For 24 Hours, Daytona Is True Focus of Motorsports World

For 24 Hours, Daytona Is True Focus of Motorsports World

With 27 Countries Represented, the Rolex 24 Is Rich in International Appeal

By Jeff Olson

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - If you happen to find an entry list for the 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona featuring the flags of each driver’s home country, you’re in for a colorful geography lesson.

You’ll also realize just how international in scope the race is.

When the green flag flies Saturday shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET, you’ll be watching a race involving 49 cars driven by 195 drivers from 27 countries. While Americans make up the largest nationality, they are hardly the majority.

Almost two-thirds of the field hails from outside the U.S., including 18 drivers from Great Britain, 17 from France, 13 from Germany and 11 from Italy.

The international appeal isn’t limited to drivers. The race also has an international audience.

“Everywhere around the world, they are watching this race like they are watching Le Mans,” said Renger van der Zande, a two-time Rolex 24 winner from the Netherlands. “Daytona has a name, and it’s the only race in January. It’s something that the whole world watches because everybody is waiting for the first race of the season. All of that together makes it very appealing for fans and drivers around the world. To win this race is the highlight of my career, for sure.”

The international appeal of the race leads to some widely varied lineups. One of the cars favored to win, the No. 48 Action Express Ally Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, is co-driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson from El Cajon, California, Simon Pagenaud from France, Mike Rockenfeller from Germany and Kamui Kobayashi from Japan.

Circumstances and opportunities brought the four accomplished drivers together, and the result is an international all-star team with global appeal.

“I think Jimmie is still motivated by racing – maybe not by NASCAR, but just by racing different cars,” Kobayashi said. “I’m very happy to be part of his program with the Ally Cadillac. With Simon and Mike, it’s great because we have someone who won the IndyCar championship (Pagenaud) and someone who won the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Rockenfeller). With people coming from all these categories, it shows what a big and competitive championship the IMSA WeatherTech (Championship) has become.”

Two reasons for the appeal to drivers around the globe: The race’s history and its place on the calendar. Sebastien Bourdais, who was born in Le Mans, France, and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, has won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24.

“(The Rolex 24) has a huge appeal internationally because of history,” Bourdais said. “It’s a race that every race car driver wants to put on their résumé. Also, it’s so early in the season that there’s really no conflict with other series. There’s such a wide variety of cars and entries and one-offs.

“It allows people to come here just for this specific event. Deep in the season, when they’re all tangled in their own championships, they can’t do it. That’s why you see all nations and backgrounds coming together and kick-starting the season. That’s what’s so unique about Daytona. No other series starts racing at the end of January.”

And the weight of a win in the famous race carries itself around the world. When he makes appearances in the Netherlands, van der Zande is introduced with mention of his Rolex 24 victories.

“They always refer to me as a two-time Daytona winner,” van der Zande said. “On top of that, the biggest newspapers are always asking me for interviews around this time of the year about the Daytona 24 Hours. It’s an endurance classic, and it’s one of the biggest races in the world if you are in endurance racing. I feel it at home in Holland, for sure. People recognize this race.”

They also show up for it. Most of the spectators watch from the infield of the giant facility, which might mask the numbers, but drivers notice how many fans – and how many from around the world – show up for the race. That may not be the case quite as much this year, with travel and attendance limited by the global pandemic. But it’s still special for the foreign drivers to see the international fan representation.

“There are a ton of race fans that show up on site from all around the world,” Bourdais said. “It’s not a huge number, but it’s impressive. Even if it’s a decent number, because of the size of the venue, it doesn’t look crowded. But the racing community gathers together for a party that starts the season every year.”

Live U.S. coverage of the 24-hour race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC. After the first hour, the flag-to-flag coverage moves to NBCSN, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App before returning to NBC at 2 p.m. Sunday for the conclusion. Complete IMSA Radio coverage may also be found at IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio (Sirius channel 216, XM 202 and Internet 972).

Tickets for the Rolex 24 At Daytona are available HERE.

IMSA readying road map for GT Daytona PRO

Thursday’s announcement of GT Daytona PRO, a new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship class for 2022 which replaces the current GT Le Mans category, will become the subject of intense planning in the weeks and months ahead.

Detailed answers on a number of topics, including if and how IMSA might create a separation in lap times between the manufacturer-themed GTD PRO class and its existing pro-am GT Daytona category designed for non-factory entrants, await future discussions.

“Initial feedback to our GTD PRO announcement has been extremely positive,” IMSA competition VP Simon Hodgson told RACER. “Now that the overall plans for GTD PRO have been made public, our next steps will be to put together a manufacturer working group and solicit feedback from our current and potential future manufacturer partners. There are many details still to be finalized, but as always, we will work together with our OEM partners and Michelin to arrive at the most appropriate decisions. Likewise, we also remain engaged with our long-term partners at the ACO who were aware of our plans for GTD PRO before yesterday’s announcement.”

The upcoming removal of GTLM severs a direct link between IMSA’s factory GT teams and the ACO, which creates the rules for GTLM (known as GTE at the 24 Hours of Le Mans). Hodgson pointed to the Le Mans entry pathway established between IMSA and the ACO for the winners of the WeatherTech Championship’s non-factory LMP2 and GTD titles as an ongoing area of collaboration.

“While many IMSA manufacturers, teams and drivers compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans each year, it’s important to remember that for the past several years, the only automatic invitations for IMSA competitors are the two that go to the annual winners of the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin Awards, respectively,” he said.

“Certainly, IMSA and the ACO remain close partners, especially with LMDh coming online in the next couple of years, so it seems logical that substantial participation from IMSA competitors will continue at Le Mans well into the future.”

Pre-Season Q&A With IMSA President John Doonan – Sportscar365

As IMSA approaches the start of the 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Sportscar365 caught up with series president John Doonan on a wide range of topics from the Rolex 24 grid to COVID-19 and growth in LMP2.

How pleased are you with the 49-car field for this weekend’s Rolex 24?

“We’re super pleased. Our entire staff has worked extremely hard, so it’s rewarding from that standpoint. It’s something we’re grateful for that so many people have chosen to invest in racing with IMSA and our super bowl kicking off the year.

“The car counts in GTD are extremely solid. The uptick in LMP2… the eternal optimist in me says that’s sort of a hint that there’s a global strategy and global set of regulations in LMP2. We’ve aligned with that.

“It’s pretty slick that three of the four LMP2 constructors are represented. I hadn’t even seen a Dallara LMP2 car in the flesh until the Cetilar team came here. I think that’s pretty neat and what a boost for that class.”

Do you think the increased LMP2 involvement could as a precursor for teams wanting to move into LMDh?

“There is a lot of excitement and momentum around the top category. We’ve had a dozen, and at one point 16 manufacturers around the table in LMDh technical working group meetings.

“With the level of momentum and excitement around that class, it probably does give LMP2 a boost where people can come in and gain experience.”

How big of a challenge has it been to organize the Rolex 24 amid COVID-19?

“We’ve got a pretty good routine down from July, the WeatherTech 240, as we went on, we found ways to expand a little bit relative to hospitality and consumer displays.

“We’re very sensitive to what’s going on in the communities around us, both from a local or state side or nationwide side.

“I think there’s an extra tightening of the belts, if you will, relative to our protocol, making sure that we keep everybody safe and that we’re still able to execute the events at the highest levels.

“It’s been challenging overall from the time it was last March to today but we had a good system in place working very closely with our colleagues at NASCAR who have the Daytona 500 coming up.

“We want to do everything we can to realize that it’s a privilege to go racing right now. With that privilege comes massive responsibility.”

How is IMSA handling the possibility of further date and/or event changes later in the year?

“It is a moving target. We need to be really sensitive to state-to-state of course and what’s going on in certain markets, and obviously crossing the border into the U.S. has been challenging.

“Looking to the summer, we don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like at that time.

“Our government affairs folks have been doing an awesome job and we’ve fortunately been able to get everybody in here [for Daytona] and we’ll see what the summer brings.”

Do you have backup plans in place for alternative venues like we saw in 2020 with the Charlotte Roval and 2nd races at Daytona and Sebring?

“There’s almost an ongoing options spreadsheet. There’s one reason every schedule we’ve put out has the word ‘provisional’ in it because we want to remain sensitive for the potential for change.”