It’s no secret Porsche is extraordinarily able to constructing race-winning vehicles in all types of racing. From Method 1 to Rallying, the model has conquered all of it. However its largest legacy maybe, is in endurance racing, with a record-setting 19 total wins at Le Mans and 18 total wins on the Daytona 24 Hours race. Earlier than this 12 months’s version that’s, as Porsche is again on high within the US once more after a hiatus of greater than twenty years! However there was much more motion on monitor for the 2024 working of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, so let’s dive straight in.
As you already know by now, top-tier endurance racing has undergone some kind of revolution by way of guidelines and rules. Gone are the cutting-edge LMP1 prototypes, and in got here the LMH and LMDh lessons which can be less complicated, and extra open for producers to enter (comparatively talking). Within the subsequent years, a number of manufacturers have introduced their return or debut within the top-tier class of endurance racing, together with Porsche with the 963, Ferrari with the 499P, Peugeot with the unconventional 9X8 and a number of other others. Producers have a selection between LMH and LMDh set-ups, which differ in a number of key areas however produce about the identical ranges of energy and thus are carefully aggressive on the monitor.
The 2024 version of the Rolex 24 at Daytona noticed nearly all groups battle it out for the whole lot of the race, with Porsche, Cadillac and Acura all ending on the identical lap, however extra on that later. There even was a little bit of end-of-race controversy however via no fault of the groups or drivers. The checkered flag was waved too quickly, so with a minute and a half to go, the vehicles have been flagged as they got here throughout the end line. Primarily, which means that the race ended throughout the 24-hour time restrict, however a call was made to not mess with the result of the race as a result of that might be a monster headache and would certainly lead to formal protests from a number of groups.
A enjoyable little side-note; the Rolex 24 At Daytona can be used as a movie set for the yet-to-be-titled Method 1 film that’s being produced with Brad Pitt portraying the lead character. And sure, that does imply Mr Pitt could possibly be seen piloting a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992-generation) through the race.
GTP-Class (LMDh)
The highest class for the Daytona 24 Hours, or Rolex 24 At Daytona because it’s formally referred to as, is the GTP class, which stands for Grand Touring Prototype. Raced below the LMDh ruleset, the GTP class is the place Cadillac, Porsche, Acura and BMW locked horns. A complete of 10 vehicles have been entered, with high drivers like Sebastian Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Romain Dumas, Jenson Button and others placing down their expertise on the 5.73km lengthy Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
Rolex Testimonee Jeson Button
Cadillac took the early lead within the GTP class with the No. 31 automotive pushed by Pipo Derani, carefully adopted by Felipe Nasr within the Porsche 963. Following a collection of crashes, incidents and subsequently quite a few full course cautions, Cadillac was nonetheless main however Porsche would quickly begin closing the hole because the 963 regarded higher suited to the dropping temperatures. A couple of quarter into the race, the primary main difficulty for a GTP automotive arose, because the Acura of Filipe Albuquerque suffered electrical issues, with Albuquerque even reporting the scent of fireplace again to his crew. Come early morning, BMW additionally moved to the entrance of the race and managed to momentarily take over the lead through the 14th hour.
Extra drama and pleasure ensued because the No. 6 Porsche 693 was penalised for exceeding necessary GTP powertrain parameters and dropped again severely, and Cadillac misplaced the lead of the race as a consequence of a warning attributable to particles on the monitor. In the course of the closing levels of the race the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Collection.R would battle it out with the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, even all the way down to the final lap. The No. 7 Porsche managed to save lots of gas through the closing hours, needing a barely shorter closing pitstop and thus leaping forward of the Cadillac. A carefully fought battle till the (wrongly timed) checkered flag adopted, with the No. 7 Porsche, pushed by Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr and Josef Newgarden, coming throughout the road a mere 2.1 seconds forward of the No. 31 Cadillac. Behind that, the No. 40 Acura got here in third, with the Porsche 963 of Porsche Penske Motorsport and Proton Competitors Mustang Sampling ending 4th and fifth respectively, all on the lead lap.
With it, Porsche reinstated itself as a winner on the Daytona 24 Hours and strengthened its 963 program by claiming its maiden 24-hour race win. Within the course of, the crew additionally ended a 55-year drought for the Penske crew, with their final total win within the Daytona 24 Hours being the 1969 version with Mark Donahue and Chuck Parsons piloting a Lola T70 MK3B.
LMP2 class
The LMP2 class is all the time a really aggressive class, as groups run related setups by way of chassis and drivetrain. All vehicles have a chassis by Oreca and a 4.2L Gibson V8, so variations come all the way down to the best particulars within the automotive’s setup, driver talents, race methods and staying away from points. Because the race commenced, it was the United Motorsports USA crew that took the lead with its No. 2 automotive, pushed by Ben Hanley, Ben Keating, Pato O’Ward and Nico Pino. Following the primary warning of the race, initiated by a crash of a GTD-class Lamborghini, three LMP2 vehicles spun on the restart, successfully triggering the following warning. Shortly after that incident, one other LMP2 automotive precipitated chaos because it spun into the trail of one other automotive, with a heavy crash and one other full course warning in consequence.
Additional into the race, the Crowdstrike Racing Oreca crew gained the lead within the LMP2 class. All through the rest of the 24 hours, a number of incidents involving numerous LMP2 vehicles, and run-ins with different lessons meant a number of vehicles have been in competition for the win. A real five-way battle meant the win may go to anybody, actually. Ultimately, although, it was the N0. 18 automotive by Period Motorsport claiming the highest spot (with drivers Ryan Dalziel, Dwight Merriman, Christian Rasmussen and Connor Zilisch), with the Crowdstrike Racing by APR crew coming in second at school, adopted by the Riley crew. Simply as within the GTP class, the primary 5 vehicles throughout the end line have been on the lead lap, which is sort of unbelievable after 24 hours of racing on a comparatively quick monitor (5.37km with the quickest LMP2 lap time of 1:39,392).
GTD Professional & GTD lessons
The GTD Professional and GTD lessons are the closest to what you and I may, theoretically, drive on the street, because the vehicles need to be based mostly on a manufacturing automotive. Automobiles such because the Aston Martin Vantage, the Ferrari 296, the Chevrolet Corvette, the McLaren 720S or the Lamborghini Huracán all dicing it out lap after lap. The GT-based classes are normally probably the most crowded ones, as was the case for this 12 months’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, with 13 entries within the GTD Professional class, and 23 extra within the GTD class. And regardless that each lessons drive the identical GT3 kind vehicles, the GTD Professional groups are working a completely skilled driver lineup, whereas the GTD class should run a mixture of execs and amateurs.
From the beginning, the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 led within the GTD Professional class, whereas the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus headed the GTD area. Early issues shortly sidelined one of many high opponents, because the No. 88 Richard Mille AF Corse Oreca Ferrari 296 GT3 automotive limped again to the pits with mechanical points and retired shortly after. Battles ensued left and proper at dusk, because the lead within the GTD Professional class was contested by the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 and the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, whereas the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo challenged the Vasser Sullivan Lexus’ lead.
At daybreak, each manufacturing facility Corvettes suffered points and have been out of the race within the GTD Professional class. This left the BMW of Paul Miller racing within the lead, forward of the Ferrari of Risi Competizione. Sadly, the BMW encountered brake points within the closing levels, leaving the door open for the Risi Competizione Ferrari (pushed by James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra) to win the race. Within the GTD class, it was the Vasser Sullivan Lexus catching hearth that precipitated the ultimate warning of the race. ultimately, victory went to the Winward Racing crew of Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje, Daniel Morad and Russel Ward.
Identical to final 12 months, the 2024 version of the Rolex 24 At Daytona was a feast for racing fanatics. Tons of drama, tight racing and a really shut end in many of the lessons implies that endurance racing has misplaced little of its shine. Quite the opposite maybe, as Porsche sees its 963 profitable its first 24-hour race towards stiff competitors, with an entire season of racing nonetheless to come back.
For extra info, please go to Rolex.com or Imsa.com.
Editorial Be aware: The photographs used on this article are supplied by and used with permission of Rolex, title sponsor of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
