoblocked in the NL. We watch the race on Ziggo Sport Racing. Not bad either. Koen Bakker and Olav Mol did commentary. And a few night hours we have the US commentary.
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#15

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

erwin greven wrote: 2 weeks ago Geoblocked in the NL. We watch the race on Ziggo Sport Racing. Not bad either. Koen Bakker and Olav Mol did commentary. And a few night hours we have the US commentary.
Really. I thought IMSA were pretty good on the geoblock thing. I have Hindy and the Muricans on comm.

Is IMSA.TV also geoblocked. That says its International and just not for US residents.

If you want to try it it on https://www.imsa.com/tvlive/

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“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
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