IMSA Category

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Many changes have come about for the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and they will debut at this weekend’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The Prototype class from the 2018 WeatherTech Championship is no more, having been split up after the 2018 Petit LeMans into two: Daytona Prototype International (DPi) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2). Let’s take a look at the differences between classes before we get into the competitors. LMP2 is strictly pro/am while DPi is the pro-rated class. The LMP2 class is forRead More

By Holly Cain, IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – One by one, they took a seat smiling. Wayne Taylor Racing’s all-star driver lineup in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R stopped by the Daytona International Speedway media center three weeks ago for a highly anticipated interview session ready to reinforce to reporters at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 practice sessions of the high expectations they carry into this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona race. Taylor, the team’s namesake, owner and himself a former winner of this IMSARead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NBC Sports announced Thursday its entire TV lineup for the 57th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, set to take place on January 26-27. The 24-hour classic will have an all-star lineup as not only the IMSA crew covering the race, it’ll feature both NASCAR and IndyCar commentators, analysis and pit reporters, which is also NBC’s first race of a multi-year exclusive broadcast partnership with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. IMSA CEO Ed Bennett described the stacked broadcast as an incredible sign ofRead More

By Holly Cain, IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When it comes to past success and high expectations, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more heralded group of teammates than the Acura Team Penske lineup for the Jan. 26-27 Rolex 24 At Daytona. As it has done seamlessly in the past, the team has brought together a diverse and accomplished group of drivers to contend for the season-opening trophy in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s annual twice-around-the-clock event. Penske’s high-achieving lineup this year features three Indianapolis 500 winners, aRead More

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) – forRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2019 Roar Before the 24 test at the Daytona International Speedway road course prepares teams and drivers for the upcoming 2019 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and caution was seemingly thrown to the wind by Mazda Team Joest ahead of the season-opening race for the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. After suffering issue after issue in last year’s Rolex 24, the squad made several changes during the offseason to its technical staff and minor changes to their driver lineup that seem to be paying dividendsRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Last year, Corvette Racing’s No. 3 team fittingly scored the team’s third straight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship. The team’s other Chevrolet Corvette C7.R carries No. 4. Can they keep the trend going? As Tommy Milner – the co-driver of the No. 4 Corvette with Oliver Gavin, with whom he also shared the 2016 GTLM championship and a win that year in the Rolex 24 At Daytona – puts it, a strong result in the season opener definitelyRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jarvis Unofficially Breaks 26-Year-Old Daytona Track Record in No. 77 Mazda DPi “Drivers, start your engines” may be the most famous words in motorsports, but “And… it’s a new track record,” is pretty close behind. And today at Daytona International Speedway, there was another – albeit unofficial – new track record. In the 15-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Daytona Prototype international (DPi) qualifying session for Rolex 24 At Daytona garage and pit selections, Oliver Jarvis drove the No. 77 Mazda Team JoestRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The 2019 edition of Roar Before the 24 At Daytona International Speedway commenced Friday, and the main headline around the paddock focused on two-time CART champion and Paralympic gold medalist Alex Zanardi’s return on American soil. Zanardi will be co-piloting the No. 24 BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan GTLM shared by John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Chaz Mostert, in the Rolex 24 at Daytona Jan 26-27. While the entry ended up ninth in class during both Friday sessions with a time of 1:45.642 from the secondRead More

By IMSA Wire Service – Speeds continued to climb on the second day of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona under Chamber of Commerce weather conditions in front of a huge crowd at Daytona International Speedway. Jonathan Bomarito ended Saturday atop the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship time charts by the slimmest of margins, posting a best lap of 1 minute, 34.533 seconds in the No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P Daytona Prototype international (DPi). Bomarito’s time, which came under the bright lights of the 3.56-mile circuit Saturday night,Read More