MSR Acura felt off during Rolex 24, says Montoya

MSR Acura felt “off” during Rolex 24, says Montoya

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The #60 car shared by Montoya, Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla and AJ Allmendinger finished the opening round of the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in fourth, having been in the mix for victory throughout the race.

Cameron was vaulted into the lead with a little over two hours to go following a quick pitstop during the 11th and penultimate caution of the race, but was powerless to hold position and quickly dropped to fourth, and conceded another place at the final restart.

Ex-Formula 1 and IndyCar racer Montoya took over for the run to the flag, gaining one place when the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac suffered its late puncture and finishing some 54 seconds down on the winning Wayne Taylor Racing Acura.

“I thought we had a very strong car from all the testing we did," said Montoya, who was contesting his fourth straight Rolex 24 at the wheel of an Acura following his three seasons as part of Team Penske’s IMSA effort. “When we started the race, it was off.

“We all struggled and at the end I could keep up with the lead pack but I had nothing to be able to compete with them. I was killing myself just to run at the same pace.

“Otherwise, I had a blast working with Meyer Shank Racing. You can’t win them all, and that is racing. It is cool to see Acura finally get a win here at Daytona, so big congratulations to them.”

#60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi: Olivier Pla, A.J. Allmendinger, Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya, #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi: Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon, Kevin Magnussen

Art Fleischmann

Montoya’s full-time teammate for the last three seasons and 2019 co-champion Cameron likewise admitted that the MSR Acura “lacked a bit of speed” in comparison to its rivals, and that the team had to be satisfied with fourth in the context of the championship.

“All in all it was an okay day,” said Cameron. “Our goal for this race was to put ourselves in contention at the end of the day and we did that by finishing on the lead lap.

“The Meyer Shank Racing boys did a great job preparing the car and executing pit stops without issues. It is probably the first time in six or seven years that I have run this race without a problem on a pit stop. I am very pleased with the effort the guys put in with a short off-season and a large transition to a new program.

“We lacked a bit of speed today, but we were able to compete for a victory when it counted. We will take good points from today for our championship effort and we’ll move forward and turn the page to Sebring.”

At-track photos: 2021 IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona

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Rossi, Castroneves Add Rolex 24 Win to Career Honors in Nail-Biting Finish at Daytona

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Indianapolis 500 winners Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves added overall Rolex 24 At Daytona victory to their career honors list Sunday, as teammate Filipe Albuquerque resisted intense pressure in the final stint to take the checkered flag for Wayne Taylor Racing.

2016 Indy winner Rossi and three-time “500” winner Castroneves became the 14th and 15th champions of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” to also win the twice-around-the-clock endurance sports car racing classic at Daytona International Speedway.

Albuquerque, Rossi, Castroneves and Ricky Taylor combined to win the 24-hour race by 4.704 seconds in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 over the No. 48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac shared by 2016 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller.

It was the third consecutive victory for Wayne Taylor Racing in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) marquee race. WTR switched from Cadillac to Acura after last season but didn’t miss a beat on the 3.56-mile roval that combines an infield road course with sections of the high-banked oval at Daytona.

Castroneves joined WTR for the Rolex 24 after winning the IMSA Daytona Prototype International (DPi) last season for Acura Team Penske, which withdrew from IMSA after 2020.

“What an incredible opportunity to be driving for Acura again and to keep rolling what we had last year,” Castroneves said. “This was the toughest one, with the conditions we were under. This guy (Albuquerque) was definitely on it. I can’t thank enough Wayne for getting this group, and the entire organization. They did an amazing job to prepare the car. I saw the process, and it paid off.”

Teams with INDYCAR drivers took the top two spots on the podium. The No. 55 Mazda shared by Harry Tincknell, Oliver Jarvis and Jonathan Bomarito finished third, but it looked like INDYCAR drivers would be on all three steps of the podium with 10 minutes remaining in the race.

Albuquerque led but faced intense pressure from Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, shared with six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon and Kevin Magnussen. Van der Zande trimmed a six-second gap with 30 minutes remaining and was on Albuquerque’s rear bumper with 15 minutes left.

Van der Zande stayed within eight-tenths of a second for the next seven minutes, as it appeared that a photo finish could be in the works after 24 hours of intense action.

But with just under eight minutes left, the right rear tire of van der Zande’s car punctured just before the pit entrance, ending Ganassi’s chance for victory. The car ended up fifth, behind the podium finishers and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura that included two-time Indy 500 winner and 1999 CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya in its driver lineup.

It was the second time a cut tire hurt the Ganassi team, as Dixon also suffered a flat while charging toward the leaders with two and one-half hours to go.

“This is unbelievable,” Rossi said. “Three of the best (teammates) here. It’s just a pleasure to be able to do it. We couldn’t have done it without this guy, though, Filipe. Phenomenal. Just thrilled right now.”

The other Daytona Prototype International (DPi) team including an INDYCAR standout, the No. 5 Mustang Sampling/JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac with four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Sebastien Bourdais, ended up last of the seven DPi cars in the field and 34th overall after getting tangled in an accident before the halfway point.

Bourdais led at the six-hour mark, but trouble struck for the team at the start of the 10th hour. INDYCAR and Indy 500 veteran Tristan Vautier was behind the wheel and made contact with a Porsche in the slower GT Daytona class in Turn 1, requiring lengthy repairs in the garage.

A tussle also prevented 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year Rinus VeeKay from any driving in the race. Just 80 minutes into the race, VeeKay’s teammate Rob Hodes went wide in Turn 1 due to a deflating tire in the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA Oreca Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class car, hitting the tire barrier and inducing enough damage to force the car to retire soon thereafter.

In the GT Daytona class, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW team that included Colton Herta placed sixth in class and 27th overall, the best result among the two teams carrying NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers. The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari that included Ed Jones was 14th in class and 39th overall.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES season starts Sunday, April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

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