57th Rolex 24 At Daytona – Entry List Notebook

By IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s finally here.

Ten days from now, on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET, the green flag will fly over a 47-car field in the 57th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It marks both the start of the IMSA 50th Anniversary Celebration and the beginning of an exciting new era for the sanctioning body and its flagship IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The field will include 47 cars spread across four classes of competition: Daytona Prototype international (DPi) – for factory-supported prototype sports cars, teams and drivers; Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) – a prototype class for Pro-Am driver lineups; GT Le Mans (GTLM) – the most competitive form of GT racing in the world with factory teams, drivers and race cars; and GT Daytona (GTD) – ultra-fast GT cars built to international GT3 technical specifications fielded by professional teams with Pro-Am driver lineups.

In those cars will be many of the world’s best sports car racers whose names have been etched on everything from the Bishop-France Trophy to the back of Rolex 24 At Daytona winners’ watches, and in record books from Le Mans to Sebring. Joining them will be Formula 1 World Champions, NASCAR race winners, Indy 500 winners, champions from various other forms of motorsport, and uber-successful business people.

It will be the first WeatherTech Championship race with the entire field riding on new Michelin tires as part of a new multi-year partnership between IMSA and the global tire brand, which also includes exclusive-supplier status for what now is known as the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge. It also kicks off the four-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, encompassing the four endurance races on the WeatherTech Championship schedule.

Live race coverage will be provided for the first time by NBC Sports, which kicks off its multi-year partnership with 18 hours of coverage on NBCSN starting at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 26 and seven more live hours on the NBC Sports App. IMSA Radio continues its longtime coverage throughout race week on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.

Here’s a closer look at the 47-car field on the entry list released today.

· There are a total of 11 DPi cars, four LMP2 entries, nine GTLM entries and 23 entered in GTD. The field includes cars from 13 different manufacturers led by Cadillac (6 DPi) and Porsche (2 GTLM and 4 GTD) with six entries each. Lamborghini has five GTD entries, Acura (2 DPi, 2 GTD) and Ferrari (1 GTLM, 3 GTD) and Audi (4 GTD) have four entries each, with three BMWs (2 GTLM, 1 GTD) and two each from Mazda (2 DPi), Chevrolet (2 GTLM), Ford (2 GTLM), Lexus (2 GTD) and Mercedes-AMG (2 GTD). Nissan has one DPi entry.

· No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 driver Andy Lally has the most Rolex 24 At Daytona wins of any driver in the field with five (all class wins – SRPII 2001; GT – 2009, 2011, 2012; GTD – 2016). He is tied for second on the all-time Daytona winners list with three other drivers: Peter Gregg, Hurley Haywood and Bob Wollek. Scott Pruett, the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona grand marshal, is the winningest driver in the Rolex 24 with 10 class victories.

· Three drivers come into this year’s Rolex 24 with three career overall victories in the race: No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Joao Barbosa (2010, 2014, 2018) and Christian Fittipaldi (2004, 2014, 2018) and No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi driver Juan Pablo Montoya (2007, 2008, 2013). As participants in the DPi class, all three have an opportunity to pick up their fourth and move to within one of the record of five overall wins shared by Pruett and Haywood.

· There are a total of 51 previous Rolex 24 winners on the entry list. Twenty-seven of the 47 cars have at least one former winner in its driver lineup, including 10 of the 11 DPi entries. Only the No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R does not have a previous winner among co-drivers Will Owen, Rene Binder, Agustin Canapino and Kyle Kaiser. Owen is the team’s only driver with a previous Rolex 24 start, which came in 2018.

· Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has the most Rolex 24 wins in the field with eight, including each of the past two years in the GTLM class. The team’s other six – all overall victories – came in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2015. There are a total of 14 teams in the field with at least one Rolex 24 victory.

· Porsche is far and away the winningest manufacturer in Rolex 24 history, with a total of 69 victories (22 overall, 47 class) since the race’s inception in 1962. Mazda is second on the list with 22 victories, all of them class victories. A Mazda overall victory in 2019 would be the manufacturer’s first overall win in the race.

· The 2019 Rolex 24 field includes 40 drivers with one or more top-level IMSA championships, 33 drivers with at least one victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, five IndyCar/Champ Car Champions, four Indianapolis 500 winners, three drivers with Formula 1 Grand Prix race victories, two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winners and one Formula 1 World Champion.

Previous Rolex 24 At Daytona Winners in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (51)
Andy Lally (5) – SRPII – 2001; GT – 2009, 2011, 2012; GTD – 2016
Joao Barbosa (4) – P/Overall – 2018, 2014; DP/Overall – 2010; GTS – 2003
Christian Fittipaldi (3) – P/Overall – 2018, 2014; DP/Overall – 2004
Scott Dixon (3) – DP/Overall – 2006; P/Overall – 2015; GTLM – 2018
Juan Pablo Montoya (3) – DP/Overall – 2007, 2008, 2013
Bill Auberlen (2) – GTS-3 – 1997; GT3 – 1998
Dirk Mueller (2) – GT1 – 1998; GTLM – 2017
Timo Bernhard (2) – GT/Overall – 2003; GT – 2002
Dominik Farnbacher (2) – GT – 2005; GTD – 2015
Spencer Pumpelly (2) – GT – 2006, 2011
Antonio Garcia (2) – DP/Overall – 2009; GTLM – 2015
Joey Hand (2) – DP/Overall – 2011; GTLM – 2017
Filipe Albuquerque (2) – P/Overall – 2018; GT – 2013
Rene Rast (2) – GT – 2012; GTD – 2016
John Potter (2) – GT – 2012; GTD – 2016
Sebastien Bourdais (2) – P/Overall – 2014; GTLM – 2017
Ryan Briscoe (2) – GTLM – 2015, 2018
Fabio Babini (1) – GTU – 2000
Patrick Long (1) – GT – 2009
Justin Marks (1) – GT – 2009
Mike Rockenfeller (1) – DP/Overall – 2010
Ryan Dalziel (1) – DP/Overall – 2010
Jonathan Bomarito (1) – GT – 2010
AJ Allmendinger (1) – DP/Overall – 2012
Oliver Jarvis (1) – GT – 2013
Jon Bennett (1) – PC – 2014
Colin Braun (1) – PC – 2014
Patrick Pilet (1) – GTLM – 2014
Nick Tandy (1) – GTLM – 2014
Alessandro Pier Guidi (1) – GTD – 2014
Townsend Bell (1) – GTD – 2014
Jeff Segal (1) – GTD – 2014
Jan Magnussen (1) – GTLM – 2015
Ben Keating (1) – GTD – 2015
Pipo Derani (1) – P/Overall – 2016
Stephen Simpson (1) – PC – 2016
Chris Miller (1) – PC – 2016
Misha Goikhberg (1) – PC – 2016
Oliver Gavin (1) – GTLM – 2016
Tommy Milner (1) – GTLM – 2016
Marcel Fassler (1) – GTLM – 2016
Marco Seefried (1) – GTD – 2016
Ricky Taylor (1) – P/Overall – 2017
Jordan Taylor (1) – P/Overall – 2017
Kyle Masson (1) – PC – 2017
Nicholas Boulle (1) – PC – 2017
Daniel Morad (1) – GTD – 2017
Richard Westbrook (1) – GTLM – 2018
Rolf Ineichen (1) – GTD – 2018
Mirko Bortolotti (1) – GTD – 2018
Rik Breukers (1) – GTD – 2018

IMSA Champions in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (40)
Oliver Gavin (7) – American Le Mans Series GT1 – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; American Le Mans Series GT – 2012; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2016; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2016

Joao Barbosa (6) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Christian Fittipaldi (6) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Jan Magnussen (5) – American Le Mans Series GT1 – 2008; American Le Mans Series GT – 2013; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2015; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2017, 2018

Andy Lally (4) – GRAND-AM SRPII – 2001; GRAND-AM SGS – 2004; GRAND-AM GT – 2006; GRAND-AM North American Endurance Cup GT – 2012

Patrick Long (4) – American Le Mans Series GT2 – 2005, 2009; American Le Mans Series GT – 2010; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2014

Jeroen Bleekemolen (4) – American Le Mans Series GTC – 2010, 2013; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2017, 2018

Antonio Garcia (4) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2013; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2015; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2017, 2018

Bill Auberlen (3) – IMSA GTS-3 – 1997; GRAND-AM GT – 2002, 2004

Dirk Mueller (3) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2000, 2011; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2018

Timo Bernhard (3) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2004; American Le Mans Series P2 – 2007, 2008

Dirk Werner (3) – GRAND-AM GT – 2007, 2009; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2017

Tommy Milner (3) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2012; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2016; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2016

Jon Bennett (3) – WeatherTech Championship PC – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup PC – 2014

Colin Braun (3) – WeatherTech Championship PC – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup PC – 2014

Eric Curran (3) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2016, 2018; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2018

Christina Nielsen (3) – WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2016, 2017; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2016

Romain Dumas (2) – American Le Mans Series P2 – 2007, 2008

Jeff Segal (2) – GRAND-AM GT – 2010, 2012

Timothy Pappas (2) – American Le Mans Series GTC – 2010, 2011

Joey Hand (2) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2011; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2018

Cooper MacNeil (2) – American Le Mans Series GTC – 2012, 2013

Jordan Taylor (2) – GRAND-AM DP – 2013; WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2017

Dane Cameron (2) – WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2014; WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2016

Townsend Bell (2) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2014; WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2015

Patrick Pilet (2) – WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2017

Ben Keating (2) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2017, 2018

Felipe Nasr (2) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2018; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2018

Ian James (1) – American Le Mans Series P2
Andrew Davis (1) – GRAND-AM GT – 2011
John Edwards (1) – GRAND-AM North American Endurance Cup GT – 2013
Simon Pagenaud (1) – American Le Mans Series LMP – 2010
John Potter (1) – GRAND-AM North American Endurance Cup GT – 2012
Renger van der Zande (1) – WeatherTech Championship PC – 2016
Ricky Taylor (1) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2017
Filipe Albuquerque (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2017
Kyle Masson (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup PC – 2017
Mario Farnbacher (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2017
Bryan Sellers (1) – WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2018
Luca Stolz (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2018

Previous 24 Hours of Le Mans Winners in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (33)
Oliver Gavin (5) – GTE Pro – 2015; GT1 – 2006, 2005; GTS – 2004, 2002
Timo Bernhard (3) – LMP1/Overall – 2017, 2010; GT – 2002
Jan Magnussen (3) – GT1 – 2009, 2005; GTS – 2004
Marcel Fassler (3) – LMP1/Overall – 2014, 2012, 2011
Nicolas Lapierre (3) LMP2 – 2018, 2016, 2015
Dirk Mueller (2) – GTE Pro – 2016; GT – 2000
Patrick Long (2) – GT2 – 2007, GT1 – 2004
Mike Rockenfeller (2) – LMP1/Overall – 2010; GT2 – 2005
Romain Dumas (2) – LMP1/Overall – 2010, 2016
Tommy Milner (2) – GTE Pro – 2015, 2011
Toni Vilander (2) – GTE Pro – 2014, 2012
Earl Bamber (2) – LMP1/Overall – 2017, 2015
Fabio Babini (1) – GT – 2001
Jeroen Bleekemolen (1) – LMP2 – 2008
Antonio Garcia (1) – GTE Pro – 2011
Ryan Dalziel (1) – LMP2 – 2012
Pedro Lamy (1) – GTE Am – 2012
Loic Duval (1) – LMP1/Overall – 2013
Olivier Pla (1) – LMP2 – 2013
Harry Tincknell (1) – LMP2 – 2014
Nick Tandy (1) – LMP1/Overall – 2015
Jordan Taylor (1) – GTE Pro – 2015
Andrea Bertolini (1) – GTE Am – 2015
Joey Hand (1) – GTE Pro – 2016
Sebastien Bourdais (1) – GTE Pro – 2016
Townsend Bell (1) – GTE Am – 2016
Jeff Segal (1) – GTE Am – 2016
Oliver Jarvis (1) – LMP2 – 2017
Daniel Serra (1) – GTE Pro – 2017
Dries Vanthoor (1) – GTE Am – 2017
Fernando Alonso (1) – LMP1/Overall – 2018
Laurens Vanthoor (1) – GTE Pro – 2018
Matt Campbell (1) – GTE Am – 2018

IndyCar/Champ Car Champions in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (5)
Scott Dixon (5) – 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018
Sebastien Bourdais (4) – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Alex Zanardi (2) – 1997, 1998
Juan Pablo Montoya (1) – 1999
Simon Pagenaud (1) 2016

Indianapolis 500 Winners in Rolex 24 Field (4)
Helio Castroneves (3) – 2001, 2002, 2009
Juan Pablo Montoya (2) – 2000, 2015
Scott Dixon (1) – 2008
Alexander Rossi (1) – 2016

Formula 1 Grand Prix Winners in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (3)
Fernando Alonso – 32
Rubens Barrichello – 11
Juan Pablo Montoya – 7

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race Winners in Rolex 24 Field (2)
Juan Pablo Montoya – 2
AJ Allmendinger – 1

Formula 1 World Champions in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (1)
Fernando Alonso (2) – 2005, 2006