At-track photos: 2021 IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona
Here’s the Rolex 24 At Daytona 2021 starting grid: 49 cars are full of racing’s stars
Staff Report
Here’s a look at the entry list for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, which runs Saturday and Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
The breakdown by car class: seven Daytona Prototype International entries; 10 cars in Le Mans Prototype 2; seven cars in Le Mans Prototype 3; six entries in GT Le Mans; and 19 cars in the GT Daytona class.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona entry list:
Daytona Prototype International (DPi)
Car number; team/sponsor; car type; drivers
01: Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing; Cadillac; Renger van der Zande; Scott Dixon; Marcus Ericsson; Kevin Magnussen
5: JDC-Miller MotorSports / Mustang Sampling Racing; Cadillac; Tristan Vautier; Sebastien Bourdais; Loic Duval
10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05; Acura; Ricky Taylor; Filipe Albuquerque; Alexander Rossi; Helio Castroneves
31: Whelen Engineering Racing / Cadillac / Lucas Oil; Cadillac; Chase Elliott; Felipe Nasr; Pipo Derani; Mike Conway; won overall pole
48: Ally Cadillac Racing; Cadillac; Jimmie Johnson; Kamui Kobayashi; Simon Pagenaud; Mike Rockenfeller
More:Rolex 24 At Daytona - 2021 starting grid
55: Mazda Motorsports; Mazda; Oliver Jarvis; Jonathan Bomarito; Harry Tincknell
60: Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian / SiriusXM / AutoNation / Acura Type S / Curb Records; Acura; Olivier Pla; AJ Allmendinger; Dane Cameron; Juan Pablo Montoya
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Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2)
Car number; team/sponsor; car type; drivers
8: Tower Motorsport / Tower Events; ORECA LMP2 07; John Farano; Gabriel Aubry; Tim Buret; Matthieu Vaxiviere
11: WIN Autosport; ORECA LMP2 07; Steven Thomas; Tristan Nunez; Thomas Merrill; Matthew Bell
18: Era Motorsport - Bremont / Idec Sport / Motul; ORECA LMP2 07; Paul-Loup Chatin; Ryan Dalziel; Kyle Tilley; Dwight Merriman
20: High Class Racing - Polar Seafood / HRX / Orlen / Remus; ORECA LMP2 07; Robert Kubica; Dennis Andersen; Anders Fjordbach; Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen
29: Racing Team Nederland; ORECA LMP2 07; Giedo van der Garde; Job Van Uitert; Charles Milesi; Frits Van Eerd
47: Cetilar Racing; Dallara LMP2; Andrea Belicchi; Giorgio Sernagiotto; Roberto Lacorte; Antonio Fuoco
51: RWR-Eurasia / Nurtec ODT / JACOB Companies; Ligier LMP2; Salih Yoluc'; Cody Ware; Austin Dillon; Mathieu Jaminet
52: PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports - Wynns / Rain-X / Four Horsemen / Max Connect / Client Command / Valkyrie AI; ORECA LMP2; Ben Keating; Mikkel Jensen; Nicolas Lapierre; Scott Huffaker; won class pole
81: DragonSpeed USA LLC; ORECA LMP2 07; Rob Hodes; Rinus Veekay; Garett Grist; Ben Hanley
82: DragonSpeed USA LLC; ORECA LMP2 07; Fabian Schiller; Christopher Mies; Devlin Defrancesco; Eric Lux
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Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3)
Car number; team/sponsor; car type / drivers
6: Muehlner Motorsports America - H&R Das Fahrwerk / H&R Special Springs; Duqueine M30-D08; Moritz Kranz; Laurents Hoerr; Kenton Koch; possible fourth driver TBD; won class pole
7: Forty7 Motorsports Hawk Brakes / EVO / Surgere / Colombia; Duqueine M30-D08; Mark Kvamme; Ryan Norman; Gabby Chaves; Charles Finelli
33: Sean Creech Motorsport - Galp / Exelixis; Ligier JS P320; Lance Willsey; Joao Barbosa; Wayne Boyd; Yann Clairay
38: Performance Tech Motorsports - Centinel Spine / VB Envirocare / Aero / Gulf Oil / Celebrity X Cruise / Novo Nordisk / AIG / CardioAccess; Ligier JS P320; Cameron Cassels; Mateo LLarena; Ayrton Ori; Rasmus Lindh
54: Core Autosport - Composite Resources / Crowdstrike; Ligier JS P320; Jonathan Bennett; Colin Braun; Matt McMurry; George Kurtz
74: Riley Motorsports; Ligier JS P320; Gar Robinson; Scott Andrews; Oliver Askew; Spencer Pigot
91: Riley Motorsports; Ligier JS P320;Austin McCusker; Jeroen Bleekemolen; Jim Cox; Dylan Murry
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GT Le Mans (GTLM)
Car number; team/sponsor; car type / drivers
3: Corvette Racing; Corvette C8.R; Antonio Garcia; Jordan Taylor; Nicky Catsburg
4: Corvette Racing; Corvette C8.R; Tommy Milner; Nick Tandy; Alexander Sims; won class pole
24: BMW Team RLL - BMW of North America; BMW M8; John Edwards; Jesse Krohn; Augusto Farfus; Marco Wittmann
25: BMW Team RLL - BMW of North America; BMW M8; Connor De Phillippi; Philipp Eng; Timo Glock; Bruno Spengler
62: Risi Competizione; Ferrari 488 GTE; Alessandro Pier Guidi; Davide Rigon; Jules Gounon; James Calado
79: WeatherTech Racing; Porsche 911 RSR - 19; Cooper MacNeil; Gianmaria Bruni; Richard Lietz; Kevin Estre
GT Daytona (GTD)
Car number; team/sponsor; car type / drivers
1: Paul Miller Racing / Total Lubricants / UIS / Paul Miller Auto Group; Lamborghini Huracan GT3; Andrea Caldarelli; Madison Snow; Bryan Sellers; Corey Lewis
9: Pfaff Motorsports / Motul / Pfaff Porsche / Porsche Centre Markham; Porsche 911 GT3R; Zacharie Robichon; Laurens Vanthoor; Lars Kern; Matt Campbell
12: VasserSullivan / Bayshore Recycling / Lexus RC F GT3; Frankie Montecalvo; Robert Megennis; Townsend Bell; Zach Veach
14: VasserSullivan / Rice Lake Weighing Systems / Lexus RC F GT3; Jack Hawksworth; Aaron Telitz; Oliver Gavin; Kyle Kirkwood
16: Wright Motorsports / 1st Phorm / Mountain Motorsports / Una Vida Tequila; Porsche 911 GT3R; Ryan Hardwick; Patrick Long; Klaus Bachler; Jan Heylen
19: GRT Grasser Racing Team; Lamborghini Huracan GT3; Misha Goikhberg; Franck Perera; Albert Costa; Tim Zimmermann
21: Af Corse; Ferrari 488 GT3; Nicklas Nielsen; Daniel Serra; Matteo Cressoni; Simon Mann
23: Heart of Racing Team / The Heart of Racing; Aston Martin Vantage GT3; Ian James; Darren Turner; Ross Gunn; Roman De Angelis
28: Alegra Motorsports - NANOProMT / InSync Healthcare Solutions; Mercedes-AMG GT3; Billy Johnson; Michael de Quesada; Daniel Morad; Maxi Buhk
42: NTE Sport; Audi R8 LMS GT3; Alan Metni; Andrew Davis; JR Hildebrand; Don Yount
44: Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3; John Potter; Spencer Pumpelly; Andy Lally; Mario Farnbacher
57: Winward Racing - Techemet / First Horizon Bank / Mobil 1; Mercedes-AMG GT3; Russell Ward; Philip Ellis; Indy Dontje; Maro Engel
63: Scuderia Corsa; Ferrari 488 GT3; Ryan Briscoe; Marcos Gomes; Ed Jones; Bret Curtis
64: TeamTGM / jktgfoundation.org; Porsche 911 GT3R; Ted Giovanis; Owen Trinkler; Hugh Plumb; Matt Plumb
75: Sun Energy 1; Mercedes-AMG GT3; Kenny Habul; Mikael Grenier; Raffaele Marciello Swi; Luca Stolz
88: Team Hardpoint EBM; Porsche 911 GT3R; Rob Ferriol; Earl Bamber; Katherine Legge; Christina Nielsen
96: Turner Motorsport - Barletta Engineering / LiquiMoly / Turner Parts / H&R Springs /
Hillard Corp / Hengst / Pagid; BMW M6 GT3; Robby Foley; Bill Auberlen; Aidan Read; Colton Herta; won class pole
97: TF Sport - Rain X / Wynns / Total; Aston Martin Vantage GT3; Maxwell Root; Charlie Eastwood; Ben Keating; Richard Westbrook
111: GRT Grasser Racing Team; Lamborghini Huracan GT3; Rolf Ineichen; Mirko Bortolotti; Steijn Schothorst; Marco Mapelli
Note: One entry, the No. 540 of Black Swan Racing (drivers Tim Pappas; Patrick Pilet; Larry ten Voorde; Patrick Lindsey) had to withdraw because of positive COVID-19 tests.
What to Watch For: 2021 Rolex 24 At Daytona
By David Phillips
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – And a new racing season dawns, as it has for close to six decades, with the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Unique among the world’s headline motorsports events, there are no competing races on the international calendar this weekend. Thus, the Daytona International Speedway paddock is akin to a scene in a “Star Wars” cantina this week, such is the diverse cast of characters attracted to the event from throughout the motorsports universe.
While waiting to see what will unfold in the five categories when the green flag waves Saturday, take a moment to savor the fact that the race will feature drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula 1 in addition to the stars of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
In contrast to years gone by, there’s something of a baseline on which to make predictions thanks to last weekend’s Motul Pole Award 100. Sure, it would be easy to say the class winners from that 100-minute qualifying race are this weekend’s favorites. Why not? That makes as much sense as anything when it comes to the black art of prognostication.
By that measure, watch the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07, the No. 6 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine M30-D08, the No. 4 Corvette Racing C8.R and No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 to be atop the podium come Sunday afternoon.
But that’s way too easy. Besides, the one (and only) thing that’s virtually guaranteed about the Rolex 24 is all five of last Sunday’s winners are unlikely to repeat.
When it comes to the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class, keep an eye on not just the No. 31 Cadillac but the “other” defending champions, namely the No. 55 Mazda Motorsports DPi that won the Daytona sprint race last July and finished second in the Motul Pole Award 100. Also keep tabs on how the two Acura ARX-05s perform in their debuts with Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian and Konica Minolta/Wayne Taylor Racing, the latter of which happens to be the two-time defending Rolex 24 champions.
Now that the Acuras are being campaigned by competing teams, it’s unlikely they’ll work together as seamlessly as they did in Team Penske livery. And then there’s the return of the kings, namely eight-time Rolex 24 champion Chip Ganassi Racing, in the maiden outing in the No. 01 Cadillac DPi. Bet against them at your peril.
Similarly, in looking at Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), start with the defending Rolex 24 winners DragonSpeed along with 2020 WeatherTech Championship LMP2 champion and pole winner PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. But don’t forget that last year’s Rolex 24 LMP2 field was half of this year’s 10-car entry, more than half of which lapped within a second of the fastest lap of last weekend’s race.
And while it’s true the new Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class has no defending winner, consider that Muehlner Motorsports America won twice last weekend with drivers Moritz Kranz and Laurents Hoerr – in the Motul Pole Award 100 and the IMSA Prototype Challenge race, the Scouts of America 145. Muehlner will be going for the Daytona hat trick, but bear in mind this will be the first 24-hour race ever for the LMP3 Duqueine D08s and Ligier JS 320s.
The two GT categories are sure to provide plenty of action. Yes, GTLM is down to six entries in a pair of Corvettes, two BMWs, a Ferrari and a Porsche. But in Corvette Racing, BMW Team RLL and Risi Competizione, the field boasts three teams that have long defined the GTLM category, even as WeatherTech Racing looks to take on the GTLM competition in a Porsche 911 RSR-19 after several winning seasons in GTD.
With GTD you get quality and quantity: think Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche; also think Wright Motorsports, Vasser Sullivan Racing, Turner Motorsport, Scuderia Corsa, Pfaff Motorsports, GRT Grasser. The list of GTD heavyweights goes on and on and on.
There are a million things to watch so I’ll pick four named Earl Bamber, Oliver Gavin, Laurens Vanthoor and Richard Westbrook from the perspective that it’ll be fun to watch the GTLM veterans mixing it up – and likely trading some paint – with the GTD crowd.
A final point that applies to all five classes. Only two drivers took the wheel of any given car in the Motul Pole Award 100. That means the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, Robert Kubica, Simon Pagenaud, Austin Dillon, Timo Glock and Gianmaria Bruni are tanned, ready and rested for the Rolex 24. How the “bench” drivers perform this weekend will go a long way to determining their team’s fortunes starting at 3:30 pm ET Saturday.
Watch and enjoy.