FEBRUARY 7, 2024

(The Guardian)

BREAKING NEWS: It has been confirmed by both Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari that 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton will leave the Mercedes-AMG F1 team at the end of the 2024 season to drive for Scuderia Ferrari in 2025. The 39-year-old Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut in 2007 with McLaren and moved to the Mercedes-AMG F1 Team in 2013. Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of F1 with 103 wins. Hamilton will team with Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia, while Carlos Sainz will be looking for work after this season. George Russell will become the No. 1 driver for the Mercedes-AMG F1 team in 2025.

F1 has officially rejected Michael Andretti's entry beginning with the 2026 season. The statement from F1 said: "Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the championship. The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the applicant would be a competitive participant." They went on: "The addition of an 11th team would place an operational burden on race promoters, would subject some of them to significant costs, and would reduce the technical, operational and commercial spaces of the other competitors," it added. But, and here's their big "but" - "We would look differently on an application for the entry of a team into the 2028 championship with a GM power unit, either as a GM works team or as a GM customer team designing all allowable components in-house," added F1. "In this case there would be additional factors to consider in respect of the value that the Applicant would bring to the Championship, in particular in respect of bringing a prestigious new OEM to the sport as a PU supplier." Editor-in-Chief's Note: In other words, the money-grubbing carpetbaggers in F1 don't want to let another team get a seat at the F1 money trough, especially an American team. That might change - according to the powers that be in F1 - if GM brings millions upon millions of dollars to their Greed Circus in 2028. The reality? It's simply More Bush League Bullshit from F1, and it really stinks. -PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Did you hear the one about the 24-Hour race sponsored by Rolex watches that ended early? “Due to an officiating error in race control, IMSA inadvertently announced and subsequently displayed the white flag with under three minutes remaining in the race,” the statement from IMSA read. “At the end of the lap, the race-leading No. 7 GTP car then received the checkered flag with 1 minute, 35.277 seconds still remaining, ending the race short of the planned 24 hours by effectively one lap." “Based on Article 49 of the 2024 IMSA Sporting Regulations and Standard Supplementary Regulations, should the checkered flag be inadvertently or otherwise displayed before the leading car completes the scheduled number of laps or before the prescribed time has been completed, the race is nevertheless deemed ended when the flag is displayed.” Really? This is the best IMSA can do for its - allegedly - biggest race? Although, the High-Octane Truth is that the 12 Hours of Sebring has always been the oldest and most prestigious endurance race in the U.S., despite the France operatives constant bleating otherwise. Maybe the IMSA/France operatives should spend less time trying to justify the bogusly rendered "dual" GT classes and concentrate on getting their act together. This is Bush League Bullshit of the highest order and it is simply inexcusable. What a frickin' joke. -PMD

(IMSA)

The 62nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona boiled down to a two-car race for overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class honors between the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R and the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. The Porsche seized the advantage a little more than 19 hours into the 24-hour endurance contest that served as the season opener for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr combined to build a 10-second lead. But Pipo Derani and Tom Blomqvist fought back in the Cadillac, culminating in Blomqvist making a daring pass for the lead on Nasr into Turn 1 with an hour and 20 minutes remaining. A full-course caution that flew with 52 minutes remaining eliminated Blomqvist’s 2.2-second advantage and reset the race for a final sprint. When the pits opened eight minutes later, the Porsche crew got Nasr out ahead for the green flag that flew with 32 minutes to go. That clean air at the head of the field was all the Brazilian needed. He kept the No. 7 Porsche that he shared with Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and Josef Newgarden in front through the final stages, crossing the line 2.112 seconds ahead of the No. 31 Cadillac, which was driven by Blomqvist, Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken. Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta and Jenson Button finished third in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06. It was the 23rd time Porsche claimed overall honors in the Rolex 24, the last coming in 2010 using a Riley chassis in the Daytona Prototype (DP) class fielded by Action Express Racing – the same team that now fields the Whelen Cadillac. Team Penske owns two prior sports car victories at Daytona – a 1966 GT/GTO class win and the overall prize in 1969, when Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons enjoyed a 30-lap cushion at the finish in a Lola T-70/Chevrolet. “When you think about 1969, when we won here with a Lola, things were a lot different in those days,” Penske said. “Just to see the competitiveness, where six or seven tenths of a second was the difference after 24 hours of racing, it’s unbelievable. I’ll tell you, this goes down as one of the biggest wins we’ve had.” The victory was equally as satisfying for Porsche, which entered IMSA’s new GTP era featuring a hybrid-electrified platform in 2023 in a highly publicized resumption of the German marque’s relationship with the Penske organization, which produced major sports car victories in several different time periods since the early 1970s. But the Penske-Porsche partnership fell short of the WeatherTech Championship crown last season, losing out to the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac. Porsche targeted increased reliability in the five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events for 2024. That goal was achieved at Daytona International Speedway, as all four Porsche 963 hybrids in the field (two with Penske, one with JDC-Miller MotorSports and one with Proton Competition) finished in the top six. Cameron competed for the Penske-Porsche program in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, and the American sports car ace was delighted to transfer to the North American-based IMSA program for ’24. He was in tears in Victory Lane. “Fifteen years – that’s a long time,” Cameron said. “I’m so proud of these guys. We had so many issues in the long races last year, and so much work to tune this thing up.” Watch the Race Highlights from Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

The fight for the LMP2 class at Daytona was a battle, with five cars remaining in contention to the finish. The No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 and the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA were the main contenders, until the No. 18 with drivers Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch and Christian Rasmussen took control over the final four hours. The No. 18 drivers led 132 of the final 136 laps, with Rasmussen taking the checkered flag with a 6.8-second advantage over Malthe Jakobsen in the No. 04, which was co-piloted by George Kurtz, Colin Braun and Toby Sowery. “It’s awesome; it’s a huge bucket list item for me,” said Rasmussen, the team’s IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver about to embark on his first full season of IndyCar Series competition. “We were just strong all race. We kept improving, we knew we had the pace and we had the strategy just right. Then just cruised to the finish. I’m over the moon.” Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon and Felipe Massa (No. 74 Riley ORECA) finished third in LMP2. The WeatherTech Championship resumes March 13-16 with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway in Central Florida. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

A successful competitor in sports car racing since 1998, Giuseppe Risi’s Houston-based team has claimed multiple class victories over the years at Le Mans, Sebring and Petit Le Mans. But until Sunday, it had not celebrated victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado teamed to drive the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 from a fifth-place start in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class to victory by a lap over the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). Among the spoils for the veteran Risi foursome are the customary Rolex watches awarded to class winners at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opener. “This is the race that I was missing, that I really wanted to win,” said Serra, who drove the final stint. “Today is one of the happiest days of my racing career.” Laurin Heinrich, Seb Priaulx and Michael Christensen brought the pole-winning AO Porsche home in second place, with the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 finishing third with co-drivers Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen and Sheldon van der Linde. The dominance of the No. 62 Ferrari, which survived a fire in the pits in the first six hours of the race, was on display in the closing stages of the race. The car led the last 82 laps, 130 of the final 136 and 215 overall in the race. It was the first Rolex 24 win for Serra, Rigon and Calado, while Pier Guidi picked up his second watch following a Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) victory in a Level 5 Ferrari 10 years ago. “Giuseppe deserves it,” Calado said of the team owner. “He’s wanted it for a long time. I’m happy for him, and I’m happy for us. It’s a great way to start the year and puts us in good stead for the rest of the year.” (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA Wire Service)

(IMSA)

Daniel Morad led a come-from-behind effort by Winward Racing and teammates Philip Ellis, Russell Ward and Indy Dontje by anchoring the final hours of the team’s Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class victory in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. “I’ve won it before sitting on the sidelines and now I’ve won it in the seat of the car,” Morad said. “I almost crashed on the in-lap (after the checkered flag) I was crying so much. My voice is gone. I think I hurt myself as well.” There’s a reason for the emotion. The No. 57 Mercedes started 17th among the 23 GTD entries, yet soldiered through the field to victory, ending a run of bad luck that clouded Winward’s 2023 WeatherTech Championship season. While 12 different GTD cars led throughout the race, the No. 57 Mercedes rose to the top toward the end, leading 123 of the final 134 laps and a class-high 383 in all. Morad’s previous Rolex 24 victory came in GTD seven years ago. Ward, Ellis and Dontje were all with the class-winning Winward team in 2021. Ferrari claimed second through fourth places Sunday in GTD. The No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Simon Mann, Francois Heriau, Miguel Molina and Kei Cozzolino finished second, 2.731 seconds behind the winners. The No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Manny Franco, Albert Costa Balboa, Alessandro Balzan and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli was third, with the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 and drivers Onofrio Triarsi, Charles Scardina, Riccardo Agostini and Alessio Rovera taking fourth. The WeatherTech Championship season resumes March 16 with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA Wire Service)

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