Daytona CTSC Weekend Notebook

***The new Ford Mustangs that will start 1-2 in Friday’s BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona have undergone a change in nomenclature. The cars, listed as “Ford Mustang GT4” on the initial entry list, are now referred to without the “GT4” tag per a request from the SRO. It is understood that once the car becomes fully SRO GT4 homologated next month, the “Ford Mustang GT4” moniker will return.

***Another aspect of the car that will be different in its final homologation is the hood, according to KohR Motorsports team owner Dean Martin. “This is the temporary hood for this weekend, and once it goes for the final homologation in February, it’ll have the intended [carbon] hood,” Martin told Sportscar365. “They just couldn’t get it produced in time for the event. The hood we have on here, it’s representative of what it’s going to be, but it’s not as light as it could be.”

***IMSA distributed a competition bulletin on Thursday to competitors detailing a new class-splitting procedure for safety car periods. According to the bulletin: “Immediately following the [waive around] if performed, or after the pits are open for all cars if [a waive around] is not performed, Race Control shall conduct a “Class Split”. Cars in the ST class must remain in running order, move left, and permit eligible GS Cars to move right and in Single File, pass any ST Cars to take position at the front of the field. Tire scrubbing is prohibited.”

***Another amendment to the rulebook states that a stop-and-hold penalty for time equal to two race laps as determined by race control will be assessed to any car that passes the safety car when ineligible.

***The new McLaren 570S GT4’s traction control issues caused by the steep Daytona banking have persisted from the Roar Before the 24, but several teams have noted marked improvement. A survey of the McLaren teams in the paddock revealed the problem had persisted to varying degrees team to team and car to car, but all involved have said that McLaren and Bosch have been hard at work to find a resolution to the troubles which are not expected to crop up on tracks which lack Daytona’s steeply-banked turns.

***Matt Plumb logged the fastest lap for a McLaren all weekend in qualifying for C360R, good enough to lock in a third-place starting position.

***Several lineup updates have taken place since the initial entry list was released by IMSA. Cameron Lawrence and Kyle Marcelli are now listed in the Muehlner Motorsports America Porsche Cayman GT4 after both slots had been listed as TBA on the original list. They join the KohR Mustang as the only updates in GS.

***ST saw multiple driver additions, including Trevor Knight alongside Shane Lewis in the No. 6 Rebel Rock Porsche Cayman, with David Roberts confirmed to join Dion von Moltke in the team’s No. 8 Porsche. Finally, 20-year-old Auburn University mechanical engineering student and MX-5 Cup race-winner Robby Foley will make his series debut in the No. 27 Freedom Autosport MX-5 with co-driver Britt Casey.

***According to driver Owen Trinkler, the CRG-I Do Borrow team’s Nissan Altima that Trinkler shares with Sarah Cattaneo is the same chassis that won the ST class in the Daytona round of the Continental Tire Challenge in 2013 with Lara Tallman and Vesko Kozarov at the wheel. On Thursday, Cattaneo posted the fifth-fastest ST time in qualifying for the four-hour race.

***The No. 84 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i driven by James Clay, Tyler Cooke, and Tyler Clary missed all of Practice 2 when an oil leak was discovered by the crew. The car had recently had a new engine installed which is believed to be related to the leak. The problem was rectified and the car returned to action later in the afternoon. The team will start Friday’s race P10 in the ST class.

***The BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona is set for 12:15 p.m.. ET on Friday with live coverage available at IMSA.com with a telecast scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1.