Daytona Friday Notebook

Photo: Juergen Tap/Porsche

***The first day of track action at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 saw the highly anticipated debut of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class machinery in an official timed session. All nine cars from the four LMDh manufacturers turned laps, with several cars hitting trouble through the three hours of running.

***It included the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, which lost more than an hour in the second session due to an issue with the car’s left-front wheel bearing. Mathieu Jaminet, however, managed to set the eighth quickest time of the session in the closing minutes.

***Action Express Racing experienced a suspected shifting issue with its No. 31 Cadillac V-LMDh in Session 1, resulting in the Pipo Derani-driven entry turning only four laps. Team manager Gary Nelson explained to Sportscar365 they took precautionary measures in order to not damage the gearbox. It returned to action in Session 2, logging 31 laps but struggling for outright pace.

***The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, which topped both of Friday’s sessions, had its pit speed limited engaged on-track during early on in the second session, resulting in a minor delay.

***Chip Ganassi Racing completed a shakedown of both of its Cadillacs last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, including the No. 01 car with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel, which is a brand-new chassis. CGR’s No. 01 car that completed build at last month’s IMSA-sanctioned test, is now the No. 02 Cadillac. Both cars turned limited laps in the opening session as the team focused on systems checks.

***CGR’s global director of operations Mike O’Gara explained: “Both cars are virtually new so it’s a lot of in and out laps, checking sensors, checking calibrations. This car depends a lot more on the data that’s generating itself to run itself. Things like tire pressures, brake pressures, brake temperatures, things that were important before are mission critical now.”

***The No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD of Jordan Taylor suffered steering failure in the opening session which resulted in the GTD Pro entry slamming into the wall on the exit of the Le Mans Chicane. It returned in the afternoon session, having set the sixth quickest time in the GTD Pro class.

***Taylor said of the incident: “We left the Bus Stop and didn’t have many options. There isn’t a lot of room for error there and we had some contact. It’s definitely unfortunate to kick off the week that way, but we’d rather do it now than later this week or next week during the Rolex.”

***Risi Competizione’s new Ferrari 296 GT3 did not take part in the first practice session as the team worked to address the issue of some late-arriving parts and problems with their integration. Chief engineer Rick Mayer told Sportscar365 that a lot of the work focused on the car’s electronics.

***The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 missed the first session with a fuel cell issue, meanwhile.

***Scott Dixon has been confirmed as the third driver in the No. 01 CGR Cadillac for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring according to O’Gara, while his participation in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is unclear due to the timing of the team’s NTT IndyCar Series testing.

***O’Gara said the Kiwi will be part of the team’s lineup at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais, should they get their second Cadillac entry approved for the French endurance classic.

***Members of GM’s powertrain department that worked with Corvette Racing are now involved with Cadillac Racing, with the 5.5-liter V8 LMDh powerplant developed in-house at its Pontiac plant.

***GM Sports Car Racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser told Sportscar365: “We’ve tried to use all of the learnings we’ve had in GM Motorsports across everything — NASCAR, IndyCar — as we quickly developed this engine. There are some people that maybe wore Corvette Racing shirts in the pits are now wearing Cadillac Racing shirts in the pits, so we’re able to utilize their background.”

***TF Sport has rented a United Autosports trailer for its GTD Pro entry with Team TGM. United Autosports leases a facility in the U.S. but is not racing in IMSA this year as its focuses on its FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series entries.

***Augusto Farfus downplayed any concerns about driving this weekend or in the Rolex 24 despite wearing a brace on his left wrist. The Brazilian told Sportscar365 that he sustained a minor injury last month while playing soccer with his kids. Farfus completed a total of 18 laps on the day.

***BMW has brought Dries Vanthoor as a reserve driver although this is understood to be unrelated.

***Daytona will be the only appearance of Proton Competition’s Oreca 07 Gibson in the WeatherTech Championship this year according to team boss Christian Ried. The chassis will be shipped back to Germany after the event for a ELMS program.

***Ried tested the car, which is understood to have been purchased second-hand, at Paul Ricard although the reigning ELMS GTE champion is not part of the driver lineup this weekend.

***Forte Racing, a new California-based motorsport company, has joined forces with US RaceTronics for its Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 entry in the WeatherTech Championship GTD class. Loris Spinelli and Misha Goikhberg will be the full season drivers, with O’Gara Motorsport and Change Racing also involved in the organization.

***The Shane Seneviratne-led operation has been a mainstay in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and also took part in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS last year, having fielded a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

***Dane Cameron said it “feels different” to be the “extra” driver in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport lineup this weekend, with the three-time IMSA champion’s primary focus set to be on the WEC this year. “It will be slightly different through the week with the time and influence you have on the car,” he said. “The role is a little bit different when you’re the third guy but [my co-drivers] are superstars.”

***Cameron is back in a Penske-run No. 6 car after his three-year stint in an Acura ARX-05, highlighted by the 2019 DPi championship with Juan Pablo Montoya.

***IMSA has declared four sanctioned tests this year, including the Roar. In addition, a two-day outing at Sebring International Raceway on Feb. 15-16 has been planned along with a test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 28-29 and its end-of-season run at Daytona on Dec. 5-6.

***The Sebring and Indy tests will be open to all classes in the WeatherTech Championship and Pilot Challenge, with WeatherTech Championship competitors only permitted to attend the December Daytona test, which was restricted to GTP class cars and new-for-2023 GT3 machinery and selected LMP2 cars last year.

***Louis Deletraz will continue to race in LMP2 alongside his Michelin Endurance Cup drive for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport. He told Sportscar365 that the WEC and ELMS are both possible: “I just need to make sure the calendar works well and discuss with the team, because my main program will be GTP. I will race in Europe. Where exactly, and how, needs to be sorted out.”

***Josh Pierson feels he is “fitting in well” with new teammates at TDS Racing. The American teenager worked with British and American LMP2 teams last year but is now sharing a French-run car with two Dutchmen and a Frenchman: “I know very little French and no Dutch,” Pierson conceded. “Job [van Uitert] was trying to teach me some Dutch words when I got to the track, but I had no idea what he was saying!”

***Pierson added that he sees benefits in a mixture of staying with United in the WEC this year and switching to a new team in IMSA: “I wouldn’t say it’s detrimental to be with recurring faces, but I am looking forward to a fresh start. I think it’s good to interact with as many people in motorsports as you can and create a bond at the track.”

***Klaus Bachler’s move to a full-season IMSA GTD Pro program could impact the Austrian’s full-time presence in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. “Nothing is decided yet, but it is looking like I will do 24 Hours of Spa plus Nordschleife and Asian Le Mans,” he said. “Endurance [Cup] is also possible, but I’m not convinced that it makes sense because I want to concentrate here.”

***Evolve Transporters has become a Proud Partner of IMSA. The multi-year agreement calls for Evolve representatives to attend IMSA events to showcase and service Evolve transporters for IMSA teams, manufacturers and other suppliers in the paddock. In addition, Evolve will introduce their transporters into the IMSA fleet, including development of a new transporter that will go into service in 2024.

Daniel Lloyd 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