Category: Showcase

It was a Wayne Taylor kind of weekend at Daytona for the Rolex 24. The win for the #10 Konica-Minolta Acura DPi brings 3 consecutive Rolex wins to WTR and 5 total. Filipe Albuquerque took the checkered flag and was joined in Victory Lane by co-drivers Alexander Rossi, Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor. (Wayne Taylor’s son)  Taylor’s younger son, Jordan, was also a winner in GTLM with the #3 Corvette Racing Team.

The final minutes of the race brought a challenge from former Taylor driver Renger van der Zande in the Ganassi #01 Cadillac. A blown tire brought that challenge to an end with an ironic twist as van der Zande was key to Wayne Taylor wins for the 2 previous years. The Ally #48 was there with a charge but could not make up the difference and finished 4.7 seconds back. It was a good show for the Jimmie Johnson team with Kamui Kobayashi , Mike Rockenfeller and Simon Pagenaud.

After 24 hours of racing, 5 of the DPi class cars were on the lead lap at the finish. Mechanical issues put the pole sitting #31 in the garage with 5 hours remaining but the team still managed an 8^th place overall.

The LMP2 class was taken by the #18 Era Motorsport ORECA of Dwight Merriman, Kyle Tilley, Ryan Dalziel and Paul-Loup Chatin.

The LMP3 class, new within the main event to have 5 classes on track, was won by the Riley Motorsports #74 with drivers Scott Andrews, Oliver Askew, Spencer Pigot and Gar Robinson.

The Corvettes were one and two in GTLM. Jordan Taylor with Nicky Catsburg and Antonio Garcia drove the #3 across first and the #4 crossed shortly behind with the team of Alexander Sims, Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Corvettes were also at the front of the GTLM field following the Motul qualifying the weekend before.

The GTD class also had 5 cars on the lead lap at the finish. Mercedes AMG also proved one and two with the #57 Winward Racing group of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje and Maro Engel taking the win. The #75 Sun Energy Mercedes came in 16 seconds back.

The next race up on the IMSA WeatherTech schedule is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts on tap March 17-20. The race is half as long… but a bit more bumpy. The racing season is much the same for 2021. Covid is still with us and a bit bumpy for the start but with a little luck the fans may have an open gate as we go green into the season.

Racing is back. Amidst the further menace of covid and the stress of restriction and uncertainty… Racing is back.
Changes are many. Some class changes with entry numbers. A new addition of the LMP3 class. Among these is Core Autosport with their new #54 LMP3. The Porsche support of their previous entries (#911 & #912) ended at the end of 2020. The Porsche badge is not totally gone in GTLM, as WeatherTech Racing has put their wheel in the Porsche RSR #79 moving up from the GTD class which they ran with the #63 Ferarri.

The NASCAR season open is rapidly approaching. First, however, is all eyes on the curves and variety of the ROLEX 24. The prelude, of course, is the “Roar Before The 24”. There will be a good turn of entries practicing at “The Roar” with teams in new equipment to burn in and some even running limited schedules.
Daytona is the focus of motorsport in the United States for the next month. A new President is in Washington. The decisions made will echo from the White House and into all facets of life in general, especially for covid and any further restrictions along with it. The grease is ready for the wheels but the caution flag is still waving.
For fans…? Well… It’s a good thing televisions are cheap. Restrictions will limit fans on site for the ROLEX 24 and the Daytona 500. Vaccines are out but progress is still being measured in laps rather than total victories. It’s going to be a while further…
For now… if you’re one of the few that will be on site, be gracious and follow the rules so the rest of us can follow later on. For the rest, on the couches across the country… Let’s go racing!