GTD at Rolex 24: Aston Martin double

IMSA

Feb 20

With 7 cars within one second at qualifying session during ROAR before Rolex 24, the fight in the GTD class was going be interesting to say the lead. Even though 9 manufacturers were represented (Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche) only 4 were within those 7: Mercedes-AMG GT3, Acura, Mc Laren and Aston Martin. Lexus was not too far with 1.296 seconds behind the fastest GTD. For BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, when IMSA announced no change of BoP on Tuesday (except a very minor one for BMW M4) it was clear that they would not be able to fight for GTD class victory at the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Aston Martin first GTD win at Daytona.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 wins **GTD** class at **Rolex 24** 2023.

Marco Sorensen and Heart of Racing teammates Roman De Angelis, Darren Turner and co-driver/team manager Ian James with #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 were lifted into the class lead with a superior pit stop with a little more than 2 1/2 hours remaining in the 24-hour endurance chase.

After taking over the wheel, Sorensen briefly lost the top overall GT spot to Jack Hawksworth in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 from the GTD PRO class on a restart 40 minutes later. Hawksworth surrendered the point back to Sorensen five laps later and the #27 Aston held off the GTD PRO class-winning #79 Mercedes-AMG GT3 over the final 80 minutes to claim overall GTD and GTD PRO class honors.

“First win for Aston in nearly 60 years? I don’t know what to say,” Sorensen said. “We won the Daytona 24 outright, ahead of everyone (in GTD). Every time I saw yellow flags toward the end, I was so upset. It was one big fight, and I’m just so happy we could bring it home.

“Amazing job by The Heart of Racing – I couldn’t have done it without them,” he added. “For the last four hours, Roman and I were flat out. We couldn’t have done any more. It’s very emotional – really, really special.”

Magnus Racing complete Aston Martin success

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at **Rolex 24** 2023.

Making Aston Martin’s day even sweeter, the #44 Magnus Racing Vantage GT3 with drivers John Potter, Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly and Nicki Thiim finished second in GTD, crossing the line 5.363 seconds behind the #27. The win follows up Aston’s first Daytona podium, a second-place finish achieved last year by the Magnus car.

Inception Racing completed GTD podium

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 at **Rolex 24** 2023.

Defending IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD champion Inception Racing took third place of GTD class with #70 McLaren 720S GT3 shared by Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff, Ollie Millroy and Marvin Kirchhofer and were 6th overall GTD-GTD PRO with #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3.

#66 Honda Racing HPD Acura NSX fourth

The #66 JG Wentworth Honda Racing HPD Acura NSX GT3 Evo 22, driven by Sheena Monk, Katherine Legge, Marc Miller and Mario Farnbacher came home fourth, three seconds shy of a podium and just 20 from victory despite being two laps behind the GTD leader with just two hours remaining.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. #66 JG Wentworth Honda Racing HPD Acura NSX GT3 Evo 22

The Acura sat just 10 seconds from the lead with Farnbacher at the wheel in sixth place as the field was released with 25 minutes remaining.

Some opportunistic moves by the two-time IMSA champion briefly elevated the #66 Acura onto the GTD podium inside the final quarter-hour but ended fourth.

#12 Lexus fifth

📷 © Luc Warnotte. The #12 Lexus RC F GT3 finished fifth in the **GTD** class with drivers Aaron Telitz, Kyle Kirkwood, Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson all sharing driving duties. Like their Vasser Sullivan sister car, the group spent time at the front of the **GTD** field, leading 26 laps, but would ultimately finished fifth in class.

ACURA Sixth

📷 © Luc Warnotte. The #93 Harrison Contracting Company NSX GT3 Evo 22 driven by Ashton Harrison, Ryan Briscoe, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal lead the **Rolex 24** race during 33 laps and kept in contention as the midnight hours approached. Several mechanical hiccup unfortunately forced the #93 to collect a sixth-place result.

The next 4 had no chance with BoP set by IMSA.

As written BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche had no chance of success with BoP set by IMSA. No wonder they are relegated to the following places.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. US RaceTronics #78 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 driven by Loris Spinelli, Marco Mapelli, Benjamin Hites, Misha Goikhberg started 16th **GTD** class of the 61st **Rolex 24** At Daytona. Ending seventh of class was definitively a real achievement.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. BMW M works driver Maxime Martin,, Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Corey Lewis drove the #1 BMW M4 GT3 to eighth place for Paul Miller Racing.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Hardwick, Heylen, Robichon, Olsen with #16 Wright Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R finished the race in ninth as the best-placed Porsche in GTD class at **Rolex 24**.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. #023 Ferrari of Triarsi Competizione driven by Alessio Rovera, Andrea Bertolini, Onofrio Triarsi and Charlie Scardina.

Crossing the finish line was the Ferrari of Triarsi Competizione, entrusted to the crew of Alessio Rovera, Andrea Bertolini, Onofrio Triarsi and Charlie Scardina. The #023 Ferrari 296 GT3 stood out at the start, when Rovera in the first stint drove forward to take eighth position. As the sun set, the challenge came into full swing and the two official drivers of the Maranello marque consolidated the American team in the top-15, setting the stage for a positive finish, despite two Drive Through penalties served in the last third of the race. After several stages of Full Course Yellow, the Triarsi Competizione team crossed the finish line in 10th position of GTD class at Rolex 24 At Daytona 2023.

Each brand experienced at least 1 retirement except Aston Martin, Mc Laren, Acura and Lexus; Ferrari has the worst reliability score with 3 retirements out of 4 starters.