At the 12 hour mark of the Rolex 24 the field has dwindled due to an incident as the car made their way into the infield after a full course caution. As the care round turn one it was the No. 40 DEX Cadillac that spun out after making contact with the grass due to sliding on cold tires and then a chain reaction impacted multiple cars on track. 7 cars were involved with 5 not continuing the race.
The crash comes as a major disappointment for the No. 40 Cadillac that saw a night time surge by Kamui Koboyashi who dominated the field once track temperatures fell. The retirement was the second GTP car to end their campaign before the half way mark. You can view the incident here provided by Motorsports on NBC Youtube channel.
Later in the race the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac which was touted as a major contender to win the Rolex 24 had a major setback in the race. Rookie Frederic Vesti lost control and crashed into the wall. The car was able to continue but was running almost 60 laps behind the lead lap in the GTP class.
Class Leaders at 12 Hours
GTP: No. 07 Porsche Penske 963
LMP2: No. 22 United Autosports
GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo
GTD: No. 70 Inception Racing Ferarri 269 GT3
The first 6 hours of the Rolex 24 are now complete with plenty of on track incidents that have swayed the fate of some drivers to defeat. Particularly of note the long SC63 Lamborghini had a terminal failure due to a water pressure issue which ended their race and noted the first retirement of the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona. The drama however didn’t end their for the GTP class.
The No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 had an uncharacteristic incident in the pit lane. The No. 24 led from the start on pole but after the first stint, received a drive through penalty for using dollies under the car during refueling. The incident occurred after Dries Vanthoor made contact with the pit wall barrier. As a result the car had to be repositioned and without backing the car on the pit lap the team had to utilize dollies. Despite this the No. 24 extended there medium tire stint and recovered after former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen took the reigns as the driver headed into the night. At the 6 hour mark Magnussen changed seats with Raffaele Maricello, and because the No. 24 pitted before a late caution caused by a failure of the No. 44 GTD Car from Magnus Racing.
Notable Events
INDYCar champion Alex Palou had a catastrophic stent that saw the No. 93 Acura fall behind by over 40 laps due to a suspension failure on the back left axle. The car was still being worked on at the 6 hour mark and it’s not yet known if the car will return.
-No. 75 Express GTD Pro Mercedes AMG GTE suffered from a water pump issue and retired from the race.
-No 57 Winward Racing Mercedes suffered from a throttle spring malfunction that resulted in a stuck throttle but the team has since repaired the car and returned to the track. They were 4 laps behind the in class lead lap.
-The No. 11 TDS Racing LMP2 ORECA had an early off at the western horseshoe and crashed into the barrier.
-Racing legend Andy Lally sees a catastrophic failure which was confirmed to be a blown motor. The incident trigger a full course caution and the car was retired from the race.
The next update will occur at the 12 hour mark of the race.
Class Leaders at 6 Hours
GTP: No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
LMP2: No. 74 Riley Racing ORECA
GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo
GTD: No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
United Autosports’ put their LMP2 car on pole for the Rolex 24. The feat marks his second pole position in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar series. Goldberg clocked a 1m38.676 lap to acheive in class pole. “This is our moment to stack up against each other…I’m super excited. I’ve been chasing this pole for all of the last year, and been a couple tenths off a bunch of times. That pole was elusive for me. So, this feels really good. I’ve been putting in a ton of work. It’s a long race ahead, but this is a great first notch.”
The LMP2 field features 12 entries but will also have to navigate the field of 61 cars to while all 4 classes GTP, LMPS, GTD Pro and GTD race simultaneously.
GTD Pro
In GTD Pro Mike Rockenfeller put his No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 on pole for Ford Multimatic Motorsports. It was a good day for Ford as they qualified 1-2 in class. Ford set out to make their mark this year and made it over the first hurdle with this pole position finish. Rockenfeller admitted to the up hill battle they face this weekend. “It’s crazy competitive and I would say more competitive from last year for sure, so it’s going to be tough and we saw throughout the sessions, we are clearly good for one lap but we struggle a bit more over a stint with our tire (degradation), so that’s something I’m a bit worried about.”
GTD
The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) snatch pole by a margin of 0.018s in the GTD class. The top of the class were within one second of the No. 120 car which speaks to how tight this class has gotten over the years. With margins that small its anyone’s race on. With 24 hours of race to go tire management and pit strategy will be the difference.
Dries Vanthoor led the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 to pole position for the Rolex 24. Vanthoor clocked a 1:33.895s lap at Daytona International Speedway this afternoon to vault BMW to their very first pole position with the M Hybrid V8. The program has been in operation for 3 years and you could feel the elation as the team celebrated this accomplishment. The BMW M Hybrid V8 has had some highs and lows after a low finish in 7th and 8th in the championship at the end of last season. However, its clear that their pace from the Roar Before the Rolex 24 held true into qualifying.
It may be too soon to say that this is their year to make a run for the championship but pole at Daytona is a great first step. Given the nature of this race drivers and crew alike will be tested to the limit to bring home the glory that is one of the most coveted prizes in motorsport; a Rolex Daytona watch. Every second matters in this race, with countless races being decided on the final lap over the years. The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona start on Saturday afternoon and run until Sunday afternoon.
Words from the Team
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “We are thrilled about the first pole position in the LMDh programme of BMW M Motorsport. To achieve it at a major event like the 24 Hours of Daytona is simply fantastic. Congratulations and thank you to Dries Vanthoor, BMW M Team RLL, and everyone at BMW M Motorsport involved in this success. Now, we need to translate our strong performance into the race, because that’s where it really counts. It’s unfortunate that car #25 couldn’t set a lap time due to an issue with the high-voltage system. Congratulations to Dan Harper and Paul Miller Racing for securing a strong third starting position in the GTD PRO class. A very good result for our BMW M4 GT3 EVO.”
Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL): “I am very pleased to have secured the first pole position with the BMW M Hybrid V8. It’s a great result and a deserved reward for the hard work of everyone involved in this project. It’s a good start to the season that we can be proud of. But for the race, pole position doesn’t say much. We will continue to give our all to have a reason to celebrate on Sunday as well.”
The Roar Before the Rolex 24 has come to an end. With the finish of practice ahead of the first stop on the 2025 IMSA Sportscar Championship Calendar. The Roar offered a mixed bag of weather for the drivers with conditions reaching their worst on Sunday. The conclusions from practice sessions at the Roar aren’t necessarily the most accurate predictions of performance for next weekend’s Rolex 24. The Rolex 24 will occur in one week’s time at Daytona International Speedway with preparations already underway. The next big hurdle is qualifying where we will start to see the cars at full race pace as they put their last minute car setups to the test.
The teams now await any final balance of performance decisions from the race stewards and then its time for 24 hours of racing. In the GTP class the No. 24 Team RLL BMW clocked the fastest time of the weekend. However, the Rolex 24 isn’t a race won in a single lap. The 61 car field will run through more practice and qualifying sessions before the main event’s start on Saturday. All 61 cars made it through the practice sessions this weekend without major incident.
Results from Roar Before Rolex 24
Friday, Jan. 17.
Practice 1: Results
Practice 2: Results
Saturday, Jan. 18
Practice 3: Results
Practice 4: Results
Practice 5: Results
Sunday, Jan. 19
Practice 6: Results
Practice 7: Results
IMSA Sportscar weekend was full of surprises after none of the pole sitters from qualifying finished on top of the table after the 2 hour and 40 minute sprint race at Road America in Wisconsin. The overall race winner the No. 06 Porsche Penske Porsche 963 started the race from P7 but found the pace and strategy to secure the victory against all odd. To make thing more sweet for the Porsche Penske , the No. 07 car finished P2 ahead of the No. 10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 in the GTP class.
Full IMSA Sportscar Weekend Broadcast
IMSA recorded record attendance at Road America as the Porsche Penske team celebrated its 3rd win of the season. Driver Mathieu Jaminet said, “We had a couple of contacts in the last laps, I touched quite a few cars. That was pure IMSA-style racing. This is why we love it; this is why we want to come back every time. You can be nowhere the day before, and nowhere at the start of the race, and two hours later, you come back with a big trophy. Big thanks to the team to pull out the strategy, to put the numbers together.”
Redemption for United Autosports
After a mishap in practice that saw the No. 02 LMP2 United Autosports car crash into the concrete barrier at the carousel. The team was able to rebuild the car and get it out for qualifying with no issues. The drivers said:
Ben Keating
“So grateful for the team this weekend. All the guys put in so much effort to rebuild the car in time for qualifying, after I completely demolished it in free practice two. When I went out, the car felt so good and inspired so much confidence that I qualified on the front row for the race. For some reason, I have always loved this track, my last win was here! I just love this place, and it showed in my stint.
I managed to take the lead at the start and I never gave it up, putting in some really good laps. Things went our way for the first time this season. We have been unlucky so far, but this time we managed to get into the pits before the yellows. It’s great to look back and say we made all the right calls and finally get a win here, it feels really good for us and the whole team.”
Ben Hanley:
“A huge thank you to the whole United team! Ben had a little off in FP2 and it was a monumental task to get the car ready and out for qualifying … the United Autosports crew did that and this is the reward for them. We have had great pace all season really, it just hasn’t fallen for us. A lot of the debriefs have been … “unfortunately such and such happened” but this time we were aggressive when we needed to be and keep it at the front. A big thanks to everybody.”
Despite not qualifying on pole No. 02 car used the advantage gained by starting P2 ahead of the teams No. 22 sister car. The team had highs and lows with the No. 2 winning the race by the No. 22 finishing second to last in class despite a P3 starting spot. The No. 22 did however finish on the lead lap of the race.
GTD and GTD Pro Finish Mixes Up the Bunch
The GTD Pro one off entry from Conquest Racing came away with a win this weekend. The No. 35 Ferrari 296 GT3 led the in class race for the majority of the afternoon. The teams strategy heavily relied on fuel management to extend stents allowing the team to build up a formidable lead. The Turner Motorsports BMW M4 Gt3 took the win in GTD.
Full Race Results
Full championship point standings can be found here: IMSA SportsCar Championship Standings
The following Article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
From HRC..
June 27, 2024
- HRC US to play expanded role in partnership with Meyer Shank Racing and race engineer one of two ARX-06 GTP entries
- Represents the next step for HRC US in the development of electrified powertrains, software, vehicle control systems and vehicle dynamics simulation
- Combined works effort to debut at the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona
Honda Racing Corporation USA today confirmed it will partner with championship-winning Meyer Shank Racing to field a pair of Acura ARX-06 entries in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, starting with the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.
The multi-year agreement will see HRC US take on a larger operational role as the company further develops its personnel and technology for the hybrid electrified racing era. HRC US associates will race engineer one of the two GTP entries, while Meyer Shank Racing will oversee the second Acura ARX-06.
“Running our own GTP car is the next, exciting step for our associates at HRC US,” said David Salters, President, Honda Racing Corporation USA. “We race to develop our people and technology and we are thrilled to be partnering with MSR to race our ARX-06 against some of the world’s best sportscar teams. This is why the next logical step for us is race engineer our own car: buckle-up HRC boys and girls!”
Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti and HRC US currently campaign two Acura ARX-06 GTP cars in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with drivers Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor piloting the #40, while Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque drive the #10. Deletraz and Taylor captured pole at the recent Watkins Glen IMSA race, while Taylor and Albuquerque took victory at the Detroit Grand Prix earlier this month.
“I would like to sincerely thank Wayne Taylor, the WTR with Andretti team and its talented drivers. We have shared some brilliant and successful times together; and we look forward to finishing 2024 with more top-level racing,” said Salters.
Acura and HRC US developed the electrified Acura ARX-06 for the debut of IMSA’s hybrid GTP category in 2023. The 2025 GTP entries will once again rely on the proven ORECA [ORganisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles] LMDh-based chassis, and exterior body that was created and styled by the Acura Design Studio in Torrance, CA. HRC US developed the electrified powertrain, vehicle, engine and simulation software and control systems along with advanced driver-in-the loop simulator for the ARX-06.
“First, on behalf of everyone at Meyer Shank Racing, I want to express our gratitude to David Salters and everyone at HRC and Acura for giving us this opportunity,” said Mike Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing with former business executive Jim Meyer. “We are supremely grateful to have earned this new opportunity and everyone on the team is looking forward to day one in our new relationship with Acura, and the new role we’ll be playing in HRC US’s IMSA program.”
Meyer Shank Racing will prepare and maintain the pair of Acura ARX-06 GTP entries from their facilities located in Etna, Ohio, just east of Columbus. MSR has campaigned several successful Acura race cars including NSX GT3, ARX-05 and ARX-06 machines racking up race wins and championships in IMSA.
MSR will also continue to operate and field multiple Honda-powered entries in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, where the team has been a part of the HRC US effort in Indy car competition since 2018.
Information regarding HRC US and MSR team drivers, sponsors and other program details will be shared at a later date.
Acura is a three-time series champion in the former Daytona Prototype International (DPi) category, claiming the Manufacturer, Driver and Team DPi titles in 2019, 2020 and again in 2022, the final season in the DPi era. In IMSA GTP competition, Acura has recorded five poles and four victories since the electrified hybrid GTP category began competition in January, 2023.
About Honda Racing Corporation USA
Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US), has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing, and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since its founding in 1993 as Honda Performance Development (HPD). In January 2024, HPD became HRC US, combining with HRC Japan to strengthen the company’s overall motorsports capabilities. From pinnacle racing in INDYCAR and IMSA sports cars to commercial racing programs, HRC US leads all Honda and Acura high-performance racing programs in North America and will be involved in Formula One power unit development and race support related to the next phase of Honda starting in 2026.
HRC US specializes in the design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics, and performance parts, as well as technical and race support. The company also offers parts and race support to Honda and Acura amateur and professional motorsports racers; and is continually expanding its palette of racing programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and quarter midgets to the highest levels of professional racing.
More information on HRC US is available at https://hondaracing-us.honda.com
HRC US social media content and video links can be found on:
Instagram www.instagram.com/hondaracing_us
X www.twitter.com/hondaracing_us
Facebook www.facebook.com/HondaRacingUS
TikTok www.tiktok.com/hondaracing_us
YouTube www.youtube.com/@HondaRacingUS
About Acura
Acura is a leading automotive brand committed to delivering expressive styling, innovative engineering and high-performance, all built on the brand’s Precision Crafted Performance DNA. The Acura lineup consists of two sport sedans, the Integra and TLX, and three sport-utility vehicles, the RDX, MDX and all-electric ZDX. A line of high-performance Type S variants further demonstrate the virtues of Acura Precision Crafted Performance. All Acura vehicles sold in America are made in the U.S., using domestic and globally sourced parts.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finished things off in Detroit this weekend. In the GTP class Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti came out on top in a drama filled race on the streets of Detroit. The weekend was a sprint format race weekend with IMSA limiting the classes to GTP and GTD Pro. The result was a 21 car shootout around the 1.645-mile temporary street course. Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 secured the win for WTRAndretti. The win made it two on the season after the team also won a few months ago back at the 12 Hours of Sebring with the No. 40 car.
Emotions were high and the No. 10 broke a 22 month win drought. Wayne Taylor, Team Principal, WTRAndretti said, “This was a fantastic result for the entire WTRAndretti team, both the No. 10 car and the No. 40 car. The team has worked flawlessly all week. We’ve had a rough time in the last two races, but we seem to have got everything back together.
I can’t say enough about all our partners: Konica Minolta, DEX Imaging and our partnership with Acura and HRC as well as Michael Andretti’s group. This has been a long time coming, and I was ecstatic. Obviously, in the championship the No. 40 car is closer to being in the front than the No. 10 car, so we were debating what to do during the race. But the No. 10 car seemed to be in a different league, so we didn’t have to figure out how we would handle things. I’m so ecstatic.”
“I’m really excited to be here. I’ve been here now for the two wins this year. It’s exciting to be part of the No. 10 win and the No. 40 win. Hopefully this is a good sign for the rest of the year, get some more wins and get the championship.” Driver Ricky Taylor added, “This is Filipe and I’s fourth year together, and we’ve had a lot of success together. The No. 10 Konica Minolta car was on a roll for our first three years together, and we’ve had a really rough last year and a half.
We were really struggling and hadn’t had a win in a long time, and it seemed nothing could go our way. First of all, everybody at HRC and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti worked really hard to put us back in the game. Street courses were not our thing. This year we haven’t been fighting for wins outside of Sebring. Everybody really turned our season around and we had performance.”
Rexy Doubles Down with Consecutive Wins
Coming off of a win at the last outing at Laguna. Rexy came out with a vengeance in Detroit. The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3.R finished ahead of the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Car by almost 3 seconds in the short 74 lap sprint race. It’s clear that a rivalry for the top spot has emerged. ”All of us at AO Racing are thrilled for our second IMSA victory with Rexy,” said AO Team Principal Gunnar Jeannette. “It was one of the most nerve-wracking finishes I’ve ever been a part of, in dealing with the car damage after contact. Our goals for this weekend were to have a clean race and come away with a top-five result, so to leave with our second victory and increased lead in points is fantastic.”
Sebastian Priaulx
What a great day. I kept the car clean on the start for Laurin and he was able to go and execute the result there for us. I’m really proud of the team. Everyone did a great job. It was a bit of luck, but we made our own today. I’m happy to have a car that was able to finish with the damage we had. I’m proud of Laurin and the team.
Laurin Heinrich
I’m really happy to get our second win in a row, back-to-back, in Detroit. It was not an easy race. Seb had a great qualifying and a good opening race stint to put us in that place, and then in the end, a great pit stop and strong out lap kept us going. We got a bit tight in the hairpin. I had nowhere to go and had contact with the Corvette, and from there, I had to nurse the car home with a lot of damage. I had to adapt my driving style a bit because the car didn’t want to go straight. I’m really happy to bring it home.
Next p for the championship is the Sahlens 6 Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in a few weeks time June 20-23 2024.
Race Results
The No. 06 Porsche Penske GTP driver Nick Tandy stole away the lead at Laguna Seca this weekend after making a pass in the closing minutes of the race. The No. 31 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R held the lead until there were 12 minutes left in the race. However having benefited from a superior pit strategy for the last stop of the race the No. 6 Porsche got past and then won the race by a 5.764 seconds over the Cadillac. The win marked the 100th win for Team Penske.
“In qualifying, we maybe didn’t have the speed, but it looked like we had good long-run speed all day,” said Roger Penske, who was present at WeatherTech Raceway for his legendary racing team’s milestone triumph. “We had great pit stops and great strategy by the guys, and fantastic driving by the guys in car No. 6. For the Porsche program to come here and win is a big deal. I came here and won (as a driver) in the ‘60s, if you can believe it.
I can tell you there’s a lot of pressure coming from Porsche because they expect us to win,” Penske continued. “We’ve got a deep bench here. We’ve been through a lot of stuff this past couple weeks, but hey, we’re on a roll.”
GTDPro and GTD
Rexy claimed its first win in the IMSA WeatherTech championship in the GTD Pro class for Ao Racing. The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche drivers Laurin Heinrich and Seb Priaulx won by 9.074 seconds in the sprint race. “It’s an honor for me,” Heinrich said. “It’s awesome to be part of it. I’m thankful to AO Racing for their trust to bring an IMSA rookie and two young guys like us into a GTD PRO program against many experienced teams and drivers. I think today we proved that certainly that AO Racing is capable of winning in the category.”
Priaulx stated, “I’m really proud of the team. Not just today, but the whole year. They’ve been improving over time, and it’s just absolutely great to see. They’re really hard-working guys. … It’s absolutely awesome to win our first race.” Behind in second was the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 EVO who finish just ahead of the race pole sitter the No. 04 Corvette that finished third .
In GTD the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 won wiht Philip Ellis in the drivers seat. Ellis brought the No. 57 car to victory ahead of the No. 02 BMWM4 of Turner Motorsport. The No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) from Wright Motorsports.
Full Results from the Race
The IMSA WeatherTech championship qualifying in Laguna has concluded. The No.1 Cadillac V-Series.R topped the GTP class setting a record setting lap time 1m12.445s. The lap was just about 1.5 seconds under the track’s all-time sports car record of 1:13.924 set by Ricky Taylor in a Daytona Prototype International (DPi)-class in 2022. The session was a short one which made it all the more important for the sprint race weekend.
Laguna Seca has had about one year for the track surface to develop after it was repaved. Pole sitter Bourdais stated, “You know the track temperature is going to come down and the grip is going to increase as the track is cleaning up and rubbering in,” he observed. “With the old pavement, you kind of only had one lap on the tires – you had your chance and that was it. Now we can string laps together. It’s quite tricky because we never really have the chance to do it in practice because there is so much traffic. You’re just lucky and happy if you get one clean lap. It’s a difficult set of circumstances and it’s a lot of fun to really get the tires into the groove.”
GTDPro and GTD Results
Corvette Racing secured a 1-2 finish in GTDPro qualifying with Danny Formal taking pole in GTD with a lap of 1:20.866 in the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. The finish was the first pole position for the team as a full-season GTD program. Racing kicks off tomorrow afternoon.
Full Qualifying Results