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[h=2]IMSA: Rolex, Endurance Challenge fields released[/h] Wednesday, 18 January 2017


RACER Staff / Image by Marshall Pruett






The season-opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will see 55 cars try to conquer the 55th Rolex 24 at Daytona Jan. 28-29.
IMSA officials released entry lists for the Rolex 24 and the the four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge for the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, set for Friday, Jan. 27.

The 55 entries continue the trend of the entry list amount serving as a parallel to the annual event tally; the 53rd running of the event featured 53 entries in 2014. Coverage begins Saturday, Jan. 28 on FOX at 2 p.m. ET, with flag-to flag-coverage available via FOX Sports GO with FS1 authentication.
Twelve cars make up the Prototype class ranks, with Daytona Prototype international (DPi) entrants from Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan joined by a host of global LMP2 spec cars. Defending overall winner Tequila Patrón ESM will kick off its return to full season IMSA competition, taking on what is perhaps the strongest collection of driver lineups in recent history and highlighted by marquee drivers such as four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe.
Eleven factory efforts will battle in GT Le Mans (GTLM), with reigning class champion Corvette Racing returning after an exhilarating 1-2 finish in the 2016 Rolex 24. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing brings four Ford GTs, as Porsche fields a pair of all-new 911 RSRs and Ferrari returns with a single entry. BMW is entering a pair of cars, one of which being the first BMW Art Car ever to race in the Rolex 24.
The largest class of the field, GT Daytona (GTD), features 27 GT3 spec race cars from nine premium automotive manufacturers, including series newcomers Acura, Lexus and Mercedes. Prototype Challenge kicks off its final season in the WeatherTech Championship with five ORECA FLM09s taking to the track.
The racing action will kick off, however, on Friday with the BMW Endurance Challenge, the first of two new four-hour enduros for the Continental Tire Challenge. The race will feature 40 cars from two classes tearing around the high banks of the World Center of Racing.
The Grand Sport (GS) class welcomes global GT4 spec cars to its ranks for 2017, with 20 cars ready to race. Manufacturers include class regulars Aston Martin, Ford and Porsche, joined by newcomer McLaren. Also featuring 20 entries, Street Tuner (ST) includes a healthy mix of cars from Audi, BMW, Mazda, MINI, Nissan and Porsche.
The BMW Endurance Challenge will stream live on IMSA.com at 12:15 p.m. ET on Jan. 27, with a telecast scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1.

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This chassis led 6 of 7 Roar before the 24 sessions:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/c...ml#post9386388

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[h=2]IMSA: Fire interrupts Corvette's Daytona Roar[/h] Sunday, 08 January 2017


Marshall Pruett / Image courtesy of DailySportsCar/Martin Spetz

Defending Rolex 24 at Daytona winners Corvette Racing have had their fill of fire-related woes at Daytona International Speedway.
The team's No. 4 Corvette Racing C7.R caught fire during the first Sunday test session when a fuel injector line malfunctioned with Marcel Fassler on board, and thankfully, the Swiss driver was able to pull over and get out safely. The front of the V8-powered machine, however, was burned significantly before the blaze could be extinguished.


According to the team, the fuel-related fire burned the bodywork, windshield, and a significant number of items beneath the hood. With the use of high-pressure direct fuel injection to feed the C7.R's monster V8 engine, any leak or breakage in the fuel delivery system will spray flammable liquid with considerable force due to the thousands of pounds of pressure in play, and can quickly coat the surrounding areas – the engine bay, in particular – in a fraction of a second. The damage was not enough to require a move to the spare car, however.


With the No. 4 loaded into the Corvette Racing transporter, it's expected to arrive back at the team's shop in Michigan by 12 p.m. ET on Monday, where repairs will begin immediately. The setback, while considerable, will not impact the team's ability to field the No. 4 and the sister No. 3 Corvette – which was parked just to be safe – during the Jan. 28-29 Rolex 24 race.
Although the damage was less severe, the new fire follows 364 days year after a blaze at the rear of the No. 4 slowed the team's progress at the Roar Before the 24 in 2016 (pictured, Marshall Pruett image). That fire, which burned a fair portion of the C7.R's right-rear, was caused by a faulty FIA-mandated fuel check valve. The No. 4 was fixed at the track and went on the lead an incredible 1-2 finish in the GT Le Mans class.
And there was another heat-related issue for the team at the recent mid-December test at Daytona where a lithium-ion battery in one of the cars began to fail in the garage. Quick thinking ensured a battery fire was avoided when one of the crew members grabbed the toasty unit and dropped it into a bucket of water.

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Roar before the 24 Trackside action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmkvDVAmkNk

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[h=2]IMSA: Roar Before the 24 Saturday notebook[/h] Saturday, 07 January 2017


Marshall Pruett

TCR STUNNER
Audi's new TCR-spec RS3 LMS is on display in the WeatherTech Championship paddock. It also spent time in the Continental Tire Series paddock as well earlier in the day and was swarmed by interested parties looking to 2018 when the Street Tuner class is expected to embrace the TCR formula.

The RS3 LMS is expected to do a lap with one of the R8 GT3 LMS GT Daytona cars this weekend to give Audi's photographers a nice side-by-side promotional shot for future use.

OK FOR PT
The Performance Tech PC team made it out with its repaired No. 38 car after losing most of Friday with a hard crash suffered in the first session. The No. 38 was fastest in class when it returned for today's afternoon outing.
"It was good, and it was quick," said rapid Wisconsin product James French. "And we were able to get all of our drivers the laps they needed to run to satisfy IMSA's requirement, so that's a bonus."
French also said its likely the team will need to find a new fourth driver for the race.
MIXED MILNER
Changing conditions have led to modified run plans for some teams, including Corvette Racing. From 70 degrees and sunny on Friday to rain and clouds this morning to ambient temperatures in the 40s for the afternoon, Tommy Milner says the factory GT Le Mans program can always find something useful to accomplish, even when lap times are far from optimal.
"We've just been running to see what the car feels like," Milner said. "We did a lot of driver change practice when the track wasn't very good, and in the last session, we ran on Michelin's new wet tire to get some information—pressures, cambers, and all that—and then when the conditions were mixed, we switched to race running. It was still a little bit wet at the Bus Stop, so we were sliding a bit there, but it was dry mostly. We're hoping it's just cold tomorrow so at least it's consistent all day."

OLLY'S ODD COMPLAINT
Milner also mentioned his fellow IMSA GTLM champion and teammate Oliver Gavin expressed one of the stranger complaints heard from a race car driver.
"We feel good where the car is setup-wise and the changes over the winter have been good for the C7.R," Milner continued. "Oliver was complaining the car is too comfortable to drive! It's a good thing to hear about the car because it's the state it will run in the race, but it was a funny comment to hear. He said, 'the car is always hard to drive here...now it's too comfortable...'"
The defending Rolex 24 winners might have to stray from that comfort zone if more speed is required once the series returns for the race later this month.
"We can make it less comfortable to drive and it might end up being faster, so we can do that if necessary and then maybe Olly will be happier, but it will take seeing what everyone else is doing to know if that's the right direction to take," Milner added.
NISSAN TIMES 2
The No. 2 Nissan Onroak DPi will have spent most of the day in the garage while the sister No. 22 has logged the lion's share of laps.
The reason for its absence is an engine change (below), and with the newness of the car in mind—the first chassis arrived on Dec. 21—team co-owner/driver Scott Sharp says the Tequila Patron ESM crew have focused on completing the change and learning the best practices for a motor swap instead of rushing to get out. The No. 2 should be in action for the night session which closes Saturday's testing activities.

TRAP SPEEDS
The big trap speed numbers for Daytona Prototype internationals seen at the mid-December IMSA test are down at the Roar due to the Balance of Performance changes made between the events.
The 200.5 mph peak achieved by Ricky Taylor in his No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R last month set the tone for the new formula's speedy potential, but that number has been knocked down to 191.5 (so far) for the No. 10—which led the other DPis--in dry running on Friday.
The drop has been attributed to a tall 30mm Gurney tab added to the back of the Cadillacs through the BoP (below), and with the increase in rear downforce and drag, the parachute-like effects of the change are told through the decreased top speed.

With a need to run in low downforce and drag settings to maximize speeds on the long Daytona straights (seen below in December), the 30mm rear Gurney has cause an imbalance for the Cadillacs; solving the imbalance by adding more front downforce is the obvious solution, but that fix would increase overall drag and downforce, which goes against the need the aforementioned need to run in a slippery aerodynamic configuration...

Fastest of all on Friday was the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier JS P217 WEC P2 with a 194.3 mph. Second went to Taylor at 191.5, third belonged to the Rebellion Racing ORECA 07 WEC P2 at 191.5, and among the remaining prototypes, the Nissan Onroak DPi was next at 188.4, followed by a Mazda RT24-P DPi at 187.6 and at the bottom, the Riley/Multimatic Mk 30 WEC P2 managed a 187.1 mph trip through the traps on the front straight.





VISIT FLORIDA REST
Rene Rast will be the busy man during the early portion of today's test for Visit Florida Racing. Renger van der Zande, one of the team's two full-time drivers, is feeling ill and will rest while letting Rast and Marc Goossens handle the team's Riley Mk 30 WEC P2. Along with most of the new cars in IMSA's Prototype field, the No. 90 Visit Florida entry has been dealing with small issues, including engine cooling.
A THING OF BEAUTY
The front suspension layout on Acura's new GT3-spec NSX is a beautiful thing to behold. The easy access for damper and spring changes, the nice machined billet control arms and the unobscured chassis mounts for those control arms is impressive.

SAFETY FIRST
The right-front suspension control arm breakage that halted the No. 70 Mazda RT24-P during Friday's session proved to be a rallying point for the teams using the Riley/Multimatic Mk 30 chassis. The two-car Mazda team, which uses the Mk 30 as the base for its RT24-P Daytona Prototype international, and the Visit Florida Racing team, which fields the WEC P2 version of the car, have kept each other abreast of any issues, and once the suspension breakage was found, the SpeedSource-led Mazda team alerted VFR. All three cars were grounded until new pieces could be fitted overnight.
On an unrelated but interesting front with the RT24-Ps, SpeedSource has made extensive use of 3D printing wherever possible on the RT24-P while the team finalizes the various ducts and components being tested. The rapid prototyping efforts allow the team to try different solutions at a low cost before selecting the best options and having them made from carbon fiber.

The team also reports its gearbox cooling issues, which slowed recent testing progress, has been solved.
NO GO
The transmission issues that hampered Ford's 2016 Roar Before the 24 event have made an unwelcome return. The No. 67 Ford GT has been down while the gearbox undergoes a serious inspection and diagnosis effort by the Blue Oval's factory team.
THE GHOSTS ARE BACK
Ford isn't the only works effort on the sidelines. Some of the electronic gremlins that parked the Cadillac DPis on the first day of the mid-December test returned this morning to vex the No. 31 Action Express Racing entry. The Whelen-sponsored car sat parked during the wet opening session as a result of its problems. It's expected to head out for the 1:05 p.m. session.

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[h=2]Memo Gidley to make highly anticipated return to Daytona[/h] Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Popular sports car racer Memo Gidley is returning to Daytona International Speedway this week, three years after he was injured in a heavy crash during the third hour of the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona.



Gidley and his wife, Mari, are attending the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28-29, as guests of IMSA. Gidley will participate in a media availability on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Daytona International Speedway media center, and also plans to visit with doctors and staff later this week at Halifax Health Medical Center, where he was transported after the incident and spent several days undergoing treatment for his injuries.
"Daytona is a special place for me and I've been wanting to get back as soon as I was healed," Gidley said. "It's been a long recovery journey, and a big part of my motivation was to be here now. The healing has gone so well and I've been cleared by doctors to drive again.
"I'm looking forward to saying 'thank you' to so many people that were part of helping me when I was injured. IMSA and everybody associated with this race gave me a lot of support and I want to say thanks. Even though many have been in contact on email or over the phone, I haven't seen them in person for three years. When you work to help somebody, it's always nice to see how it ended up, and I want them to see how strong I am and that I'm back. I also hope that my recovery can inspire anybody else dealing with something similar."
The 55th Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. FOX Sports will offer 23 hours of live race coverage, beginning with a three-hour FOX network telecast beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 28, followed by expanded coverage on FS1 and FS2.

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Some of the Daytona 24 prototype cars, aero designs and suspensions will be posted here:
Chassis & Suspension Tech

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[TD="width: 225"]The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off a new era this weekend with Saturday’s 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway in the twice-around-the-clock race on the 3.56-mile road course.
The race will be streamed live flag to flag on the FOX Sports GO app with FS1 authentication, beginning at 2 p.m ET on Saturday, January 28 and continuing to 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 28. Live TV coverage begins on FOX from 2-5 p.m., switches to FS2 for 5-10 p.m. as well as 11 p.m.-1:00 p.m. and then finishes off on FS1 from 1-3 p.m.
The weekend also features the opening round of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in Friday’s BMW Endurance Challenge, a four-hour endurance race that will be streamed live on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile app, beginning at 12:15 p.m.
IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile app will stream in-car cameras, live timing and scoring, and IMSA Radio’s play-by-play live on Saturday and Sunday. IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile app will also stream Thursday’s WeatherTech Championship qualifying, along with live timing and scoring throughout the weekend.
IMSA Radio, a co-production with Radio Show Limited, continues providing live audio coverage of all IMSA sessions. Tune in live all weekend long on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com, Sirius Channel 136, XM 204, and Sirius XM Online 963. You can also listen live at-track on scanner channel 454.000.
Thursday, Jan. 26 (All Times ET)
WeatherTech Championship qualifying gets underway at 3:10 p.m. and will be aired live on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile app. It will be followed by Continental Tire Challenge qualifying at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 27
Friday’s schedule features the four-hour Continental Tire Challenge BMW Endurance Challenge race, which will take the green flag at 12:15 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 28
The Rolex 24 At Daytona – opening round of the WeatherTech Championship – takes the green flag at 2:30 p.m. The race will be streamed live, flag to flag, on the FOX Sports GO app with FS1 authentication, beginning at 2 p.m. Live coverage begins on FOX from 2-5 p.m. then switches to FS2 for 5-10 p.m. as well as 11 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 29
Rolex 24 coverage continues on FS2 from midnight to 12:30 p.m., finishing off on FS1 from 12:30-3 p.m.
***Live international broadcast stream available on IMSA.tv and the IMSA mobile app.
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[h=2]Rolex 24 Wednesday Notebook[/h] Wednesday, 25 January 2017


Marshall Pruett (words and images)
BACK UP AFTER ALL


The Corvette Racing team altered its plans to rebuild the No. 4 C7.R after it caught fire on Jan. 8 during the final day of testing at the Roar Before the 24. The initial routine mapped out by the defending Rolex 24 GTLM class winners had the burned No. 4 being completely repaired after a high-pressure fuel injection line malfunctioned and sprayed the flammable liquid onto the V8 engine's exhaust.


Once the No. 4 made its way back to the team's shop in Michigan, a new course of action was chosen where the team's spare car would be prepped to race this weekend. The spare, which underwent approximately 300 miles of testing and turned its most recent laps during last year's Goodwood Festival, will return to its position as a spare following Daytona as the primary No. 4 will be rebuilt in time for the Mobil 1 Twelve hours of Sebring in March.


UNEXPECTED SWITCH
The Visit Florida Racing team is coming into race week with very little sleep after experiencing late-night dramas that set the WEC-spec Riley/Multimatic Mk 30 P2 program back. With the clock approaching midnight last Saturday, the team attempted to warm up its fresh Gibson V8 race engine, which lasted less than a minute before the motor went off after it ingested something hard through one of the inlet trumpets.

Halted before a complete engine failure took place, the team was forced to make a dash down to Rebellion Racing's temporary base in Florida to retrieve the Gibson V8 it used in testing through the Roar. That motor, sent to Rebellion as part of a contingency plan if the Swiss team's race motor did not arrive in time, was driven back to the VFR shop and plugged into the No. 90 machine.
Owing to the short turnaround time involved, the damaged motor will not be ready for the race, leaving VFR to use its pre-season testing engine. Upgrades to that motor, including the drive-by-wire system, will be completed by Gibson at the track and will not require the motor to be removed.


FUN TO COME?
Peter Baron's Starworks Motorsport team is waiting to finalize its PC lineup. The newly bright pink and yellow entries are easy to spot, and depending on how a few things fall today, the driving roster could see the addition of a familiar name to the program.


GROUP SHOT
IMSA assembled its annual group photo on pit lane this morning. On top of getting a glimpse of a few new liveries, it also gave the series a chance to demonstrate the size and diversity contained within the four WeatherTech Championship classes.

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[h=2]RACER's Rolex 24 at Daytona Resource Guide[/h] Wednesday, 25 January 2017


Marshall Pruett

An incredible start to the fourth WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season kicks off this week at Daytona International Speedway, where more than 50 cars are preparing to earn overall and class honors at the 55th Rolex 24 at Dayonta.
RACER has you covered from the grounds at DIS. Be sure to follow @RACERmag and @MarshallPruett for regular updates on Twitter, and RACER.com for photos, videos, session reports and feature stories.
IMSA RADIO: Click Here
ENTRY LIST: Click Here
TICKETS: Click here
WEATHER: Click Here
SPOTTERS GUIDE: Click here
IMSA LIVE TIMING & SCORING: Click Here
WEATHERTECH CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT SCHEDULE:
Thursday, January 26 (all times Eastern)

• 10:20 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. Free Practice 1
• 1:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Free Practice 2
• 3:10 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. Qualifying
• 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Free Practice 3

Friday, January 27

• 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Free Practice 4

Saturday, January 28

• 2:30 p.m. – Race start, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Round 1

Sunday, January 29

• 2:30 p.m. – Race end

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