IMSA News & Notes, 12.23

Photo: Ryan Dalziel

***Tequila Patron ESM, along with Action Express Racing and Visit Florida Racing (Spirit of Daytona), are all testing at Sebring International Raceway this week. It marked the debut of the new HPD ARX-04b (above) on the Florida circuit, with Ryan Dalziel also getting his first laps in the car, ahead of its debut in next month’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

***All three DP cars were sporting the new-for-2015 Corvette C7 bodywork, which was first run by the No. 5 Action Express entry last week at Daytona. Both the Whelen-backed AXR entry and Visit Florida cars have been updated with the new nose and tail sections as well. Among the drivers on hand included Dane Cameron, Michael Valiante and Richard Westbrook.

***The entry list for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 will be released on the week of Jan. 6, according to IMSA. The actual Roar event takes place on Jan. 9-11, having been moved back one week compared to recent years. The entry list for the Rolex 24 is expected following the Roar event. No word has been given on the reason for the delay.

***The Rolex 24 will have a new start time of 2:10 p.m. ET on Sat. Jan. 24, it was revealed in the latest revision to the provisional schedule for the season-opening round, which was released today.

***Flex-Box will return as a sponsor for Magnus Racing next season, which continues a several-year long partnership on the No. 44 Porsche 911 GT America driven by Andy Lally and John Potter.

***IMSA VP of technical regulations Scot Elkins will add race director duties for Pro Mazda and USF2000 to his resume for 2015. Elkins took up the job with the Mazda Road to Indy development series earlier this month. He will continue his role overseeing the technical department of IMSA next year.

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