[h=2]IMSA: Rast joins Visit Florida squad for Daytona[/h] Tuesday, 03 January 2017


Team release

Visit Florida Racing has added German driver Rene Rast to the team for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Rast joins Belgian Marc Goossens and Dutchman Renger van der Zande at the helm of the team's new No. 90 Gibson-powered Riley Mk. 30 in the top Prototype category.
A two-time Rolex 24 race winner (2012 and 2016, with Magnus Racing), Rast has competed in the previous five Rolex 24 events in the GT category.
While he steps up to the top Prototype division in IMSA competition for the 2017 Rolex 24, Rast has a deep reservoir of international LMP experience. Rast took second in last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 with G-Drive Racing. He drove full-time in the FIA World Endurance Championship for G-Drive in an LMP2 in 2016 and claimed a win at Bahrain and podium finishes at both Silverstone and Circuit of The Americas. Rast is also a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Spa, taking the victory in both 2012 and '14 in an Audi R8 LMS. He also won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring driving the Audi in 2014.
"It is an amazing feeling to know that in a few days I will be back at Daytona," said Rast. "The Rolex 24 is one of my favorite races during the year and I can't wait for the action to begin. I have won the Rolex 24 now two times but not overall. My big dream was always to one day win it overall. Being part of a great team like Visit Florida Racing is a big honor and for sure it will bring a big smile to my face doing my first laps in their car. I followed the team over the past couple of years and always felt that they were one of the best teams, so I'm very proud to be part of this effort."
Team owner Troy Flis added: "We are very excited to have a guy like Rene join our Visit Florida line-up. He is quick and has a lot of valuable experience for us to tap into as we get ready for our first race with this Riley LMP2. I think he'll fit right in with Mark and Renger, so we are excited to get going with our new car this week here at the Roar."
All three drivers will be in action in this week's Roar Before the 24 which takes place Jan. 6-8.