Daytona Sunday Notebook

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

***The Roar Before the Rolex 24 wrapped up on Sunday with qualifying for the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona, where three of the four class records, including the overall record, were broken.

***Pipo Derani smashed Oliver Jarvis’ 1:33.685 outright qualifying lap record from 2019 by more than 1 second in his No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R. All nine GTP cars that qualified were under the previous track record.

***Both GTD Pro (Seb Priaulx) and GTD (Parker Thompson) claimed new class track qualifying records, with Priaulx in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R some six-tenths quicker than Laurens Vanthoor’s benchmark from 2022 and Thompson beating Marcos Gomes’s 1:44.541 that dated back to 2019.

***Ben Keating, meanwhile, scored his fifth consecutive Rolex 24 pole in LMP2. James Allen was the last driver other than Keating’s entry to take top pole honors, in a DragonSpeed Oreca 07 Gibson, also in 2019.

***Keating revealed that he didn’t read Porsche’s expansive manual for its 963 LMDh car prior to getting in the car for the first time in a private test at Daytona International Speedway last month. The Texan, who is pulling double duty between GTP and LMP2, explained he’s since become much more comfortable in the Porsche since the initial test.

***Thompson, who has stepped up to become Frankie Montecalvo’s new full-season driver in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, revealed that he’s moved from Indianapolis to North Carolina to be closer to Lexus Racing and TRD and the Jimmy Vasser and ‘Sulli’ Sullivan–owned team.

***He said: “I took the time to warm myself up to the team, spent the entire off-season with them, got used to all of our protocols and everything we need to do for our Lexus RC F and today was just about going out and having fun. But the race is where the watch get paid. That will be the focus for next week.”

***The No. 92 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R, which crashed in GT qualifying in the hands of David Brule, is understood to have likely sustained chassis damage and could force the team to a spare chassis. Team co-owner Bill Riley told Sportscar365 that they do have the No. 91 Porsche, which was withdrawn prior to the event, on-site.

***Proton Competition’s Porsche, which crashed in the final session in the hands of Neel Jani and did not qualify, is understood to have sustained repairable damage.

***Both Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports GTD Pro cars enjoyed a clean qualifying session after taking fresh engines on Saturday. A Corvette Racing spokesperson told Sportscar365 that the decision was made to change the engines following the discovery of issues with engine wiring that was causing misfires. Subsequent inspection of the engines themselves revealed no signs of damage, and the team is confident of no further reliability problems going forward.

***Kevin Estre said he feels no difference driving the Porsche LMDh car this year in its slightly updated configuration compared to last year. Porche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle revealed that only minor, non-performance related updates have been made, although the German manufacturer is currently pursuing a possible update to the crankshaft that could debut mid-season if approved by IMSA and the ACO.

***Multimatic has expanded its presence in Mooresville, N.C. to include a dedicated facility for its customer support programs with Ford Performance, Mercedes-AMG and the Porsche 963. Larry Holt told Sportscar365: “We have a Swiss flag in [the front office] as a joke because it’s the neutral area” referring to the firm’s high standards of keeping the three manufacturers’ programs separate.

***Proton Competition, which previously had its U.S. outpost located in Multimatic’s first shop that has since been dedicated to the build and operation of the Ford Mustang GT3 program, has also moved into the new shop on Raceway Drive.

***AO Racing’s ‘Spike’ livery on the No. 99 Oreca matches the colors of ‘Spyro’ a dragon from a 1990s video game, which was “purely accidental” according to the team. A number of team members first learned of Spyro only after remarks made on social media following the livery’s unveil.

***Eric Lux has expressed interest in continuing with DragonSpeed as its mandatory Bronze-rated driver in its planned Endurance Cup effort. Lux also wouldn’t rule out a possible full season campaign, which would add the sprint races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America to the calendar.

***Lux told Sportscar365: “It’s really up to Elton [Julian, team owner] on what he wants to do. But if he calls me and wants me to come, I’m coming! I hope I get that call again.”

***Ford Performance global motorsports director Mark Rushbrook confirmed to Sportscar365 that its factory GTD Pro program is a “multi-year” deal but declined to go into detail on the exact current length. He did, however, indicate that there is no set duration similar to the four-year Ford GT effort that was predetermined prior to its start.

***Rushbrook said he “definitely wants” customers racing Mustang GT3s in both GTD Pro and GTD next year. Sportscar365 understands that one existing GTD Pro outfit is planning to switch to the Blue Oval for 2025.

***Ford’s position on a potential future prototype program, meanwhile, appears to be unchanged from recent months, with the stance that it “may fit in” in the “right place at right time” according to Rushbrook.

***He added: “I think the class is great and I think the health of sports car [racing] in total, including GT where we’re racing but also at the prototype level, it’s a fantastic time for the sport. It’s just a matter of if it makes sense and when it would make sense.”

***Work on the new set of LMP2 technical regulations, due to debut in 2026, are understood to be in the final stages of completion. Sportscar365 believes that a large focus has been placed on reduced costs and efficiency compared to the current set of regs that have been in use since 2017. Gibson was recently confirmed as the single engine supplier, with Dallara, ORECA, Multimatic and Ligier all expected to build chassis.

***Filming of the yet-to-be-titled Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt will continue into the Rolex 24 weekend itself, with several time slots blocked off for on-track and pit box access for the production team. In addition to the multiple Porsche 911 GT3 R film cars, there are two extra BMW M4 GT4s in Turner Motorsport liveries present, as well as a Lola B2K/10 prototype used for car-to-car shooting.

***As previously announced, the film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, will serve as grand marshal of the race.

***WeatherTech Championship track action will resume on Thursday with three practice sessions for the Rolex 24, although both Michelin Pilot Challenge and Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin will be on-track for official sessions on Wednesday.

Jamie Klein contributed to this report

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