The 54th edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway begins this Saturday, the first round of the newly-rechristened IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and one of the marquee events in endurance racing.
On Thursday, qualifying for the race was held under heavy rain, rapidly darkening skies, and was subject to quite a few red flags that threw everyone a huge, looping curveball. Conditions heavily favoured the Michelin-clad GTLM class cars in qualifying, so even though the SMP Racing BR01-Nissan qualified by Mikhail Aleshin will officially start the race on pole position by way of the IMSA rulebook, the records will show that the GTLM class locked out the top seven positions overall in qualifying - with the Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Kevin Estre, and defending Le Mans champion Nick Tandy fastest on the day.
As the race draws closer to its 19:40 GMT start time (that's 2:40 PM local), here are some of the other things to watch for in the Rolex 24.
PROTOTYPE
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing have now assembled two "dream teams" for the Prototype class. Defending champions Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Jamie McMurray, and Kyle Larson remain at the helm of the #02 Riley-Ford Daytona Prototype that won last year's Rolex 24, joined by the all-star lineup in the sister #01 car - reigning World Endurance Drivers' Champion Brendon Hartley, Ford WEC candidate Andy Priaulx, young Canadian phenom Lance Stroll, and in his first try to win Daytona, two-time Le Mans winner Alexander Wurz.
This will be the final year of the Daytona Prototype sub-category as we know it, a brigade that will also be led by competitive entries from Action Express Racing - the #5 Corvette DP that won the race in 2014 will boast a lineup featuring former winners Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, Audi factory driver Felipe Albuquerque, and Scott Pruett, in search of a record sixth victory at Daytona. The Konica Minolta Corvette DP of Wayne Taylor Racing got a huge boost with the addition of 19-year F1 veteran Rubens Barrichello to a lineup featuring the Taylor brothers, Ricky and Jordan, and former Rolex 24 winner Max Angelelli.
SMP Racing, polesitters for the race on Saturday, will lead the LMP2 entries in a brand-new car making its Rolex 24 debut. Pole winner Aleshin is part of an underrated lineup featuring Kirill Ladygin and veteran endurance racer Nicolas Minassian. Michael Shank Racing is the only LMP2 team that has previously won the race, and their HPD-powered Ligier JS P2 now has Olivier Pla driving alongside AJ Allmendinger, Oswaldo Negri, and John Pew.
Intrigue continues to surround the DeltaWing, now in its third Rolex 24 and still yet to see the chequered flag at Daytona, as well as the Mazda Prototypes, still running engines sourced directly from their road-going cars. A finish for them would be as big as a victory, but keep an eye on young Sean Rayhall in the DeltaWing and reigning Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot in one of the Mazdas.
PROTOTYPE CHALLENGE
The pro-am class running the same Chevrolet-engined Oreca FLM09 across its eight entries. The favorites to win this category are the #54 CORE Autosport entry which won in 2014, and still has most of the lineup that won that race - Jonathan Bennett, Colin Braun, and Mark Wilkins now joined by former LMP2 World Champion, Martin Plowman.
And the two cars of Starworks Motorsport, one of which features the European Formula 3 champion Felix Rosenqvist on his endurance racing debut, also look like strong contenders. But neither the CORE Autosport car nor the #52 of defending race winners PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports set a time in qualifying, where the #20 car of BAR1 Motorsports was fastest in class - and still faster than the fastest car in the main prototype class.
GT LE MANS
Arguably the strongest class in IMSA (and the American Le Mans Series before it), GTLM continues to stack the deck with new cars, top teams, and awesome drivers. Corvette Racing are the defending champions, and the C7.R looks up to the task of defending their crown with Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen joined by Mike Rockenfeller, and the second car driven by Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin, and three-time Le Mans champion Marcel Fässler.
Porsche has an all-star lineup at the helm of its two 911 RSRs. Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber came here last year as relative upstarts among the Porsche driver roster. This year, they're Le Mans champions, and with Patrick Pilet, Frederic Makowiecki, young Kevin Estre, and Michael Christensen also driving for them, they could yet again triumph at Daytona.
But its the new blood in GTLM that's caught the attention of many, headlined by the return of the Ford GT in the 50th anniversary of their 1966 victory in this race. If it proves reliable, it may be a threat to win, with a lineup of world-class drivers and the backing of the mighty Chip Ganassi Racing. BMW's new M6 GTLM, a souped-up version of their GT3 car, has been successful in North America except for Daytona, and BMW Team RLL hopes the new car can change their recent form.
And Ferrari have a new challenger, the 488 GTE, in the hands of a few teams that can easily contend for the victory - chief among them, the SMP Racing car, led by Gianmaria Bruni and Viktor Shaytar. Though the GTLM class was fastest in the torrential downpour of qualifying, the 488 GTE was still a handful in the treacherous weather - ask Alessandro Pier Guidi, of Scuderia Corsa.
GT DAYTONA
GTD has the largest field of any of the four classes, and is now fully compliant to FIA GT3 regulations. Riley Motorsports are the defending champions, and their Dodge Viper GT3-R will now face a wave of new, intense competition from some of the teams fielding GT3's newest toys from Audi, BMW, and Lamborghini. In particular, fun-loving Magnus Racing look strong in their new Audi R8, and with a lineup featuring Andy Lally, Rene Rast, and Marco Seefried, they have to be up there with the favorites.
None of them were the quickest on Thursday, though, as Porsche's new 911 GT3-R took pole position for the class via Park Place Motorsports - where former Daytona 24 winner Jörg Bergmeister is the team's ace driver. The Alex Job Racing Porsches are also serious contenders - with the #22 WeatherTech car fastest in the pre-race test sessions. Further down the order, the #007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin has the attention of many thanks to the team's support from F1 driver Sergio Perez, but the Vantage GT3 is a longshot to win in a tough field.
The Rolex 24's leading ladies will all be competing in GT Daytona: Christina Nielsen, daughter of Le Mans champion John Nielsen, will be in a Scuderia Corsa Ferrari. American Ashley Freiberg will drive one of the Turner BMW M6es in a car she'll also share with former DTM champion, Marco Wittmann. And Sabine Schmitz, famous for her television appearances, will also tackle Daytona in the Frikadelli Racing Porsche GT3-R.
LIVE STREAM
The race starts at 19:40 GMT (2:40 PM EDT / 20:40 CET / 6:40 AEDT) and we'll do our best to have a live stream coverage up around 21:00 GMT directly after our online series' broadcast has finished.
Make sure to grab the Spotter Guide by Andy Blackmore Design and Live Timing, Scoring, and Audio Commentary is available at IMSA.com
Who do you think will be the top performers in this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona? Discuss this and much more in the comments below!
Image Credit: IMSA
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