IMSA: News from Daytona tests days (day 1).
Mandatory on-track sessions for manufacturers in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class get underway today at Daytona International Speedway, with cars running on track through tomorrow.
BMW
BMW was not able to run a 24-hour endurance test with its LMDh car last month at Sebring International Raceway due to a gearbox failure caused by a failure of the hybrid gear-drive and some engine problems.
BMW is taking part in the IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway on December 6 & 7 with a second LMDh car for the first time and programming a two-day test in Austin on Dec. 15.
Cadillac Racing
📷 © Cadillac Racing.
Cadillac Racing announced that all nine drivers (read here) will participate in this week’s day/night tests sessions at Daytona that lead into the Roar Before the Rolex 24, which includes qualifying for the race, on Jan. 20-22.
Both Chip Ganassi Racing (one Cadillac V-LMDh in IMSA and one in WEC) as well as Action Express Cadillac V-LMDh will start the 2023 season in the 61st Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29 and are running at Daytona for the two-day test.
Lamborghini
📷 © Iron Lynx.
Iron Lynx announced that Romain Grosjean will contest a GT3 campaign with the team in 2023 and play a key role in the development of the Lamborghini Iron Lynx LMDh project which will debut in 2024.
Grosjean will drive a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 and will debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona, racing alongside fellow Lamborghini Factory Drivers, Mirko Bortolotti and Andrea Caldarelli.
Porsche
JDC-Miller Motorsports and JOTA members are present in tests days at Daytona but do not expect delivery of their cars before the end of April 2023. Together with Proton Competition, JOTA hopes to be present at FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Spa on April 29 for their first race with the Porsche 963 in Hypercar class.
Wayne Taylor Racing
Wayne Taylor Racing’s (WTR) No 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 team and partners Acura, Honda Performance Development (HPD), and Oreca are bringing development improvements to the Daytona tests days.
Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Louis Deletraz put their #10 Acura ARX-06 on top of Tuesday’s time charts in the opening, two sessions 0.074” ahead of sister Meyer Shank Racing #60.
LMP2 class
Three ORECA 07s are on site from TDS Racing, Tower Motorsport and PR1 Mathisen.
Alex Quinn, Paul-Loup Chatin, Dylan Murry and Ben Keating are part of the PR1 Mathiesen lineup.
2022 IMSA LMP2 Drivers Champion John Marano in #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca 07 announced his co-drivers for the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona: Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden and Kyffin Simpson. The Tower Motorsport lineup for the rest of the season is not yet official.
GT3
Lamborhghini
Andrea Caldarelli will drive the very new #63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 during the Daytona tests days.
AF Corse
The new #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 for the IMSA test at Daytona will be driven by Andrea Bertolini and Toni Vilander.
Pfaff Motorsports
Pfaff Motorsports will welcome a fresh lineup to its defending IMSA GTD PRO effort with the arrival of full-timers Patrick Pilet and Klaus Bachler, and the returning Laurens Vanthoor for the Michelin Endurance Cup races in #9 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Laurens Vanthoor should then run the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 1000 Miles of Sebring WEC race on the same weekend, as Vanthoor should be placed in Porsche Penske Motorsport’s full-season WEC lineup.
Related Articles
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Acura, BMW and Cadillac got back on track at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with their new GTP class cars. Read here.
The Chip Ganassi Racing-Cadillac V-LMDh completed a successful endurance session equaling back-to-back Twelve Hours of Sebring races. Read here.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Louis Deletraz come back to his IMSA season with Tower in LMP2 and tells us about his move to Wayne Taylor Racing in GTP. Read here.
