IMSA Category

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer 47 cars started the long and grueling 57th edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and despite a major downpour in the second half, 10 entries weren’t sitting in the pits when the race was rain-shortened. Prior to the heavy rains that stopped the race a record two times, it was reliability issues involving multiple entries including class favorites. Just over an hour into the race, the No. 99 NTG Motorsport Porsche GTD hit the tire barriers at the West Horseshoe. Other than cosmetic damage, all appearedRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona was red flagged due to a driving rainstorm, pardon the pun. The rain came down a couple of hours before sunrise and has not relented, resulting in some cars sliding off track and the No. 4 Corvette hitting the tires hard at Turn 1. After spending over an hour under a yellow flag, IMSA decided just before the 17 hour mark to throw the red flag. The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi is leading with Fernando Alonso behindRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Mazda Team Joest had one of the fastest cars at the 57th Rolex 24 at Daytona but their pole-sitting No. 77 RT24-P suffered turbocharger failure just before seven hours were completed while the No. 55 machine had a brief fuel leak causing some lost time. Timo Bernhard was behind the wheel when suddenly the car had no drive and flames came out of the exhaust system. The car was towed to the garage and after a quick once-over, the decision to retireRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona is going green shortly and here we will have live updates throughout the race. The No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi pulled into the pits before the start of the race. 00:00- No. 77 Mazda DPi leads from the start with the No. 6 Acura DPi. 00:09- No. 3 Corvette gets around a Porsche the GTLM lead while the No. 33 Mercedes AMG-GT3 leads the No. 13 Ferrari 488 GT3. 00:11- No. 99 Porsche in GTDRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, FL– Ahead of the 57th Rolex 24 at Daytona, it’s time to make some random predictions about the twice around the clock classic. DPi/overall winner: No. 7 Acura Team Penske DPi. The combination of Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Alexander Rossi is very hard to beat and if the Mazdas falter, they will be right there to pick up the pieces. DPi dark horse candidate: No. 77 Mazda Team Joest DPi. The Mazdas have been very fast but their reliability has been in question.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Simon Pagenaud’s 2018 racing season wasn’t one that he would like to remember. His first winless season since 2015, the Frenchman was sixth in NTT IndyCar Series points with four top-five finishes, the first coming halfway through the season at Texas Motor Speedway. Sports car racing wasn’t kind either to the 2006 Atlantics champion with three races and all three finishes were tenth or worse. However, with a new year comes new beginnings and Pagenaud starts the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona in third place onRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After a year and a half together with Team Joest, Mazda has secured pole position for the 57th Rolex 24 at Daytona. Oliver Jarvis backed up the No. 77’s RT24-P’s performance from the Roar Before the 24 and set a new track record with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 33.685 seconds to average 136.792 mph around the 3.56 mile roval. This broke a 26-year-old record set back in 1993 by P.J. Jones in a Dan Gurney’s All American Racers Toyota. “I think the goal forRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2019) – After two-and-a-half weeks as unofficial track record holders, Oliver Jarvis and Mazda Team Joest can finally, officially, call themselves track record holders on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road circuit after qualifying for this weekend’s 57th Rolex 24 At Daytona. With six minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the 15-minute qualifying session Thursday afternoon, Jarvis took the Motul Pole Award with a lap of 1 minute, 33.685 seconds (136.792 mph) in the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P DPi car. AndRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2019) – No other manufacturer has had more success at Daytona International Speedway – and the Rolex 24 At Daytona in particular – than Porsche. And when the green flag flies Saturday at 2:35 p.m. ET (live NBCSN coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET), it’ll be a Porsche leading the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT field to the green flag. Thanks to a record-setting run by Nick Tandy on Thursday, the manufacturer will go for a 70th Rolex 24 class winRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the GT classes have very few changes compared to their prototype counterparts. Michelin is the sole tire supplier in the WeatherTech Championship and while this doesn’t change anything in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, the GT Daytona (GTD) class is changing after being on Continental since the sports car racing merger of 2014. GTLM cars are based on the GTE platform that runs in the FIA World Endurance Championship andRead More