Field Set for 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona
Image courtesy of IMSA
By Dennis Krause
A diverse field of 228 drivers representing 32 countries is set to take the green flag, Saturday, at Daytona International Speedway for the 64th running of the Rolex 24, the opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
As the Rolex 24 is also the opening race of the Michelin Endurance Cup, a competition within the series, the race attracts additional entries from teams, pushing the size of the field from the usual 40 or so cars, to around 60 for the twice-around-the-clock classic.
(Photo by Brandon Badraoui, Lumen Digital Agency, IMSA)
Renger van der Zande will lead the field to green aboard the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06.
The Dutchman unofficially qualified second, 0.102 seconds behind Jack Aitken, during the 15-minute Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class qualifying session to set the grid.
The No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R will be moved to the rear of the GTP class as post-qualifying technical inspection revealed that the car's friction area of the rear skid block was beyond the permitted tolerance.
A two-time Rolex 24 winner, van der Zande said Thursday’s qualifying success was the result of the Acura team improving on its execution.
"I think this truly showcases what we've learned over the course of our first year working together as a group. There are so many people, so many resources, and so much talent, but we still needed to find a cohesive way of working together—and that is exactly what you see now when you look at our team. We're going into our second year of this Meyer Shank Racing and Honda Racing Corporation USA effort, and the homework we've done has been incredible. I've never seen it at this level before in any team. The only thing that we needed to improve last season was the execution, and today was a good example that we have learned how to do exactly that. We're starting from the front at Daytona in our #93 Acura ARX-06 and there's a long race ahead of us. We'll stay calm, stay cool, and go from here."
(Photo by Michael L. Levitt, Lumen Digital Agency, IMSA)
Jeremy Clarke, co-driver of the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07, took pole in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, just .008-seconds quicker that P.J. Hyett in the AO Racing entry. Clarke noted that the effort the team put in during last weekend Roar Before the 24 sessions contributed to scoring his second consecutive series pole.
“Yeah, I think we spent most of the roar kind of dialing in the car and honestly the temperatures have changed a lot since then. We worked pretty hard to try and figure out where the car window was going to be for this qualifying, and I think the team did a great job of getting the car where we needed it to be able to put down that lap.
“The field is extremely tight. PJ was right there. Really, this track is so technical in some places but yet just takes a lot of courage through some of the fast corners, so it was all about kind of putting in the lap that you really needed to.”
(Photo by Michael L. Levitt, Lumen Digital Agency, IMSA)
Last year’s Rolex 24 runner-up, Alexander Sims, put the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R by Pratt Miller Motorsports on the pole in the Grand Touring Daytona PRO (GTD PRO) class. It was the third career Motul Pole Award for Sims and his second at Daytona.
“Yeah, Corvette was working really nicely in the qualifying session. It's quite a privilege, honestly, to be able to drive here on low fuel and the car just comes alive compared to most of the state that you drive in during practice where you're focusing on race prep.
“it was just nice conditions, able to get a nice gap, just focus on my own driving for a few laps, and yeah, hook it all together.
“As I say, Corvette is working well, and hopefully we can carry that through to the race.”
(Photo by Michael L. Levitt, Lumen Digital Agency, IMSA)
In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), Zacharie Robichon scored his sixth career Motul Pole Award, driving the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. With six different manufacturers qualifying in the top ten, and separated by just .884 of a second, Robichon noted the margins throughout the class are close.
“Yeah, it feels really tight. I think it could have gone to any number of cars. I think I got really good timing. We found a good gap on the track, and as is often the case here in Daytona, it's kind of situational on getting that pole position, getting a good clean lap, especially on the banking if you can get a little bit of a draft it helps.
“Ultimately a great place to start a 24-hour race, but as we know, not necessarily a deciding factor.”
The Rolex 24 at Daytona takes the green flag at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 24 on network NBC. Peacock (USA), along with IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel (international) will stream flag-to-flag uninterrupted coverage, and NBC will return to broadcast final two hours.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.