Monday
Jan062020
JANUARY 8, 2020
Monday, January 6, 2020 at 02:45PM 
(Mazda)
At the Roar Before the Rolex 24 last weekend, Olivier Pla (No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P) unofficially toppled the not-quite-year-old lap record at the Daytona International Speedway road course with a 1:33.324 (137.321 mph). As a result, the No. 77 team, which includes co-drivers Pla, Oliver Jarvis and Tristan Nunez, will – for the second consecutive year – have first choice of garage location and pit stall for the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona on the weekend of Jan. 23-26. “We knew this morning that the conditions would probably be fast with the cold air temperature but some sun, so we were expecting a fast lap time,” Pla said. “I’ve been told to push and to push hard so that’s what we did. I have to thank my team for allowing me to because the car was really good. We’ve been working always really hard. We are pleased with that. It doesn’t mean anything, but I think it just showed a continuity of last year.” The race kicks off the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the four-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. Pla moves over to the No. 77 after sharing the team’s No. 55 Mazda with Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tincknell, who now have 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as their co-driver. Pla led a total of five drivers to post speeds faster than the track record, which can be set officially in qualifying on race weekend. Ricky Taylor was second fastest in the No. 7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 at 1:33.543 (137.000 mph), followed by 2019 WeatherTech Championship DPi champion Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 6 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 at 1:33.565 (136.967 mph). Felipe Nasr was fourth fastest in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R at 1:33.652 (136.840 mph), and Jonathan Bomarito (No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P) rounded out the top five at 1:33.660 (136.828 mph).
(IMSA.com)
The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Team Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R has a new driver lineup for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship comprised of Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and Kamui Kobayashi. Natives of Holland, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the star-studded driving lineup includes top-line sports car drivers in van der Zande and Briscoe, who will compete the full season for Taylor, along with Indianapolis 500 winner and five-time IndyCar champion Dixon and FIA World Endurance Championship champion Kobayashi. “As far as the driver lineup, it’s as good or better than last year,’’ Taylor said, joking that this team would have to beat his two sons this year – Ricky and Jordan Taylor – who are now both driving for different IMSA teams. Dixon, who has a pair of Rolex 24 overall titles, joins Taylor’s operation after more than a decade competing in the race for his IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi. “The team is a single-car team, but it’s got a lot of great people and that’s what I think it takes to win these races is to have the talent and people that have the same goal in mind, and that’s to win. You feel that immediately when you walk through the door…and you don’t find that too often,” Dixon said. “There are four professional drivers who know what it takes to win because we have all won it and you start right away working with that,’’ van der Zande said. “This has been very smooth. They all know endurance racing and they all know this race. And we all have the same passion for racing,’’ he added.
(IMSA.com)
James Calado led an extremely close session in the GTLM class, posting the fastest time of 1:42.685 (124.803 mph) in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE he is sharing this weekend with Daniel Serra. Calado and the team are coming off a victory in the 2019 WeatherTech Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta last October. Calado’s time was 0.001 seconds faster than Nick Tandy’s second-fastest time in the session of 1:42.686 (124.801 mph) in the No. 911 Porsche GT Team RSR-19. The entire GTLM field was covered by just 0.446 seconds. “The difference this year, especially this year, is that everyone has upped the ante in the Roar,” Calado said. “It’s not like previous years where people would hold back. I think it’s pretty equal at the moment and I think that puts us in good stead for a good race." Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette Racing C8.R) led much of the session before ending up third at 1:42.793 (124.671 mph). Jesse Krohn was fourth in class at 1:42.844 (124.610 mph) in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL M8 GTE, followed by defending WeatherTech Championship GTLM champion Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 912 Porsche. Vanthoor’s best time was 1:42.903 (124.538 mph).
(IMSA.com)
Frankie Montecalvo was the fastest in the GTD class in Saturday’s Roar Before the Rolex 24. Montecalvo drove the No. 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 to a best lap of 1:46.754 (120.046 mph). He is returning for the full 2020 WeatherTech Championship with co-driver Townsend Bell and will share the car with Shane van Gisbergen and Aaron Telitz for the Rolex 24. “With the changing conditions, I think our car from AIM Vasser Sullivan suits this well,” Montecalvo said. “The team did a phenomenal job getting the RC F right on track from where we left off last year and that year of experience really shows for us. The guys did a great job.” On-track activity for the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona begins Thursday, Jan. 23 with practice and qualifying. NBC will have live network coverage of the start of the race beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25, and also will televise the race finish beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 26 as part of NBC Sports’ complete coverage of the event that includes windows on NBCSN and the NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage throughout race weekend on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com, with complete race coverage also airing on SiriusXM Radio. (Thank you to IMSA Media, as always.)
At the Roar Before the Rolex 24 last weekend, Olivier Pla (No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P) unofficially toppled the not-quite-year-old lap record at the Daytona International Speedway road course with a 1:33.324 (137.321 mph). As a result, the No. 77 team, which includes co-drivers Pla, Oliver Jarvis and Tristan Nunez, will – for the second consecutive year – have first choice of garage location and pit stall for the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona on the weekend of Jan. 23-26. “We knew this morning that the conditions would probably be fast with the cold air temperature but some sun, so we were expecting a fast lap time,” Pla said. “I’ve been told to push and to push hard so that’s what we did. I have to thank my team for allowing me to because the car was really good. We’ve been working always really hard. We are pleased with that. It doesn’t mean anything, but I think it just showed a continuity of last year.” The race kicks off the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the four-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. Pla moves over to the No. 77 after sharing the team’s No. 55 Mazda with Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tincknell, who now have 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as their co-driver. Pla led a total of five drivers to post speeds faster than the track record, which can be set officially in qualifying on race weekend. Ricky Taylor was second fastest in the No. 7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 at 1:33.543 (137.000 mph), followed by 2019 WeatherTech Championship DPi champion Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 6 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 at 1:33.565 (136.967 mph). Felipe Nasr was fourth fastest in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R at 1:33.652 (136.840 mph), and Jonathan Bomarito (No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P) rounded out the top five at 1:33.660 (136.828 mph).
(IMSA.com)The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Team Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R has a new driver lineup for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship comprised of Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and Kamui Kobayashi. Natives of Holland, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the star-studded driving lineup includes top-line sports car drivers in van der Zande and Briscoe, who will compete the full season for Taylor, along with Indianapolis 500 winner and five-time IndyCar champion Dixon and FIA World Endurance Championship champion Kobayashi. “As far as the driver lineup, it’s as good or better than last year,’’ Taylor said, joking that this team would have to beat his two sons this year – Ricky and Jordan Taylor – who are now both driving for different IMSA teams. Dixon, who has a pair of Rolex 24 overall titles, joins Taylor’s operation after more than a decade competing in the race for his IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi. “The team is a single-car team, but it’s got a lot of great people and that’s what I think it takes to win these races is to have the talent and people that have the same goal in mind, and that’s to win. You feel that immediately when you walk through the door…and you don’t find that too often,” Dixon said. “There are four professional drivers who know what it takes to win because we have all won it and you start right away working with that,’’ van der Zande said. “This has been very smooth. They all know endurance racing and they all know this race. And we all have the same passion for racing,’’ he added.
(IMSA.com)James Calado led an extremely close session in the GTLM class, posting the fastest time of 1:42.685 (124.803 mph) in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE he is sharing this weekend with Daniel Serra. Calado and the team are coming off a victory in the 2019 WeatherTech Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta last October. Calado’s time was 0.001 seconds faster than Nick Tandy’s second-fastest time in the session of 1:42.686 (124.801 mph) in the No. 911 Porsche GT Team RSR-19. The entire GTLM field was covered by just 0.446 seconds. “The difference this year, especially this year, is that everyone has upped the ante in the Roar,” Calado said. “It’s not like previous years where people would hold back. I think it’s pretty equal at the moment and I think that puts us in good stead for a good race." Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette Racing C8.R) led much of the session before ending up third at 1:42.793 (124.671 mph). Jesse Krohn was fourth in class at 1:42.844 (124.610 mph) in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL M8 GTE, followed by defending WeatherTech Championship GTLM champion Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 912 Porsche. Vanthoor’s best time was 1:42.903 (124.538 mph).
(IMSA.com)Frankie Montecalvo was the fastest in the GTD class in Saturday’s Roar Before the Rolex 24. Montecalvo drove the No. 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 to a best lap of 1:46.754 (120.046 mph). He is returning for the full 2020 WeatherTech Championship with co-driver Townsend Bell and will share the car with Shane van Gisbergen and Aaron Telitz for the Rolex 24. “With the changing conditions, I think our car from AIM Vasser Sullivan suits this well,” Montecalvo said. “The team did a phenomenal job getting the RC F right on track from where we left off last year and that year of experience really shows for us. The guys did a great job.” On-track activity for the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona begins Thursday, Jan. 23 with practice and qualifying. NBC will have live network coverage of the start of the race beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25, and also will televise the race finish beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 26 as part of NBC Sports’ complete coverage of the event that includes windows on NBCSN and the NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage throughout race weekend on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com, with complete race coverage also airing on SiriusXM Radio. (Thank you to IMSA Media, as always.)