JANUARY 24, 2024

(IMSA)

Perfect, cool conditions, combined with a year’s worth of development on the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars that comprise the top class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, created a festival of speed Sunday in qualifying for the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Defending GTP class champion Pipo Derani smashed the five-year-old benchmark for the 3.56-mile Daytona road course en route to the Motul Pole Award, lapping the famous facility in 1 minute, 32.656 seconds (138.318 mph) in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R. That edged the similar Cadillac Racing entry prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing and driven by Sebastien Bourdais by 0.071 seconds. Derani, who also claimed the 2021 IMSA Daytona Prototype International (DPi) championship and owns a prior overall victory in the Rolex 24 (2016), was more than a second under the existing track record of 1:33.685 established by Oliver Jarvis in a Mazda DPi in 2019. Prior to that, one must go all the way back to 1993 to find a faster trip around DIS, when PJ Jones set what would be an enduring target near the end of IMSA’s original GTP era in the All American Racers Toyota Eagle Mk III. All nine GTP cars that participated in Sunday’s qualifying session lapped faster than Jarvis’ previous track record. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

Ben Keating (No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07) secured the best starting spot in the 13-car Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) field for the Rolex 24. Keating earned the class Motul Pole Award by producing a 1:38.501 effort (130.110 mph) a little less than halfway into the 15-minute LMP2 qualifying session. Keating, the 2021 and ’23 IMSA LMP2 class champion, is also part of the driver lineup in the Rolex 24 for JDC-Miller Motorsports’ No. 85 Porsche 963 in the GTP class. He noted that his track time in the complex GTP Porsche benefited him when he stepped back into the more familiar LMP2 car, and credited Sunday’s track conditions with helping produce a lap a half a second quicker than he was anticipating based on his qualifying simulations.  “The track was unbelievably fast today, almost perfect conditions,” Keating observed. “I was shocked; I couldn’t believe how quick it was. When I did that lap, I didn’t expect anybody to be close and I thought we might as well pull over. But Nick Boulle was just a tenth of a second behind me. That speaks to the high level of competition in LMP2 this year.” Boulle’s best effort was 1:38.603 in the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA, followed by George Kurtz (No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA). (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

Seb Priaulx led the way for Porsche in qualifying Sunday for the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class for next weekend’s 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona, but two Lexus cars weren’t far behind among GT entries. Priaulx won the first Motul Pole Award of his career en route to the No. 1 starting position in the GTD PRO class with a lap of 1 minute 44.382 seconds (122.780 mph) in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). Jack Hawksworth was just a tick behind in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, which will start second in GTD PRO after he was timed at 1:44.462 (122.685 mph). (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

Parker Thompson claimed the Motul Pole Award in the GTD class and was third overall in GT in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 with a lap of 1:44.494 (122.648 mph) around the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course. Both Priaulx and Thompson set track qualifying records for their respective classes. In his fifth race with Vasser Sullivan, Thompson claimed his first Motul Pole Award in WeatherTech Championship competition. The 25-year-old Canadian, who’ll run the full season for the first time, is co-drivers with Frankie Montecalvo, Aaron Telitz and Ritomo Miyata at Daytona. “It means everything,” Thompson said. “Two years ago, I was spotting up there, and now I’m down in Victory Lane collecting my first pole. One for one, but I couldn’t do it without … the entire Lexus Racing Vasser Sullivan group. It’s such a solid group.” Klaus Bachler continued the Porsche vs. Lexus theme by securing the No. 2 GTD starting position with a lap of 1:44.537 (122.597 mph) in the No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) that he’ll co-drive with Kerong Li, Anders Fjordbach and Larry Voorde. Katherine Legge brought the No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 home third in GTD at 1:44.640 (122.477 mph). She’ll team with Sheena Monk, Tatiana Calderon and Stevan McAleer for the race. NBC’s live coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona begins at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Flag-to-flag live coverage can be found on NBC Sports platforms. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA WIre Service)

NBC Sports will present more than 90 hours of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2024 across NBC, Peacock and USA Network, including live comprehensive coverage of the 62^nd Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 27-28. The 2024 TV schedule includes:

  

Editor's Note: This is our dearly departed billboard, which we had at Road America for several years. Peter gifted the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" to the track, which now uses it proudly in all of its communications. -WG

Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG