BAR1 Finalizes Rolex 24 Lineup

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

BAR1 Motorsports has finalized its driver lineup for this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, in the team’s Prototype class debut.

Team regulars Tomy Drissi and Marc Drumwright will be joined by Eric Lux, Alex Popow and NASCAR veteran Brendan Gaughan at the wheel of its Riley Mk. 30 Gibson LMP2 car.

It will mark Gaughan’s second start with the Brian Alder-led squad, after taking part in the 2016 race at Daytona, alongside Drissi and Drumwright, in one of its Prototype Challenge entries.

The team had evaluated a number of different drivers in recent weeks.

Joel Miller, who drove with the team at the Roar Before the Rolex 24, and was initially announced as part of the lineup for the race, has since moved to Performance Tech Motorsports’ Oreca 07 Gibson.

Both Don Yount and Mark Kvamme, who turned laps in the car in December’s IMSA-sanctioned test, meanwhile will drive for Turner Motorsport in the GT Daytona class.

BAR1 on Back Foot after Parts Delays

The team is looking to rebound following a difficult outing at the Roar, which saw its performance impacted by parts delays.

Miller, Drumwright and Ryan Cullen gained limited running in the three-day test, and ended up more than four seconds off the pace from the Cadillac DPi-V.Rs, which topped the time charts in every session.

It’s understood BAR1’s Riley had not yet received the majority of its mechanical updates from Multimatic, as part of the LMP2 car’s re-homologation undertaken by the Canadian firm.

Both Mazda RT24-Ps had also faced parts delays and shortages at the Roar, although impacted by a complete rebuild of its No. 55 Mazda following Tristan Nunez’s massive accident in private testing last month.

John Dagys

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