#24hrsofdaytona

[shaffermatt]

"Tonight, let it be Löwenbräu" . . . . . .#porsche #rennsportreunionvi #rennsportreunion #rrvi #vintage #porsche962 #holbertracing #lowenbrauspecial #24hrsofdaytona #alholbert #derekbell #alunserjr #daytonawinner #enduranceracer #racecar #backtobackwinner https://www.instagram.com/p/Bonb8nTl_NX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=yh7usuvmiwvj

[meaningofmotorsport]

Rolex 24Hrs of Daytona Preview

Even though the main focus of my Motorsport coverage is on F1, IndyCar and MotoGP, to start off this year, I have decided to take a look at the first major racing event of the year, the 24Hrs of Daytona. This event can very simply be described as the American version of Le Mans, and some of the classes are exactly the same, yet the ways it is run can be seen to differ from its European counterpart. Some of these changes were seen in the Qualifying Race which took place yesterday, a new event for this year, which I will reference throughout the article.

The most obvious change which you see during a race, is that the sport does its best to separate the prototypes from the GT cars at various points, firstly they have two separate starts, with the GT cars doing so, some 30 secs after their counterparts did, although this may more be at the request of the American TV companies wanting to see as much action as possible. However, the more questionable decision, which in my view rather ruins the racing, is that under every full course yellow (Safety Car), all of the cars get shuffled into their classes, even if this means passes for position taking place. In my view this takes away from the integrity of the racing, as they are effectively manufacturing the order at each full course yellow. We saw this take place early in the Qualifying Race yesterday, when every DPi car except the leading 01 car of Magnussen, came into the pits to stop, you would have thought this would give them track position over the other cars, who would have to fight through those cars who did not pit, but instead they just waved almost the entire DPi field through to the front, which ended up ruining the 01 cars race.

Despite this, I do believe that the race next weekend is worth watching, and is free to watch in most countries around the world, the action we have seen so far suggests that we will get a close fight for the win in most classes, and will cure many peoples cravings for some live racing action after the winter break.

For the DPi’s, the top class in the event, it will be hard to look past a Cadillac winning overall, they have dominated the class since its inception, and with 4 cars in the running, including the pole sitter, it is hard to look past them. The 31 and the 01 cars in particular look very strong, having both led portions of the race yesterday. Mazda cannot be counted out though, after getting a front row start for next weekend, the major question seems to be reliability, and with them only running one car, they could very easily find themselves in trouble. Acura are a bit of an unknown, they are there or thereabouts, under 10 secs off the winner, it may just come down to what they can do on the day, and if circumstances fall their way.

Even though the LMP2 class is filled with Oreca’s, the lone Dallara chassis of Cetilar Racing was able to mount a challenge for the class pole position, sadly however after losing the lead, it was forced to pit with an unknown issue, we can just hope that does not ruin its chances in the big race. So, the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports car will lead of the pole, but we already can see that this will be a hotly contested class.

The LMP3 class may end up being somewhat of a farce at the Rolex 24Hrs, from what we have seen so far they struggle to keep their cars in a straight line, and many cars just did not take part in the qualifying race, maybe fearing major damage would be inflicted. Lets just hope they all do better next Saturday and Sunday.

In the GTLM class, the Corvette C8.R’s managed to secure a front row lockout on home soil, the fairly new car still being a match for the competition. The biggest threat to them may come from the BMW’s, who do look to be going very well here, the good thing for the Chevy’s is that their race yesterday didn’t go very well, and their cars were bottom of the GTLM pile. The Porsche is the nearest challenger to the GM cars who should never be counted out in 24Hr races, given their history overseas at Le Mans.

Another aid to the Corvette’s, is that the strong GTD field has filled in the gap in front of the BMW GTLM cars, but here the BMW’s were able to come out on top, just edging the Porsche and Lamborghini, in a class not only strong in numbers, but diverse as well. So, calling a winner is very tough at this point, it will likely come down to strategy, reliability and a fair dose of luck on top of that.

With 49 cars spread over 5 classes, it is going to be a busy and likely chaotic race next Saturday, and as with all 24Hr races, no matter how much preparation and planning teams do, luck will play a big part in the result, as the 2021 season of Motorsport gets underway!

-M

[columnm]

The short tail in full view. - Porsche 917K Chassis no.015 that set an incredible 45-lap victory margin at the 24hours of Daytona. Full story on the website. Link in bio. - 📷: @zachjamestodd for @canepamotorsport . . . . . #ColumnM #motorculture #Porsche Porsche917K #Motorsport #Racing #24hrsofdaytona #daytona24h #daytona24 #gulfcars #gulfracing #gulflivery #flat12 #enduranceracing (at Canepa)

[columnm]

The short tail in full view. - Porsche 917K Chassis no.015 that set an incredible 45-lap victory margin at the 24hours of Daytona. Full story on the website. Link in bio. - 📷: @zachjamestodd for @canepamotorsport . . . . . #ColumnM #motorculture #Porsche Porsche917K #Motorsport #Racing #24hrsofdaytona #daytona24h #daytona24 #gulfcars #gulfracing #gulflivery #flat12 #enduranceracing (at Canepa)

[columnm]

The short tail in full view. - Porsche 917K Chassis no.015 that set an incredible 45-lap victory margin at the 24hours of Daytona. Full story on the website. Link in bio. - 📷: @zachjamestodd for @canepamotorsport . . . . . #ColumnM #MotorCultrue #Porsche Porsche917K #Motorsport #Racing #24hrsofdaytona #daytona24h #daytona24 #gulfcars #gulfracing #gulflivery #flat12 #enduranceracing (at Canepa)