Connect with us

WeatherTech Championship

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Rolex 24

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Rolex 24…

F. Peirce Williams/IMSA

F. Peirce Williams/IMSA

The 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off with this weekend’s 55th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Florida endurance classic also doubles as the opening round of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup.

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: 

Race: Rolex 24 at Daytona

Track: Daytona International Speedway; 12-turn, 3.56-mile oval/road course

Length: 24 hours

Entries: 55 cars spread across four classes: 12 cars (P), 5 cars (PC), 11 cars (GTLM), 27 cars (GTD)

Schedule:

Thursday, Jan. 26 (all times ET)
Practice 1 – 10:20 – 11:20 a.m.
Practice 2 – 1:30 – 2 p.m.
Qualifying – 3:10 – 4:40 p.m.
Practice 3 –  7 – 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 27
Practice 4 – 10 – 11 a.m.
CTSC Race – 12:15 p.m. (4 hours)

Saturday, Jan. 28
Race –  2:30 p.m. (24 hours)

Previous Winners: Tequila Patron ESM (P), JDC-Miller Motorsports (PC), Corvette Racing (GTLM), Magnus Racing (GTD)

Previous Polesitters: Mikhail Aleshin (P), Johnny Mowlem (PC), Nick Tandy (GTLM), Norbert Siedler (GTD)

Driver Insight: “Daytona is such a unique circuit because it is essentially two circuits in one. It’s a long track at 3.56 miles and we have so much of it where we’re flat out on the high banks of Daytona and so much of it where we’re on the completely flat, tight hairpin switchbacks on the infield. So there’s always a compromise with the chassis set up where we have to make the best of both worlds and kind of find where we need our strong points to be. That’s not only a lap time thing, it’s a strategic thing when we race – where the lap time may not be as strong, but when we’re in a pack we may be able to battle better and find the weak points of our competitors.” – Andy Lally, No. 93 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3

Drive Times: Minimum: 5 hours (PC/GTD Bronze/Silver-rated drivers), 2 hours base time (all classes); Maximum: 13 hours and no more than 4 hours in a 6-hour period

Tires: Continental Tire “Gold” for P, PC and GTD classes. Multiple Michelin options for GTLM

Pit Stops: 45-50 minute stint length for P/PC; 55-60 minutes for GTLM/GTD

Weather: Mostly Sunny, High: 62 F, Low 44 F

TV: Flag-to-flag coverage between FOX family of networks

Saturday, Jan. 28 (all times ET)
2-5 p.m. FOX
5-10 p.m. FS2
11-11:55 p.m. FS2

Sunday, Jan. 29
12 a.m. – 1 p.m. FS2
1 -3 p.m. – FS1

*Full flag-to-flag coverage on FOX Sports GO

Radio: Complete session-by-session coverage on IMSA Radio

Spotter’s Guide: Click Here

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

2 Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in WeatherTech Championship