Last preparations are underway for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The marquee 24-hour race on the speedway’s excessive banks isn’t simply the season-opener for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship; it’s additionally the primary main occasion on the 2024 North American racing calendar. The late January slot permits loads of present and former stars from Formulation 1 and IndyCar to attempt their hand at sports activities automobile racing. On the alternative finish of the spectrum, novice racers are given a large platform to point out off their abilities. In case you’re on the lookout for an excellent cause to tune in, you’re in luck: There are lots.
IMSA GTP’s Sophomore Season
The second marketing campaign for the brand new sports activities prototype class started in triumphant vogue final weekend when all 9 GTP vehicles that took half in Rolex 24 qualifying broke the monitor report. Pipo Derani within the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Sequence.R received pole with a time of 1 minute, 32.656 seconds, beating the earlier report by a whole second.
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The brand new GTP class set expectations excessive by adopting the moniker of the fabled Eighties class however rapidly overcame teething issues final yr to supply thrilling on-track motion. The 2023 IMSA GTP championship got here right down to the season-ending Petit Le Mans, the place a collision between Derani and Filipe Albuquerque determined the title battle in Derani’s favor.
A Star-Studded Area
The Rolex 24 at Daytona has all the time had the texture of an all-star race, and this yr isn’t any totally different. The most important star on this weekend’s race is Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 World Champion. Button is competing within the race as a one-off addition a Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 GTP entry. He will likely be sharing the monitor with one-off LMP2 entrant Felipe Massa, the self-declared 2008 F1 World Champion.
The IndyCar Sequence has the biggest contingent of energetic drivers on the Rolex 24 with 14. Josef Newgarden, the reigning Indy 500 winner, and Alex Palou, the present IndyCar champion, will likely be becoming a member of their groups’ GTP applications. Newgarden will likely be sharing driving duties in a Penske Porsche 963, and Palou is getting behind the wheel of a Ganassi-operated Cadillac GTP.
Miata Mayhem
The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup may need the slowest automobile to take the Daytona street course all weekend, however it is going to doubtless present the wildest racing. The MX-5s usually pack race across the large monitor, hip-checking one another for place because the laps tick down. The help sequence races typically in unimaginable photograph finishes with a number of Miatas side-by-side throughout the end line. It’s the final word appetizer earlier than the 24-hour all-star race buffet.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona begins on January 27 at 1:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.
The Whelen Mazda MX-5 is free to observe on IMSA.television, with Race 1 on January 25 at 4:15 p.m. and Race 2 on January 26 at 10:15 a.m.