ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA - 2016 NEW MACHINES Ford joins BMW and Ferrari in debuting new GTLM machines in 2016 READY TO RUMBLE AT THE ROLEX
2 2016 GTLM BATTLE FIRST to FIRST Ford, Ferrari, BMW Debut New Cars
If the first major race of the New Year asks, what s new? The answer is, nearly everything. The Rolex 24 At Daytona is the first event for the new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and opens the stunning $400 million Daytona Rising Stadium. Icing the new season cake is the spectacular array of new cars. The highly anticipated debut of the Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Ford EcoBoost GTs adds yet another top manufacturer and a pair of stunning cars to the powerful GTLM class. Since Ford announced its return to competition at Le Mans last June, the Ford CGR team has been on an aggressive testing and development path in preparation for its competition debut here. Joey Hand will drive with Dirk Müller while Ryan Briscoe (pictured left) is teamed with Richard Westbrook. Both pairs are joined here by Sebastien Bourdais and Stefan Mücke respectively. They have checked all the preflight development boxes and are ready to race. Ford is not the only manufacturer introducing a new GTLM class car here at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. BMW Team RLL presents a pair of new BMW M6 GTLMs, while Ferrari enters a trio of the spectacular new 488 GTEs in the hands of the Scuderia Corsa, Risi Competizione Ferrari and SMP Racing teams. Showing early pace, BMW s Lucas Luhr topped the GTLM time sheets in the early January tests here. It s a new game with the new car, said Luhr. It s a total change from the Z4. The drivability is different with a turbocharged engine rather than a naturally aspirated engine like the Z4 had. With Bill Auberlen, John Edwards and Dirk Werner joining Luhr on the full season WeatherTech Championship entry list and Graham Rahal, Augusto Farfus, Kuno Wittmer and Bruno Spengler also on board here, BMW is anxious to kick off its 100th anniversary year in style. The car feels different and you take a different approach to driving it, said Luhr (pictured right). It s a big difference, said Luhr of an M6 that is wider, longer, and taller than his 2015 BMW Z4 ride. Opening the season with a premier 24-hour race is a big challenge, especially with a brand new car. When you have a brand new car you always find some things that are not ideal and then you work to improve those things or to adjust to them, said Luhr, whose veteran BMW Team RLL finished second by a mere 0.48 seconds here in 2015. While the popular Risi Competizione team awaited delivery of its new Ferrari 488 GTE, the team joined with longtime Ferrari stalwart AF Corse at the recent Roar Before the 24 test with GTLM newcomers Scuderia Corsa and SMP Racing in a thorough testing regimen of the new car. While the pace, traffic, and reliability challenges in the frantic Rolex 24 At Daytona are daunting, an even bigger battle awaits as Ford, BMW and Ferrari try to unseat the 2015 IMSA GTLM champions from Porsche North America and the Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans GTLM winning Corvette Racing team. Porsche North America s Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy shocked the competition on a rain soaked Road Atlanta with an overall race victory for their MICHELIN-fitted GTLM class Porsche 911 RSR in the 2015 season finale. With updated cars, and teammates Frederic Makowiecki and Earl Bamber, they are primed to take on all comers in the 2016 WeatherTech Championship. There is a similar story at Corvette Racing. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe took the 2015 GTLM wins at Daytona and Sebring while teammates Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor completed the endurance racing GT category Triple Crown at the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Both Porsche and Corvette have made significant updates under the 2016 GTLM rules which significantly increase downforce by permitting wider bodywork, a bigger rear diffuser, and an additional set back on the rear wing in addition to safety changes. The updates give our cars more downforce and make them more fun to drive, said Corvette s Tommy Milner (pictured above). We can go deeper under braking and the new MICHELIN tires have certainly helped us to make a good step forward. Former Le Mans winners Mike Rockenfeller and Marcel Fassler bolster the deep Corvette line up here. With five premier manufacturers presenting a total of 11 GTLM entries, a stunning 60 percent of respondents in a pre-season poll by RACER.com voted the class as the one they looked forward to most in 2016 WeatherTech Championship competition. And that is nothing new. 3
4 DP or p2 FOR THE ROLEX VICT A colorful Baker s dozen field of diverse s is poised to make history at the 54th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The top class in the 50+ car field is a spicy blend of top teams and drivers with Daytona s and LMP2 combinations powered by BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Elan engines in what appears to be an exceptionally wide-open race. Taking it from the top, a pair of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Ford EcoBoost Riley DPs will look to repeat the team s 2015 win. The CGR driver lineup features IndyCar superstar Scott Dixon and Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, teamed with NASCAR stars Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson in the No. 02 car. The combination proved to be the winning blend in 2015 and returns intact. Fresh from a strong season in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, young Canadian star Lance Stroll teams with FIA World Endurance champion Brendon Hartley, Toyota s 2014 WEC champion Alex Wurz and touring car legend Andy Priaulx in the CGR No. 01. If it is self-explanatory that winners win and Scott Dixon is a master of the race winning universe. The 35-year old Kiwi came from behind yet again in 2015 to claim his fourth IndyCar championship, to go with his two victories here at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Dixon s speed, consistency, humility, and calm under pressure make him a favorite of many fans and a shining example to younger drivers. Asked about the many talented drivers who have driven and won for CGR through the years, Managing Director Mike Hull (pictured above) simply says, Scott is my guy. Hull is a big believer in driver match-ups and that approach usually puts Dixon in the car at the most critical stages of the race where he delivers multiple stints at a quick and consistent pace that competitors struggle to match.
ORY? Not to be outdone, Chevrolet fields a fiercely powerful foursome led by the No. 5 Action Express DP of 2014 Rolex 24 race winners Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa being joined by Filipe Albuquerque and the legendary Scott Pruett. Pruett is looking to break a tie with Hurley Haywood and claim an unprecedented sixth Rolex 24 victory. Looking to build upon their breakthrough 2015 success which saw them claim two victories, Dane Cameron and Eric Curran have Simon Pagenaud and Jonny Adam aboard the No. 31 Whelen Action Express. The hometown-based No. 90 VisitFlorida Racing counters with Ryan Dalziel, Marc Goossens and Ryan Hunter-Reay. The Wayne Taylor Racing team of Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor are joined again joined by Max Angelelli and have been strong contenders in the each of the past two years at Daytona. Honda features both the Honda HPD Ligier of Michael Shank Racing with John Pew and Ozz Negri, joined by A.J. Allmendinger and Olivier Pla; and the Patrón ESM Honda HPD of Scott Sharp, Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and Pipo Derani. The ESM team regularly competes on the FIA-WEC series and Michael Shank Racing recently announced its plans to enter the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hour race. Perhaps the cars to watch most closely will be the pair of repowered Mazda s. Jonathan Bomarito, Tristan Nunez and Spencer Pigot shoe the No. 55 car while Mazda stalwarts Joel Miller, Tom Long and Ben Devlin are aboard the No. 70. An off-season switch to the MZ-2.OT Mazda engine has catapulted the Mazdas well up the field and the team has shown considerable pace in pre-race testing. Nissan, a consistent winner on the international P2 scene, is the choice of SMP Racing and its drivers Mikhail Aleshin, Kirill Ladygin, Nicolas Minassian and Maurizio Mediani. The dark horses in the field are the radical Elan powered DeltaWing driven by Katherine Legge, Andy Meyrick, Sean Rayhall and Andreas Wirth and the venerable BMW powered No. 50 entry featuring Dorsey Schroeder. 5
FASTFACTS Watch us now on FOX Don t miss the first race of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as the series competes at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. 2016 Schedule Jan. 30-31: March 19: April 16: May 1: June 4: July 3: July 10: July 23: Aug. 7: Aug. 28: Sept. 17: Oct. 1: Thursday, Jan. 28 (All times EDT) Qualifying 4:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. IMSA.com (Live) (IMSA App) Saturday, Jan. 30 2:00 pm FOX Sports 1 4:00 pm FOX Sports 2 10:00 pm IMSA.com Sunday, Jan. 31 7:00 am FOX Sports 1 10:30 am FOX Sports 2 1:00 pm FOX Sports 1 Daytona International Speedway All classes Sebring International Raceway All classes Long Beach Street Circuit P/GTLM/PC Mazda Raceway All classes The Raceway at Belle Isle Park P/PC/GTD Watkins Glen International All classes Canadian Tire Motorsport Park All classes Lime Rock Park GTLM/PC/GTD Road America All classes VIRginia International Raceway GTLM/GTD Circuit of The Americas All classes Road Atlanta All classes FLY THE FLAGS The international importance of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Rolex 24 are reflected in the entry list. In the factory dominated GTLM class alone, the 11 entries include drivers from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Brazil, Russia, Finland and Monaco. Mr. Le Mans Honored As the only nine-time overall winner of the Le Mans 24 Hour race, Tom Kristensen is known as Mr. Le Mans. Having retired as a driver at the end of the 2014 season, TK will kickoff a new season when he gives the command Drivers, start your engines here at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. Named by Autosport magazine as the Driver of the Decade, Kristensen rarely raced here, but has six wins at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. WHERE S PRUETT? Scott Pruett will seek to break a tie with Hurley Haywood and become the first driver to claim a sixth overall race victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2016, but he won t be in his familiar ride. Pruett will join Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque aboard the No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP. Pruett will join Paul Gentilozzi to create the new F Performance Racing team with a new Lexus RC F GT3 in the GTD class later this spring. 6
Based on The Roar test, this will be the toughest Rolex 24 At Daytona we will face but everyone at Corvette Racing is looking forward to that challenge. Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager: (defending GTLM race champions) LET S LAMBO! New GT3 global specs for the GTD class have opened the door to new entries and Lamborghini didn t need a second invitation. There were no Lambos in the top IMSA series in 2015, but five are entered here for the 2016 WeatherTech Championship. The 2015 GTD class champions, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell, lead the switch to the Lamborghini this year in the No. 11 O Gara Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3. They are joined by Paul Miller Racing, Change Racing and Konrad Motorsport. CORE s 6 PACK CORE autosport seeks its sixth Challenge championship with drivers Jon Bennett and Colin Braun. Bennett and Braun, three-time PC Drivers Champions, will be joined here by Mark Wilkins and Martin Plowman. Colin s dad, veteran race engineer, Jeff Braun, joins the team as lead engineer. COMMON LANGUAGE The defending class winners Jan Magnussen of Denmark and Spain s Antonio Garcia will be joined in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R by Germany s Mike Rockenfeller, while their Le Mans winning teammates Tommy Milner of the U.S.A. and Oliver Gavin of Great Britain are joined aboard the No. 4 by Marcel Fassler of Switzerland. That is six drivers from six countries, but they all speak Corvette and they have all won at Le Mans! Thursday, JANUARY 28, 2016 9:25 am -10:25 am Practice #1 - WeatherTech (All Classes) 10:45 am - 11:30 am Practice #3 - Ferrari 11:45 am - 12:15 pm Practice #3 - CTSCC 1:20 pm - 1:50 pm Practice #2 - WeatherTech (All Classes) 2:10 pm - 2:25 pm Qualifying - CTSCC ST 2:40 pm - 2:55 pm Qualifying - CTSCC GS 3:10 pm - 3:40 pm Qualifying #1 - Ferrari 4:00 pm - 4:15 pm Qualifying - WeatherTech (GTD) 4:25 pm - 4:40 pm Qualifying - WeatherTech (GTLM) 4:50 pm - 5:05 pm Qualifying - WeatherTech (PC) 5:15 pm - 5:30 pm Qualifying - WeatherTech (P) 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Practice #3 - WeatherTech (All Classes) FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 9:00 am - 9:30 am Qualifying #2 - Ferrari 9:45 am - 10:05 am Practice #4 - CTSCC 10:25 am -11:25 am Practice #4 - WeatherTech (All Classes) 11:45 am - 12:30 pm Race #1 - Ferrari 1:45 pm - 4:15 pm Race - BMW Performance 200 - CTSCC SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2016 9:30 am - 10:15 am Race #2 - Ferrari 12:00 pm -12:45 pm WeatherTech Autograph Session 2:40 pm Start: 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2016 2:40 pm Checkered flag 7
FAN FAVORITES Magnussen/Garcia/Rockenfeller Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GT Le Mans Michelin 3 Fittipaldi/Barbosa/Pruett/Albuquerque Action Express Racing Corvette DP 5 70 68 Long/Miller/Devlin Mazda Motorsports Mazda Pier Guidi/Premat/Serra/Rojas Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GTE GT Le Mans Michelin 10 R. Taylor/J. Taylor/Angelelli Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP 90 Dalziel/Goossens/Hunter-Reay VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP 100 Luhr/Edwards/Wittmer/Rahal BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM GT Le Mans Michelin 60 Pew/Negri Jr./Allmendinger/Pla Michael Shank Racing Ligier Honda JS P2 Briscoe/Westbrook/Mucke67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT GT Le Mans Michelin 911 Pilet/Tandy/Estre Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR GT Le Mans Michelin Michelin North America, Inc One Parkway South, Greenville, SC 29615 TEL: 1-800-458-5000 www.michelin.com Copyright 2016 Michelin North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved Printed in USA, January 27, 2016 Volume 10, Issue 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the publisher. 8 Printed on recycled paper 10% Total Recovered Fiber All Post-Consumed Fiber