Rolex 24 Qualifying Pushed Back to Race Week

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Qualifying for the Rolex 24 at Daytona will move back on to race week for the first time since 2020, with IMSA having confirmed the schedules for both the Roar Before the Rolex 24 and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener.

Previously run as part of the Roar event, including qualifying races that were held from 2021-22, the move back to a more traditional schedule coincides with the introduction of the sanctioning body’s ‘Targeted Performance Testing’ for GTD Pro and GTD machinery that will occur on Sat. Jan. 18 and Sun. Jan. 19 at the Roar.

Previously, the testing for Balance of Performance purposes was performed at the IMSA-sanctioned test in December, which was moved up to November this year.

January’s pre-season test, which is mandatory for all Rolex 24 teams, will feature a total of seven on-track sessions, although as another change for next year, will have a dedicated 90-minute session for Bronze-rated LMP2 and GTD drivers only on Sunday afternoon.

Race week will see a 90-minute all-class session kick off activities on Thurs. Jan. 23, followed by qualifying, which for the first time, will feature split GTD Pro and GTD sessions.

A night practice session will follow later that evening, prior to final practice on Friday morning.

The 63rd Rolex 24 will get underway Sat. Jan. 25 at 1:40 p.m. ET.

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