JANUARY 13, 2016

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Editor-In-Chief's Note: Twenty-two-year-old Luis Felipe "Pipo" Derani (No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Honda HPD Ligier JS P2) turned the fastest time of the weekend on Sunday afternoon at the "Roar Before the 24" at Daytona International Speedway with a 1:39.249 (129.130 mph). Derani will share the car with Scott Sharp, Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek. “I really did not expect be here (atop the speed chart),” Derani said. “This is my first time at Daytona, and it’s a unique place with a lot of history. It’s a pleasure to be part of this event for the first time. This is my first time doing sports car racing in the U.S., and I’m having fun.” As always, ace lensman John Thawley was on hand to cover all the action. You can check out two pages of John's scintillating images here. -PMD

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Ozz Negri (No. 60 Michael Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda Ligier JS P2) topped the speed charts in the Prototype class on Saturday with a 1:39.438. Negri will be joined by Oliver Pla, John Pew and AJ Allmendinger for the season opening Daytona 24 Hour race (Rolex 24) in three weeks. 

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Lucas Luhr (No. 100 BMW Team RLL BMW M6) set the fastest time of the weekend in GTLM with his 1:45.088 (121.955 mph) on Friday.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Oliver Gavin (No. 4 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R) led the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class on Sunday with a lap of 1:45.106 (121.934 mph). He will co-drive the factory Corvette with Marcel Fassler and Tommy Milner.
(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Colin Braun (No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA FLM09) was quick in Prototype Challenge (PC), running a 1:42.531. He will co-drive the Daytona 24 Hour race with Jon Bennett and Martin Plowman. Jack Hawksworth (No. 8 Starworks Motorsport ORECA FLM09) set the fastest overall in PC with a lap of 1:42.118 (125.502 mph) on Sunday afternoon. 
(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Leh Keen (No. 22 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 R) turned a 1:47.852 (118.830 mph) to lead the GT Daytona (GTD) class. Keen's co-drivers will be Cooper MacNeil, David MacNeil, Shan van Gisbergen and Gunnar Jeanette.
(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT team made its formal debut in the GTLM class at Daytona. This is the No. 66 Ford GT driven by Sébastien Bourdais, Joey Hand and Dirk Müller. Stefan Mücke, Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook will be in the No. 67 Ford GT team car. Rolex 24 weekend practice begins on Wednesday, Jan. 27, with sessions for the Continental Tire Challenge and Ferrari Challenge. Opening WeatherTech Championship practice and qualifying is on Thursday, Jan. 28. The BMW Performance 200 takes the green flag on Friday, Jan. 29, while the 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona rolls off on Saturday, Jan. 30. 

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
The purposeful beauty of the Ford GT.
(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Scott Dixon.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
America’s Ken Block will contest all 12 rounds of the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. Block’s participation in World RX is a result of his extended factory partnership with Ford Performance. Given his renewed partnership with Ford Performance, as well as their direct factory support, the team’s goal is to compete for a world title in 2016. "For a big portion of my career I've maintained a mixed focus and kept a diverse race calendar, but now I'll be focusing myself fully on one single championship," Block said. "I've been stoked with what my team and I have accomplished so far with my Ford Fiesta ST racecars and I'm excited to see what we'll be able to do next season with factory support. It's going to be a very exciting 2016 and I can't wait to get started.” Block will embark on his first full World RX campaign when the season kicks off in Montalegre, Portugal (16-17 April).

Editor's Note: Watch the latest episode of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here. -WG