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Fifty Years after Daytona Sweep, Ferrari 488s Target GT Class Victory in 24 Hours


Thursday, January 26, 2017


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Ferrari

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This year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona marks fifty years since one of the race’s most famous finishes.
Ferrari arrived at the 1967 Rolex 24 At Daytona with four cars targeting the overall victory, including the two examples of the new 330 P4. After twenty-four hours, the 330 P4 of Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini had done just that. The image of the three red Ferraris, led by Amon and Bandini’s No. 23 Ferrari 330 P4, became one of the most famous images in the race’s history.
Fifty years later, three Ferrari 488s will look to add to the company’s legacy as Ferrari celebrates its 70[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary.
Edwin Fenech, President and CEO of Ferrari North America is excited to return to Daytona, “After hosting an epic Ferrari World Finals in December at the Daytona International Speedway, we are looking forward to returning to the track for the start of the GT season where three Ferrari 488s will battle on the high banks to open the next chapter in GT racing here in America . The historic Ferrari win at Daytona 50 years ago certainly serves as great inspiration for us and the teams.”
Risi Competizione will represent Ferrari in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE scored a dominant victory in last year’s IMSA finale, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The winning driver lineup from that race of Ferrari factory drivers James Calado, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander will return with Risi Competizione, each seeking their first victory at Daytona International Speedway. Team Principal, Giuseppe Risi said, “As a Ferrari dealer [Ferrari of Houston], over the years we have raced the same model Ferraris that we have on the showroom floor and continue to do so with the Ferrari 488 GTLM. We’re proud of the successes we have had on the race track and hope it shows our customers the proud tradition of the Ferrari name.”
Scuderia Corsa and Spirit of Race will represent Ferrari in the GT Daytona (GTD) class. This will be the first 24 Hours of Daytona race for the Ferrari 488 GT3.
Scuderia Corsa returns with defending IMSA and North American Endurance Cup GT-Daytona champions Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen, who will be joined in Daytona by Ferrari factory driver Sam Bird and Matteo Cressoni in the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3. Team owner Giacomo Mattioli commented, “2017 marks the 70[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary for Ferrari and the debut of the 488GT3 in Daytona. There would not be a better way to celebrate than a success for Scuderia Corsa at the race track, where it all began.”
In the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 will be Peter Mann, Rino Mastronardi, Maurizio Mediani, former 24 Hours of Daytona winner Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Ferrari factory driver Davide Rigon.
*Photos courtesy of Ferrari North America

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[h=2]Rolex 24 Thursday notebook[/h] Thursday, 26 January 2017


Marshall Pruett and J.J. O'Malley / Images by Marshall Pruett

NISSAN PLEASED WITH QUALIFYING

Tequila Patron ESM’s week got off to a rough start when its new No. 22 Nissan DPi was hit by a camera crew and sustained radiator damage during a Wednesday car-to-car photo shoot. The troubles continued during Thursday’s practice, with the No. 22 running out of fuel near the end of the second session.
Then everything fell into place for the defending Rolex 24-winning team during qualifying. Brendon Hartley was fifth in the No. 22 Tequila Patron Nissan DPi (1m37.609, 0.706 seconds behind the pole-winning No. 5 Cadillac), with Ryan Dalziel clocking sixth fastest in the No. 2 (1m38.251s).
“We really don’t have a lot of expectations for this weekend,” admitted team owner Ed Brown, who co-drives the No. 22 car. “Our cars are brand new, and everybody has way more laps than we do. So it was a very solid performance in qualifying. We made big leaps today; we’re very pleased with the speed. It’s such a new car, and we haven’t had them very long, and we’ve made big gains. We’re really looking forward to the season – I think we’re going to be solid.”
DRAGONS UNDER FIRE
Elton Julian’s DragonSpeed Racing team was forced to miss qualifying after driver Loic Duval went off in FP2 and damaged the team’s ORECA 05 tub beyond immediate repair. A quick visit to the ORECA spares transporter resulted in a brand-new ORECA 07 tub being wheeled into the garage, and the long process of transferring everything over from one tub to another, along with installing all of the components that attach to the tub externally will push DragonSpeed’s mechanics into Friday before the fresh No. 81 car is ready to go.
SWEEPY GOODNESS
Cadillac went 1-2 thanks to Action Express Racing to capture the first-ever pole for Daytona Prototype internationals; Ford claimed a 1-2-3 in GT Le Mans – after running 1-2-3 in multiple sessions at the Roar Before the 24 – and Ferrari swept the GTD front row with the 488 in the hands of Spirit of Race and Scuderia Corsa.
In GTD, where Acura, Lexus and Mercedes-AMG are making their WeatherTech Championship debuts, the NSX GT3 led the trio (P7), followed by the best Lexus RC F (P13) and the top Mercedes-AMG GT3 (P1 in a significant reversal of fortune from recent testing at Daytona where the German cars were fast right out of the box.

MELLOW MAZDAS
One surprise from qualifying involved the pace, or rather, the newfound lack of pace by Mazda’s pair of RT24-P DPis. Coming off a strong Roar performance that ended with P2 for the event on the (1m38.363s), seeing the Mazdas take ninth and 10th in a class of 12 cars with a best of 1m39.940s would suggest significant problems were being experienced. Not the case, according to the team.
After securing multiple poles in 2016 and suffering multiple failures while leading or contending for the win, the SpeedSource-led team has taken a different approach to open the season by focusing on the finish line. The team pushed hard at the Roar and gauged the RT24-P’s speed relative to its rivals, and with that benchmark in place, Mazda appears to be planning for a 24-hour race where its cars play the unfamiliar role of tortoise among the hares.
With every Prototype team dealing with reliability concerns, the RT24-Ps have been set on a path of endurance instead of lap records. Come Sunday afternoon, we’ll know if it’s the winning strategy.
SOMEONE LEFT THE SAND AT THE BEACH
The mysteriously missing speed among the Cadillac DPi-V.R camp at the roar Before the 24 magically appeared during the first and second practice sessions. Rising winds have kept top speeds in check, but that hasn't stopped the trio of Cadillacs from locking out the top three in that department so far, or from running 1-2-3 in FP1 and FP2.
The margin from the fastest Cadillac to the best non-Cadillac in FP1 was 2.160s (Rebellion Racing's WEC ORECA 07-Gibson), and in FP2, it was a similar 1.926s (DragonSpeed's ORECA 07).
Seeing the Cadillacs up front is far from a surprise. Having it happen straight away in the event ... not so much.
SPARES
The Nissan team encountered unexpected adversity while doing tracking shots around Daytona. Side-to-side contact between the Patron-sponsored Nissan Onroak DPis left one of the cars with a crumpled left intercooler and bodywork in need of repair. Owing to the late delivery of the cars, spare parts production has been slightly behind, and with the need to dip into the team's spares after the clash, new spares are being carried over from Onroak's base in France to Daytona by plane.
PART-TIME MAYOR
IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe has an interesting schedule heading into Saturday's 24-hour race. The "Mayor of Hinchtown" isn't scheduled to get into his No. 55 Mazda RT24-P DPi until night practice, leaving most of Thursday open for his general amusement, and once the session is over, he's off to New Orleans for a pre-arranged promotional stop on behalf of IndyCar.
The most significant stretch of time he'll have in the 2.0-liter turbocharged prototype will come after the green flag waves.
15-YEAR OLD TAKES RRDC AWARD
Neil Verhagen, a 15-year-old Connecticut native, was recognized as the youngest winner of the Mark Donohue Award at the annual Road Racing Drivers Club dinner Wednesday evening at the Dayonta 500 Club. Verhagen was voted the honor for his efforts in the 2016 SCCA Runoffs at Mid-Ohio in winning the Formula F championship.
Verhagen is now residing in Holland to prepare for joining the Red Bull Junior team in 2017 Formula Renault two-liter competition on premier European circuits. His goals are to compete in Formula 1 or IndyCar, with the Rolex 24 also on his bucket list.
"Neil Verhagen is a superstar – a record-breaker and record-maker," Dorsey Schroeder said during the award presentation.
Other awards included the Phil Hill Award, to Chip Ganassi, and the Bob Akin Award, presented to Murray Smith.
GUASCH HAPPY TO BE BACK HOME
Mike Guasch admits that his successful bid to win the ELMS P3 championship wore him out, involving 15 round trips to Europe. This year, he's running a new Ligier – the only JSP217 in the Rolex 24 field. Guasch returns with Tom Kimber-Smith for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup in the No. 52 Gibson-powered entry.
"I'll have a lot more time at home and catching up on life," Guasch said. "This new car is a monster. It really comes on like a bat out of hell."
EXPERIENCE PAYING OFF FOR STEVENSON IN GTD
Andrew Davis returns for Stevenson Motorsports, co-driving with Robin Liddell, Lawson Aschenbach and Matt Bell in the No. 57 Audi R8 LMS GT3.
"We're one of the few teams with the same car and same driver lineup," Davis said. "We hope the lessons we learned last year will help us. We're far ahead of where we were here last year. We're optimistic, but it's going to be very tough. It's exciting to see all the manufacturers here with strong cars and strong driver lineups. It's at a new level – maybe the toughest competition ever – and it's going to be a very exciting race."
GURNEY FAMILY STILL HOLDS DAYTONA SPEED MARK

While Alex Gurney’s three-year old IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge Prototype class record was shattered during Thursday’s qualifying session, his father still holds the Rolex 24 all-time mark.
Joao Barbosa ran 1m36.903s as the top six eclipsed Gurney’s 2014 mark of 1m38.270s, with the No. 5 Action Express Cadillac DPi driver the fastest qualifier at Daytona in 24 years.
However, the all-time Daytona mark remains in the grip of Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, with P.J. Jones running a sizzling lap of 1m33.875s in the No. 98 Toyota Eagle back in 1993 – a prelude to that year’s victory co-driving with Ricky Moran and Mark Dismore.
C.J. WILSON TRADING MITT FOR HELMET
C.J. Wilson told Radio Le Mans that he will be concentrating on cars in 2017. The former all-star lefty pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels will be racing in the Porsche GT3 Cup this season, in addition to overseeing his racing team and auto dealerships.
“For the past 16 years, I’ve been a pro baseball player,” Wilson said. “But my whole life I wanted to be something completely different.”

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[h=2]Action Express claims Rolex pole, front row sweep[/h] Thursday, 26 January 2017


J.J. O'Malley / Image by Marshall Pruett

Action Express Racing's new Cadillac DPis swept the front row in Thursday's qualifying for the 55th Rolex 24 at Daytona, led by Joao Barbosa with a Prototype class-record lap of 1m36.903s in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi.
Barbosa nipped Action Express Racing teammate Dane Cameron (1m36.973s in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering entry) by 0.070s. Neil Jani led the international specification LMP2 cars, running 1m37.123s in the Gibson-powered No. 13 Rebellion Racing ORECA.
"I pushed really hard," Barbosa said after winning his first career IMSA WeatherTech Championship Total Pole Award. "It took awhile for the tires to come up to temperature, but the car was really great. Hats off to all the Action Express guys for fixing the little glitches. It's great to be on the pole for our first race here for the new era of Prototype cars. Qualifying is good for what it is, but the race is 24 hours. I think it's going to be a tremendous race."

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing swept the top three GTLM positions running in numerical order. Joey Hand (1m43.473s) won the pole in the No. 66 Ford GT, followed by the No. 67 of Richard Westbrook (1m43.704s) and No. 68 of Olivier Pla (1m43.987). Pla had a scare late in the session when he spun in the International Horseshoe, but managed to avoid contact.
"Dirk Mueller put this car on the pole at Le Mans and we won," said Hand, who will co-drive with fellow 2016 Le Mans winners Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais. "We were struggling today trying to get it together, because it felt a lot different from what it did at the Roar. We all put our heads together. We wondered if we should throw the book at it or just wing it. I'm a 'wing it' kind of guy, so we made a small change to the car and I went for it."
The fastest non-Ford was the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE of Toni Vilander (1m44.121s), with the top seven cars separated by 0.886s.

Ferraris swept the front row in GTD. Alessandro Pier Guidi won the pole, 1m47.099s in the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3, 0.018s faster than defending class champion Alessandro Balzan (1:47.117s) in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa entry. Different marques took up the next five positions, with the top seven separated by 1.169s.
"It was really tough," Pier Guidi said. "I pushed like hell from the beginning, and the car was great."

James French ran a fast final lap of 1m42.559s to lock up the PC pole in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca FLM09. French denied No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports driver Johnny Mowlem (1m43.396s) his third consecutive Daytona pole by 0.837s.
"Absolutely, I was pushing 100 percent [for the pole]," French said. "We wanted to start out the best we could, especially with the tough GTLM field, so I did the best we could."
Fifty four of the 55 entries qualified for Saturday's race, which starts at 2:30 p.m. ET. The lone car on the sidelines was the No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA, which was badly damaged in FP2 but is expected to be ready for Friday morning's final practice at 10 a.m. ET.

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[h=2]Angelelli leads Rolex 24 night practice[/h] Thursday, 26 January 2017


J.J. O'Malley / Image by Marshall Pruett

Gearing up for his final race, Max Angelelli turned in the fastest lap during Thursday's third practice session for the Rolex 24, running 1m37.757s in the 90-minute session run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.
"We've turned a lot of miles, so we feel that we are very well prepared," said the two-time Rolex 24 winner, who is also the program manager for the Cadillac DPi program. "Our advantage is we were able to do more testing than the other competitors, and this is the main reason why our car is quick. It's a long race. Starting position means nothing. Tonight went very well for me personally. I'm comfortable, so I'm a lot happier. Cadillac must win – end of story!"
Felipe Albuquerque was second at 1m37.905 in the pole-winning No. 5 Action Express Cadillac DPi, followed by the two Tequila Patron ESM Nissan DPis: Brenton Hartley (1m38.943s) in the No. 22 and Scott Sharp (1m39.011) in the No. 2.

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[h=2]Rolex 24 reliability a big worry for prototype teams[/h] Thursday, 26 January 2017


Marshall Pruett (words and images)

A recent IMSA Prototype champion said it best at the mid-December Daytona test: "This race is going to be won in the garages. The best ones or the fastest ones to fix all the little problems everyone will have is going to win."
Nightmarish tales of electronic gremlins related to every Cosworth steering wheel (used on 10 of the 12 new-for-2017 cars in the Prototype class) continue to linger; gearbox cooling issues with multiple manufacturers using Xtrac transmissions have those teams hoping for cool ambient temperatures across throughout the race; and a wide array of other problems – from recalcitrant alternator belts to blown engines – have teams preparing for worst-case scenarios.
The days of torrid 24-hour qualifying-style battles at Daytona will likely return in 2018 – once the Prototype field has suffered and cured the new-car failures that will inevitably take place – and according to leading drivers from the three Daytona Prototype international brands, having mechanical or electronic interruptions is all but guaranteed.

"It will be the most unpredictable 24 Hour in the prototype category in many, many years here for sure," said reigning Prototype champion Dane Cameron, who races a Cadillac DPi-V.R for Action Express Racing. "I think that is for sure the common theme. Nobody really knows where they stand, nobody really knows; is it a $20,000 part that will let you down or a five-cent part? We are not sure yet because nobody has enough miles. Everyone is a little behind on where they would like to be."


Scott Sharp's Tequila Patron ESM team and its ultra-new Nissan Onroak DPis arrived stateside just a few days before Christmas. With a shortage of testing mileage, the sports car veteran has modest expectations for ESM's fortunes once the green flag waves.
"The reliability is the hugest thing as you are going into [Daytona and] Sebring and you want to be getting points in all these races," he said. "So for us, if we are able to get both cars to the end, and certainly have one in the running in some form at the end, I think we would be feeling pretty successful from where the true inception of our program started, which was only a couple weeks ago."
So what might we expect to see in the race? Opinions vary.
"For us, it absolutely had to be flat out the past couple of years and it had turned into a sprint race," Cameron said of the bulletproof Daytona Prototypes that were retired last year. You might see little more pacing, [but] I don't think you're going to see people rolling around trying to survive to the end. Instead of seeing 10/10ths for 24 hours, you might see eight or nine [tenths] for the first two hours and then see if everything is okay and the people for sure going to turn to a sprint at the end.
"But I don't think anybody knows who has the strongest package at the moment or who's going to make it to the end. There's going to be a lot of surprises I think all throughout. So it will be a different game plan I think for everyone. I think everyone's going to have their own idea on what they think is the best."
The Mazda team, as evidenced by its conservative approach in practice and qualifying, is going to leave the sprint portion of the race until the end is in sight.
"Your head is kind of spinning," said veteran Mazda ace Jonathan Bomarito. "I think for the first 20 hours, [it] is getting in the flow of all of that, understanding the race, conserving the car. And like [Cameron] said, the cars that are on the lead lap for the last four hours, it is a sprint race, for sure."

Bomarito also thinks the high attrition rate will shift the focus from the race taking place on the 3.56-mile circuit to the rapid-fire fixes going on in the Daytona garage. And provided most teams encounter reliability problems as expected, extended garage time might not kill everyone's chance of coming away with a decent finish.
"Once you went out, you lost 20 or 30 laps you knew your race was done, you were finishing next to last," he said of the most recent race dynamics at Daytona. "Now, I think if you lose [five or] 10 laps, instead of losing 30, that could be a few spots. And for a championship, those extra five, six points could make a big difference.
"So, I think that fight and the struggle that the crewmembers are going to go through in the middle race when you have these little gremlins, if we do, or whoever does, are going to be even more important this year."
Race car drivers are accustomed to being celebrated for their heroics in the car. By the time the checkered flag waves on Sunday afternoon, Prototype mechanics could emerge as the true heroes of the event.

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[h=2]Rolex 24 all-nighter pays off, DragonSpeed ORECA to race[/h] Friday, 27 January 2017


J.J. O'Malley

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday, Loic Duval contacted the barrier exiting Turn 1 in the closing minutes of the second Rolex 24 at Daytona practice session. Duval was unhurt, but the Gibson-powered No. 81 Dragonspeed ORECA sustained major damage, sending the team scrambling to repair the car.
The team was forced to miss qualifying and night practice while changing to a spare tub. Duval was fourth fastest at 1m40.511s prior to the incident. At 5:45 a.m. on Friday morning, repairs were finally completed.


"It was a long night, but hopefully it's well worth it," said DragonSpeed crew chief Steve Noakes. "We had chassis damage, and went to a new tub. We got out of here about a quarter to six, went back for a shower, and then right back to the track. It's all good now."
Duval will be joined by Henrik Hedman, Nicolas Lapierre and Ben Hanley in Saturday's Rolex 24. As a result of missing qualifying, the will start 12th at the back of the Prototype grid.
Starting from the back is not an obstacle at the Rolex 24. Andy Lally had a see-saw weekend in 2011, when he went from the Rolex Series GT class pole to the back of the grid when the qualifying time for his TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was disallowed due to improper mounting of the rear wing. Joined by Spencer Pumpelly, Wolf Henzler, Brendan Gaughan and Steven Bertheau, Lally came back to win – his fourth of five Rolex 24 class victories.

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[h=2]Jordan Taylor fastest in final Rolex 24 practice[/h] Friday, 27 January 2017


J.J. O'Malley / Image by Marshall Pruett

Jordan Taylor's last-minute flier resulted in the fastest lap (1m36.970s) in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi in Friday's practice session – the lone on-track activity for IMSA WeatherTech Championship teams preparing for the 55th Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Taylor denied bragging rights for DragonSpeed, which had an all-night repair session pay off as Nicolas Lapierre wound up second fastest (1m37.922s) in the No. 81 Gibson-powered Oreca. The car had to switch to a new tub following a crash in Turn 1 late in Thursday's second practice.


GTLM pole winner Joey Hand led the class in the No. 66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT (1m43.490s), followed by Dirk Werner in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR (1m43.543s).
"The car keeps getting better and better," said Hand, part of the team's 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning lineup. "It was good in qualifying, but the guys kept tuning on it and it felt even better this morning. Yesterday, it was good for only a lap or two. Now, I think we can drive it this way for a long time."
Andrea Caldarelli was fastest in GTD in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 (1m47.455s), followed by Jeroen Bleekemolen in the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 (1m47.511s). Robert Wickens led PC in the No. 8 Starworks Oreca (1m43.650s).
The one-hour session was slowed by a pair of red flag stoppages, with 51 of the 55 starters participating.
The first red flag of nearly 11 minutes came at the 13-minute mark for the stopped No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE.
"We were losing fluid, so as a precaution I shut it off," driver Toni Vilander explained. "Just a technical issue – no drama."
Once racing resumed, the red flag waved again only five minutes later, for a 13-minute stoppage involving a pair of incidents. The No. 18 DAC Motorsports Lamborghini of Emmanuel Anassis lost fluid following an incident in Turn 6, and the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier of Jose Gutierrez lost a wheel in the infield.

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[h=2]'Roof Top Ray' set for another Rolex 24 all-nighter[/h] Friday, 27 January 2017



J.J. O'Malley / Image courtesy of Ray Wenzel

All night long during the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, a lonely cameraman brings stunning live images to racing fans worldwide from high atop the grandstands at Daytona International Speedway. That's "Roof Top Ray."
In real life, he's Ray Wenzel from Hartford, Conn., who covers major races and other sports events. He's worked with the production teams from TBS, ESPN and ESPN2 which covered the event through 2000, with SPEED Channel which began its coverage in 2001 and currently with FOX Sports, which carried the Rolex 24 for the first time in 2014.


When and how did you earn the name "Roof Top Ray"?
"Three years ago, Jeremy Shaw and John Hindhaugh and the guys from Radio Le Mans were doing their broadcast, and we were doing the internet feed. I think it was Frank Wilson (current Vice President of Production for FOX Sports) who put it all together. Basically, we got them a feed from our truck, so they would have something for them to talk about overnight.
"I was able to listen to their broadcast. Then Taylor Rollins and Chris Taylor – who were editor/producer types who were working overnight to get highlights together – started playing off the Radio Le Mans broadcast. They were kind enough to give me kudos here and there for the shots. I was shooting the brake rotors glowing, and the flames from the exhaust backfires as they go up onto the banking. The guys were helping me with lead changes, position changes and pit stops, and I would follow cars battling for position. There were no commercials, we were just shooting racing and having fun. Working with the Radio Le Mans commentary, I was up there having a blast. They were the guys who coined, 'Roof Top Ray.'"

What happened next?

"After that race, I started to realize how many people from all over the planet were watching. The Twitter posts were trending about the race. I didn't have a Twitter account and had no idea how big it was on the internet, until a week later when Frank Wilson forwarded a page from Autosport magazine and they had half a page talking about the overall TV coverage and mentioned 'Roof Top Ray.' At that point and after a lot of coaxing from my girlfriend (now wife) I got a Twitter account, @RooftopRay."

Does it get cold up there?

"Yes it does, but I dress accordingly. I've been a freelance camera operator for 25 years, doing racing in particular. I'm used to the conditions. I've also done stuff like the Great Outdoor Games, Winter X Games and other winter activities, so I've got some pretty good gear. I'm well aware of how it can be like in Florida where it can get down into the 40s and 30s."

How long have you been covering the Rolex 24 at Daytona?

"My first one was in 1997 or 1998, and I've done every one since. This will be my fourth year doing the overnight. For this year, they're moving my Camera 1 position, and I will be on scaffolding instead of the platform they used to have. My section was moved to section 386, which doesn't right a bell, so I know something's going to be different. It will be a similar shot where you can see the cars in the trioval and the pit stops, which is key for that camera.

Any favorite Daytona stories?

Of all my Rolex 24 memories, my favorite was probably the year SPEED did 25 hours of live coverage [in 2001]. We had two full crews, the Lingner Group produced it, and there were many great driver/year/car features to fill any slow time. They also used a lot of email interaction from people watching, even race parties that lasted all night. That feedback made me feel better – there really were fans doing crazier things than us making TV."

What are your favorite races?

"I'm a big fan of endurance racing, so the Rolex 24, Le Mans, certainly Sebring, but my favorite race is the Indy 500. I've done the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen 15 times over the past 20 years, and I love going there and staying at the Seneca Lodge. The only one I haven't worked yet is Le Mans. Most of the time I'm up so I don't get to interact with the fans. But at Sebring, where I usually work Camera 1, the fans behind me are a lot of fun. Every once in a while they pass a good burger or hot dog, because they know I get hungry. Also, Turn 10 is a lot of fun to work at Sebring (pictured, LAT photo), because it's a huge party right across the corner there."

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[h=2]Daytona Rolex 24 from the drivers themselves[/h]

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[h=2]IMSA's GT Daytona class loaded with GT3 exotica[/h] Friday, 27 January 2017


Marshall Pruett / Images by Richard Dole and LAT

There are no rooms left at the GT Daytona Hotel.
The overflowing success of IMSA's GT3-based GTD class has been a blessing for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. As its most populated category, the enriched offerings from Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Dodge, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche transformed the 2016 season into a vision of supercar lunacy.


Built upon a blended Pro-Am formula, IMSA's GTD class is driven by its global GT3 underpinnings and the light factory assistance from the brands involved. These dream machines, each carrying steep six-figure price tags, are typically sold for independent use.
Looking to 2017, "typical" will no longer be used to describe GTD.
Thanks to marauding newcomers Acura, Lexus and Mercedes-AMG, norms will be tested this year as three additional brands with direct factory involvement – all dead set on whipping the old guard into submission – storm the GTD ranks.
Even with the might of automotive giants behind some programs, finding an edge, especially with so many distinct cars being equalized under IMSA's Balance of Performance rules, has become the obsessive pursuit for every manufacturer.
In this diverse group, winning is IMSA's most elusive prize. The secret to capturing it, according to Acura NSX GT3 team owner Michael Shank, takes place before the season gets under way.
"Testing!" roars the Ohioan. "It's not a simple answer, but with us having such a new car we have to get our balance. The series is so tight. You have first to 15th covered in seven or eight tenths of a second. If we want to win, it starts with testing. We're going to have to get our chassis balance better and work on our raceability between all of the drivers."
For privateers and works-affiliated programs alike, the GT3 rules make standing out in a packed GTD crowd harder than anything found in other IMSA categories. And that's by design.
"Again, that's because everything is regulated so tightly," Shank says. "All the little advantages will end up as a two- or three-tenths gain at a place like Daytona. Every detail has to be looked at. It's going to be all of the little stuff. And we've been in a spec series like this, in the Toyota Atlantic series back in the late 90s, early 2000s - it was the very same thing. Where we have cars with very equal capability, the difference was spending an extra day on the shaker rig, spending an extra day in the wind tunnel. Anything we could do to maximize the legal testing window."
Across the GTD divide, Shank's Acuras and the rest of the new brands will find staunch opposition from veteran teams like Stevenson Motorsports and its proven Audi R8s. But keeping the factories at bay and mired somewhere off the podium, won't be easy.
"It's great to have three newcomers to the series, not only for Stevenson Motorsports, but for Audi as well," says Stevenson team manager Mike Johnson. "It's important for all manufacturers to be able to compete against each other on a level playing field. However, none of the [inbound factory] teams are new to IMSA, and they are all very skilled or they wouldn't have been chosen by those manufacturers.
"It will be very difficult to get any real edge on anybody and I expect to see multiple winners this season. The challenge with GT3 is that with all the downforce and driver aids, passing is very difficult, so it just makes qualifying, pit stops, and minimizing mistakes all that more important. We are excited for that challenge ahead."
If all the teams – the GTD veterans and even the first-timers – have done their pre-season homework, logged countless miles in testing, then shaken and tunneled their cars without mercy, where might the final differentiator between winning and losing be found?
"Decision making," Shank exclaims. "If you've done everything possible outside the car, the last place to look is inside that cockpit between the green flag and the checkers. Our drivers have to be better decision makers, period."
Acura, with its torquey twin-turbo V6 powerplant, pitted against Lexus and its brawling RC F, challenged by Mercedes-AMG and its nightmare-inducing V8 engine, is a brilliant match on its own. Throw the R8s, M6 GT3s, 488 GT3s, Huracán GT3s and 911 GT3 Rs into the GTD cage, and it's going to be one heck of a rumble.