The annual opening of the endurance racing season is nearly upon us once again. This weekend sees some of the finest talent the sport has to offer, descend on Daytona Beach, Florida for the Rolex 24hrs At Daytona.
Last year’s race was notable for the high level of international talent. And the entry list for the 2019 edition continues that tradition. This year’s grid once again sees some very notable names making their first appearance and many others returning to the Daytona International Raceway.
2018 Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso is perhaps the most notable of these. The Oviedo native has joined forces with Cadillac and Wayne Taylor Racing in what might be considered the strongest driver line-up of all. But the inclusion of Formula 1 veterans Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya and IndyCar stars like Helio Castroneves, Alexander Rossi and Simon Pagenaud shows that the Rolex 24 is still very much the hot commodity that it was last year.
DPi: Conscious Uncoupling
The significant change in this year’s race comes in the form of the class system in the Prototype category. In August last year, IMSA announced that it would separate the DPi and LMP2 classes. This rule change makes the manufacturer-backed DPi-class the premier class on the grid, featuring professional drivers and factory support from a number of car manufacturers. LMP2, on the other hand, now becomes a pro-am category. Under these new rules, the DPi cars will no longer have to match the LMP2 cars. Instead, they will be made subject to class-specific Balance of Performance rules. The separation is a result of the lack of a parity between the DPi and LMP2 machinery, with the DPi teams proving faster than the LMP2 teams while in the same class.
This change has also seen a number of teams jumping ship from LMP2 to DPi. JDC-Miller Motorsports have ditched their ORECA LMP2 machinery in favour of a pair of Cadillacs. The most striking name on JDC’s list is that of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. The former Formula 1 star is back in IMSA after seasons in 2015 and 2016 and a Le Mans entry with Racing Team Nederland in 2017. Juncos Racing also join with the #50 Cadillac, making the leap over from the IndyCar Series.
The most notable, and surprising, new name on the DPi entry list is CORE Autosport. The South Carolina-based team have moved on from their ORECA LMP2 entry in 2018 to entering the premier category with a Nissan DPi, taking over from Extreme Speed Motorsports after it ceased operations following the departure of sponsor Tequila Patron last year. The Nissan, kitted out in the retro tribute colours of red, white and blue, features an impressive driver line-up with multiple Le Mans winners Loic Duval and Romain Dumas piloting the #54 alongside Jonathan Bennett and Colin Braun.
The newcomers will have to go up against the established names in DPi. Action Express once again fields two entries: the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac of Barbosa, Conway, Albuquerque and Fittipaldi and the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac of Nasr, Curran and Derani. The two cars scored a one-two victory last year, and will be the team to beat.
The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry is quite possibly the favourite for the overall victory. Dutchman Renger van der Zande and Jordan Taylor fill their usual seats, but they are joined by two of Toyota’s top LMP drivers: Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi. The Konica Minolta Cadillac topped the timing sheets at the Roar Before The 24 twice and can only be seen as a real candidate for the overall win.
Team Penske returns for a second year with the Acura DPi, entering two cars. The #6 sees Juan Pablo Montoya return for his second full season in IMSA and looking for a fourth overall win at Daytona alongside Dane Cameron and Simon Pagenaud. The #7 features Ricky Taylor, triple Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi, who returns to Daytona for the first time since 2014.
Mazda Team Joest completes the DPi line-up with two cars: the #55 of factory driver Jonathan Bomarito, Ford driver Harry Tincknell and endurance veteran Olivier Pla. The #77 is driven by Britain’s Oliver Jarvis, Tristan Nunez, double Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard and 2017 DTM champion Rene Rast. The two Mazdas were impressive during the Roar, and Jarvis even set an unofficial track record, toppling P.J. Jones’ record for the first time since 1993. This performance by the Brit leads one to believe that a new lap record will most likely be set at some point during the race. Mazda have had a run of bad luck of Daytona in recent years and it will be very interesting to see if the pace at the Roar can finally be converted into notable results…
LMP2
Following their separation from the DPi class, the LMP2 category has been reduced down to a field of four. DragonSpeed field two ORECA entries. The #18 is driven by Roberto Gonzalez, Sebastian Saavedra, Ryan Cullen and Venezuela’s Pastor Maldonado who makes his IMSA debut after debuting in the World Endurance Championship with DragonSpeed last year. The other car, the #81, is piloted by Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, James Allen and Nicolas Lapierre, who has been with DragonSpeed since 2016 and has three LMP2 class wins at Le Mans. The other two LMP2 entries return from last year.
The #38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA driven by Kyle and Robert Masson and Cameron Cassels and Kris Wright. PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports complete the grid with the #52 of McMurry, Aubry, Kvamme and Guibbert. Aubry topped the LMP2 timing sheets on numerous occasions during the Roar, but was anywhere between one to four seconds off the top DPi time. Testing times are not always the most accurate representation of actual race pace, but it seems unlikely that the LMP2 cars will be able to contend for an overall race win under the new regulations.
GTLM
If the Roar Before The 24 was any indication, the GTLM category is certainly going to be one to watch. The first four sessions all produced a different car at the top of the timing sheets, with Porsche, Ferrari and Ford all setting the quickest lap times.
It appears like Porsche and Ford have the best chance of the class win, based on the Roar results. Not only does the #911 Porsche 911 RSR feature a star studded line-up with Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Fred Makowiecki, the car topped the timing sheets at testing three times – the most of any GTLM entry. The #912 can’t be discarded either: with Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor (both Le Mans winners) and Mathieu Jaminet, who makes the jump up from GTD, the sister car certainly is not one to mess with.
Ford have more than enough reason to be confident heading into the Rolex 24. Not only will the two Chip Ganassi cars race in stunning retro liveries, but the #67 topped the timing sheets twice during the roar, both times in the hands of Richard Westbrook. Ford’s driver line-up reads like who’s who of American racing: Joey Hand, Sébastien Bourdais and Dirk Mueller in the #66 and Westbrook, Ryan Briscoe and 2018 IndyCar champion Scott Dixon in the #67.
Based on the Roar results, Ferrari and Corvette might just be the dark horses in GTLM this year. The lone Ferrari topped the timing sheets only once, during the second session, but the drivers lined up for Risi Competizione are capable of much more. Spain’s Miguel Molina was fastest during the Roar session. He’ll be sharing the car with seasoned pros Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado.
Corvette didn’t make much of an impression until qualifying, when it was the #3 of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller that set the fastest time. Whether they’re fast in testing or not, the C7.R is a proven race winner and should never be counted out. Much like its sister car, the #4 is full of familiar names: Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler will be carrying out driver duties.
That leaves us with BMW. The M8’s debut year was one of ups and downs in which the German machine mostly gained notoriety on the internet for how big it was. Team RLL return to IMSA with two entries: the #24 of Jesse Krohn, John Edwards, Chaz Mostert and Alex Zanardi and the #25 of Tom Blomqvist, Connor de Philippi, Philip Eng and Colton Herta. Here’s hoping BMW has been able to work out all of the kinks from the first year of competition and can make a greater impression this time around.
Much like last year, GT Daytona is the biggest category. 8 manufacturers bring together a total of 23 teams, with a fair few notable entries between them. Last year’s winner, the #11 GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 returns with only a single driver change since 2018. Christian Engelhart, winner of the 2014 Dubai 24 Hours comes in to join Mirko Bortolotti, Rolf Ineichen and Rik Breukers, who took the bright green machine to victory. Another entry to watch is the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, featuring Australia’s Matt Campbell, winner of the 2018 24H of Le Mans in GTE Am.
Other teams to watch are AIM Vasser Sullivan Racing, who make their debut in GTD with a pair of Lexus RC F GT3s, the #29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS with Audi factory aces Dries Vanthoor and Christopher Mies, the #33 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, a regular front runner in previous years, and the #88 WRT Audi R8 LMS of South African Kelvin van der Linde, winner of the 2017 Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Special mention goes out to the #57 Heinricher Racing Acura NSX GT3. The car features an all-female line-up which includes Acura race winner Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro and two-time GTD champion Christina Nielsen.
Motorsport Monday’s ‘Ones to Watch’
Who’s in the running for overall victory this weekend?
CADILLAC
#5 Mustang Sampling Racing – Joao Barbosa, Mike Conway, Filipe Albequerque, Christian Fittipaldi
The #5 is the car to beat. The ever consistent Mustang Sampling machine took victory at Daytona last year and will have the difficult task of repeating the same trick in one of the toughest DPi fields to date.
#10 Wayne Taylor Racing – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Fernando Alonso, Kamui Kobayashi
Favourite for the win? With Toyota aces Alonso and Kobayashi on board, WTR regulars Van der Zande and Taylor have gained two mighty team mates. Add to that that the Konica Minolta Cadillac was impressive at the Roar, and there might be no stopping the black-and-blue Caddy this year.
#31 Whelen Engineering Racing – Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran, Pipo Derani
Nasr and Curran came within inches of the win last year, finishing just over a minute behind their team mates in the #5. Their new man in the car might just be enough for a revanche. For this year, they gain an experienced hand with Pipo Derani, who won the race in 2016.
#50 Juncos Racing – Will Owen, Rene Binder, Agustin Canapino, Kyle Kaiser
The new kids on the block. The team is already active in IndyCar, Indy Lights and Pro Mazda, but the Rolex 24 is new ground for Juncos. Owen and Binder have experience racing prototypes, but the same cannot be said for Canapino and Kaiser. Ricardo Juncos said it’ll be a learning experience for his team, but it’ll be interesting to see what the newcomers are capable of.
#84 JDC-Miller Motorsports – Simon Trummer, Stephen Simpson, Chris Miller, Juan Piedrahieta
In LMP2, JDC-Miller was not to be underestimated and often one of the top teams in class. With the pace from the likes of Simpson, it could be a car worth keeping an eye on.
#85 JDC-Miller Motorsports – Misha Goikhberg, Tristan Vautier, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rubens Barrichello
Goikhberg and Vautier are proven prototype racers and few drivers have more experience in a race car than Rubens Barrichello. DeFrancesco is the wildcard in this outfit, but there’s a reason he’s part of Chip Ganassi Racing’s development program.
ACURA
#6 Team Penske – Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron, Simon Pagenaud
Montoya’s back and hunting for a fourth win, Cameron is the 2016 IMSA champion and Pagenaud has prototype experience from his time with the Peugeot LMP1 program.
#7 Team Penske – Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves, Alexander Rossi
Taylor and Castroneves have traded Rahal for one of 2018’s hottest drivers in Alexander Rossi. All three men are aces behind the wheel and could just run away with the whole thing.
MAZDA
#55 Mazda Team Joest – Jonathan Bomarito, Harry Tincknell, Olivier Pla
Factory driver Bomarito teams up with Pla, who’s been in sportscar racing for over a decade, and Tincknell, who drives for Ford in the World Endurance Championship. If the reliability holds up, the #55 might be a serious contender.
#77 Mazda Team Joest – Oliver Jarvis, Tristan Nunez, Timo Bernhard, Rene Rast
It’s hard to find a team with more endurance racing experience. Nunez is joined by Le Mans winner Bernhard, 2012 GT Daytona winner Rast and former Audi LMP1 driver Jarvis, who now holds the unofficial track record. Like with the #55: if the car keeps together, you can’t count it out.
NISSAN
#54 CORE Autosport – Jonathan Bennett, Colin Braun, Romain Dumas, Loic Duval
CORE Autosport has retained its driver line-up from last year and now fields the lone Nissan in the DPi category. The #54 is a dark horse: the Nissan is a proven race winner and there is some serious experience in the car with Dumas and Duval. Bennett is a champion in PC and race winner in LMP2, but can he carry that through into DPi?
