Porsche Penske Motorsport Takes Rolex 24 at Daytona
Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 GTP Rolex 24 at Daytona winners (l-r), Josef Newgarden, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell and Dane Cameron.
Photo credit: IMSA, Lat, Michael L. Levitt
After a disappointing performance a year ago, Porsche Penske Motorsport took overall honors Sunday in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. Driver Felipe Nasr took the lead with 43-minutes remaining in his Porsche 963 and held off the Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Tom Blomqvist to win by just over two-seconds.
“The race really came down to the wire at the very final stop. It was pretty much all about the fuel numbers.
Photo credit: IMSA, LAT, Jake Galstad
“Each one was the energy numbers we were reaching. And... I just have to say that was a great call from the team from Porsche Penske Motorsport just to give me the opportunity to be in the lead again in that final part of the race and then it was down to me to hit the numbers and keep the 31 behind. But, man, you know it's 24 hours of racing to be to be going that way…
“It does give you a lot of emotions in the end. And I just knew it was not over yet. I just kept the focus to the finish line. There was a lot of traffic going through as well, and the 31 was keeping up the pressure. But I'm glad it came our way. After all the hard work, a difficult year we had in 2023, especially here. So I feel it's the best gift we could give ourselves, so I'm very pleased for the team, for the whole work they've done all week.”
#18: Era Motorsport, ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2: Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch, Christian Rasmussen
Photo credit: IMSA, LAT, Jake Galstad
The ERA Motorsport team won in Le Mans Prototype 2. For seventeen-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch, it was surreal to be a Rolex 24 class winner having just signed a driver development deal with NASCAR’s Trackhouse Racing.
“Yeah it was a surreal feeling those last ten minutes when we kind of realized, wow, we are gonna win this and we have a really good chance at this.
“It's been a wild last few weeks for me and that's not gonna let my head get big. I still got to put in the work. I'm only 17 so it's not like I've achieved everything. Someone told me I need to retire. I got a 100% win rate. So, I got to decide on that one. But, yeah, I got a long career ahead of me, hopefully. And this is just the beginning.”
#62: Risi Competizione, Ferrari 296 GT3, GTD PRO: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, pit stop
Photo credit: IMSA, LAT, Michael L. Levitt
Risi Competizione’s Ferrari 296 GT3 took top honors in the GT Daytona Pro class. While driver James Calado was excited to add a Rolex 24 class win to his overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, he was just as excited to deliver a first Rolex win to team owner Giuseppe Risi.
“Yeah, I mean, now it's two big sportscar races and to tick both of them off in a short period of time is obviously an amazing achievement. It's really down to Ferrari and the team and Risi for this weekend and AF Corse for LeMans, the whole group together with drivers is amazing and to be part of that I feel very lucky.
“Yeah, this race was pretty much how you wanted to go. The car was was great to drive, the balance and the performance was definitely a lot better than last year. So, yeah, to get that win for Risi, and especially for Giuseppe, I'm proud for him because he's wanted it for a long time.”
#57: WINWARD RACING, Mercedes AMG GT3, GTD: Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje, Daniel Morad
Photo credit: IMSA, LAT, Jake Galstad
Winward Racing’s Mercedes AMG GT3 won in GT Daytona for the second time in four years. After coming close the last two years, driver Russell Ward said it was special to win again.
“I mean, it's a constant evolution in racing. I mean, if you're not pushing the limits and trying to improve every year, someone else is and someone else is going to beat you. So, you know, that's kind of the passion we have.
“We've had a pretty consistent crew over the past five years who have seen it with us and really helped us be successful. And we try to keep the same drivers on board. We want to develop as a team and move forward as one.
“So this one's pretty special to me. The first one wasn't luck, of course. Everybody put their work in. But to come here and do it again, we've been pretty close the past two years, but just really haven't had the luck to get it done and to come back and close it off for the second time in 2024, it's a great feeling.”
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