It's a new era, in IMSA racing. This is the final year, of the current Daytona Prototype regulations, before the new DPi (Daytona Prototype, International) regs, come into play, next year, along with new LMP2 cars. The GT Daytona class, has also gone to full on European GT3 spec cars. You want numerology, you've got it, fans. 54 cars, will start, the 54th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the 24 Hour odyssey, begins, now.
We aspire to be better, in a new year. For racing drivers, that is no different. Daytona International Speedway,has been re-imagined, into the world's first motorsports stadium. An array of stars have come, to race sports cars, for 24 hours. This is the ultimate test. Those who have met the challenge, are legends. This is one of the world's greatest races. Who will win the Rolex watch, this year? We'll find out together... next!
They come from every disipline of racing, like sports cars, Indycars, NASCAR, and others. 215 drivers, in 54 cars, for 24 hours. $400 million has been put into renovating Daytona International Speedway. Watch thenew Ford GT's, and the new GT Daytona GT3 spec cars. WeatherTech is now the series' title sponsor. Cool January breezes blow, as we prepare, for this legendary race. You never know what will happen.
SMP Racing, has pole, with Patron ESM. Rubens Barrichello will be a part of Wayne Taylor Racing. Ganassi Racing has their Prototype duo at the top of the grid. There's a theme of change and uncertainty. There are lots of unknowns with the weather, because of rain earlier. Nissan, Mazda, and Honda, will be the major players here. The wild card, is the Deltawing. The Deltawing, was fastest in class.
In GT Le Mans, Porsche and Corvette are the tried and true cars. Ferrari has their new Ford GT, the new BMW M6 GT, and the new Ferrari 488 GTE. The new GT Daytona cars, are all GT3 spec. Look at the Lamborghini. That is one of the new cars. People are going for records, including Scott Pruett. The polesitting car, is the new, #37 SMP Racing BR01 Nissan, shared by Russian drivers Mikhail Aleshin, and Kiril Ladygin, along with Italian Maurizio Mediani, and French veteran, Nicolas Minassian.
Our Grand Marshal, is nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Tom Kristensen. The engines, have fired. 54 race cars, come to life, to race the Rolex 24. 26,000-27,000 gear shifts, throughout this race. We are ready, to get this show, underway, ladies and gentlemen. The field is on their second pace lap. Find a new rhythm, with the new cars. Deal with the unknown. Focus, for 24 hours, and you always need luck at a 24 hour race.
We're ready for a start. Mikhail Aleshin is alongside Pepe Derani. Two rookies. Here we go. Go! We are green at Daytona! Aleshin stays low, and Dane Cameron moves back. Pepe Derani takes the race lead and here comes Ozz Negri in the Ligier Honda. The GTLM field gets a race start along with the GT Daytona cars. John Edwards in the #100 BMW M6 leads the way. The Ganassi Riley Ford's are going for it, and we watch both of the Ganassi cars going for it. Scott Dixon, vs. two-time Le Mans winner, Alex Wurz.
Dane Cameron is drafting Alex Wurz. #31 got faster and faster, winning races, last year. Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki are 1-2 in GT Le Mans with the factory Porsche's. BMW runs third and fourth with the new M6 cars. The Ford GT's are also going for it. An SMP Ferrari 488 GTE is also in contention. Joey Hand, and Ryan Briscoe, start the two Ford GT's. Gianmaria Bruni drives the Ferrari. We watch Ricky Taylor going after Mikhail Aleshin.
Conditions were like a monsoon, during qualifying. Ricky Taylor, is second, in the Wayne Taylor Racing Chevrolet Corvette Prototype, car #10. The P2 spec cars, have more downforce. In GT Daytona, the two Riley Technologies SRT Viper's are going for it. Damien Faulkner, and Jeroean Bleekemolen, are going for it. The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 is leading GTD, with Marc Basseng, at the wheel.
Great to have Franz Konrad's teams, back in the U.S. We see Porsche's also coming to the fore. Frikadelli Racing has Sven Muller at the wheel. Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler, are back this year, in a Lamborghini. Richard Antinucci, and Edoardo Piscopo, share the car, and won the Lamborghinio Super Trofeo series, last year. This is O'Gara Motorsports. Pepe Derani still leads, while Oswaldo Negri Jr., is chasing him. The LMP2 spec cars, are into the 1:41 range. The LMP2's are quicker, this time, than the Daytona Prototype spec cars.
Ozz Negri moves into traffic, and tries the inside. Derani shuts the door. These two cars, are Honda powered, with new engines. 3.5 liter V6's this year, compared to 2.8 liter engines last year. Six laps have been completed. Follow the race on TV on Fox Sports 1 & 2, and timing and scoring, on scoring.imsa.com. Nick Tandy leads GTLM over team mate Fred Makowiecki. On the move, is Joey Hand in the #66 Ford GT. Corvette, BMW, and Ford. Cover these boys, with a blanket.
The test, three weeks ago, does not show the true hands of the drivers, teams, and cars. Now, we see a real race. In GTLM, there is a trick new Bosch scrutineer log system. Toni Vilander is feeling the heat, and so is Ryan Briscoe over Jan Magnussen. These blokes were team mates last year, but, now, they are competitors. Ooh! Problem with the Ford for Ryan Briscoe! The cars has been really reliable. Did he lose a lower gear in the transmission? Oooh. Jan Magnussen expects Briscoe to get up to speed. But, that was a close call!
Because the car is so reliable in testing, if something goes wrong, how do you fix it? Pit this lap. Has the rest button been pushed? Luis Felipe Derani is still leading. His nickname, is "Pipo". Ford GT, is in the lane, chaps. The car is stuck in sixth gear. The last thing you want, is electrical issues, in a 24 hour race. This is the #67 car. This is luck, pure and simple. The Deltawing, is flying, with Katherine Legge at the wheel. They chose not to qualify and started last in Prototype. But, she is running consistent laps at 1:39 and change, just like the Honda powered cars.
It does everyything that stays on the tin, and that describes, the Deltawing, passing one of the GTD Viper's. The #90 and #55 cars have changed things, and the sister Mazda with a petrol engine, has oil pressure problems, with Tom Long, at the wheel. He got off the corner, and lost traction, and the motor, almost collecting Joao Barbosa. Ah. The transmission has packed up on the Mazda #70. Oil pressure, in the gearbox. We are 20 minutes into the race, and under our first full course yellow.
No pit stops yet. Stephen Simpson, leads Prototype Challenge now. Oliver Gavin is third in GT Le Mans, as both Riley Ford EcoBoost Prototype's are pitting. Prototype Challenge, sees Stephen Simpson, leadin in class, in the #85 car he shares with Chris Miller, Mikhail Goikhberg, and Kenton Koch. Pits have opened now, for GT cars. #911 and #912 are both in the pits and so is the #63 Ferrari 488 GTE. These are somefast, busy stops. Major issues for the #67 Ford GT. Someone had a wheel come off.
It was from the #100 BMW M6 GT. The driver could have clipped the tire as a Lamborghini goes back on track. Are these blokes throwing caution to the wind? It could be. #67 is in the garage, while Joey Hand in the #66 is going well. Pepe Derani still leads. Once he gets a wave around, he's going to be able to go ahead and go for it. He is lighter, and if the tires are in good shape, he's going to fly. Here we go. We're back to green!
Prototypes are bearing down on Ricky Taylor, and Katherine Legge is pushing hard! Jordan Taylor is not feeling well. How much driving will he do? Car #85 of JDC Miller Racing, might have a problem, with Stephen Simpson at the controls. Tom Kimber-Smith, and Johnny Mowlem, are right behind. Mowlem scored pole in Prototype Challenge. Oswaldo Negri Jr. is now second. Two LMP2 spec cars, are ahead of the Daytona Prototype spec cars. Nick Tandy vs. Joey Hand, in the GT Le Mans class.
The #72 SMP Ferrari 488 GTE has Gianmaria Bruni at the controls. Bruni, is a monster of a driver, and can go for it. Hand and Bruni, have some bad blood, going back to the 2012 Sebring 12 Hours in the old American le Mans Series days. Joey Hand is pushing Tandy. Jan Magnussen is also in this fight. Porsche, Ford, Ferrari, Corvette. Awesome! Hand pops out high, and he leads GT Le Mans! They go by the GT Daytona Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3. Frederic Makowiecki is also getting on with it.
The driver lineups in these cars, are amazing. It's a dozen cars, in GTLM, that can win. The rules package is working great. Get into a rhythm. The GT Daytona cars, have ABS. So, they can brake super late into the braking zones. The aerodynamics are also much better. The GT classes this year, blokes, are spot on. Hand gets boxed in, and Tandy goes back to the front. Tandy goes outside the #007 Aston Martin. No dice. Tandy is back in the GTLM lead. It's cooking right now, folks.
We continue to watch Pepe Dernai, who has yet to pit. Now, Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Katherine Legge, are tussling with each other, and that Deltawing, is flying! It has less downforce, but cuts through th field like a hot knife through butter. Legge, is booking it, because of the low downforce on the front. Gianmaria Brunni, Joey Hand, and Jan Magnussen, are all going for it. Magnussen realizes discretion is the better part of valor. Joey Hand has to check up! Amazing.
Multi-class sports car racing, is high speed chess. Oliver Gavin tries Jan Magnussen, and is going for it. In GT Le Mans, everyone said the competition would be hot, and it is. Townsend Bell passes his fellow Lamborghini Huracan driven by Marc Basseng. Giammaria Bruni, is pushing. Toni Vilander, the Flying Finn, will be a full-time driver for Risi Competizione. The #67 Ford GT had an issue with the gar shifting mechanism, in the transmission. But, they'll be back out soon, for an extended test session.
Knowledge is golden. Toni Vilander sweeps inside Fred Makowiecki. #67 is back on track now, and, into the pit lane, is Pepe Derani. Fuel and tires only, for Derani. Refuel and change tires at the same time. This is not allowed in Europe. Meanwhile, Katherine Legge and the Deltawing, are leading! Mazda is trying to sort out teething issues with their new petrol powered cars. #70 is in the pits right now, while #55 is on track. #55 is shared by Jonathan Bomarito, Tristan Nunez, and Spencer Pigot. This day, 96 years ago, is when Mazda came into existence, back in 1920.
Dane Cameron and Scott Dixon are hounding each other. Dix tries, but Dane Cameron is fending him off. It's GM vs. Ford, as we also have Ricky Taylor and Joao Barbosa, running well. Scott Dixon is one of the world's best drivers, and Dane Cameron, is a future superstar. Joao Barbosa is no slouch either. Scott Pruett, is now, in the Action Express car. Pruett is not with CGR. But, he is with a top notch team that has won the Rolex 24 a couple times before. The #100 BMW M6 GT was held in pit lane, but is back in the race.
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