[h=2]Acura Team Penske on target[/h] Friday, 12 January 2018


By Marshall Pruett / Images by Dole & Galstad/LAT



770 Shares
Acura Team Penske closed its first major outing in IMSA with the second fastest lap set among the four DPi constructors, and with the Roar Before the 24 in the rearview mirror, its speediest driver says the Captain and the Japanese brand are in a good place with the Rolex 24 at Daytona on the horizon.


"Nobody joins Team Penske without expecting to win races and win championships right out of the blocks," Dane Cameron told RACER. "I know it's almost a cliché by now, but that's really how everyone thinks inside this program. I've seen that from our very first tests all the way through last weekend at the Roar.

"Of course we're learning every day, but what I saw at Daytona was a team and a manufacturer that's preparing to win the Rolex 24, and I think that's crucial. I think that's what makes Team Penske so successful; everything they do is about winning. We don't really talk about any other outcomes."

Cameron's tone while discussing the team's mindset was far from arrogant. Some teams go into a major race like the Rolex 24 hoping to do well; inside Roger Penske's world, hope is a dirty four-letter word. The team, even as a brand-new entrant in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, is held to the same lofty expectations found within Penske's IndyCar and NASCAR operations, and as such, Cameron has seen direct parallels in the Acura DPi program.


"We've done a lot of testing with the cars already, but the Roar was really the first time to see how we work and fit in with the other teams, and it was really impressive to observe," he said. "We've got chief mechanics who've been in IndyCar for like 20 or 30 years, crew from IndyCar, guys who were on Roger's [Porsche] RS Spyder [ALMS] team that won all those championships, and that's where you see the difference in action.


"You can say that Acura Team Penske is new, but not really from the inside. Everyone knows each other well, they work like they've been doing this in DPi for years, and that's what you want when you're trying to win your very first race together."
Cameron registered the best lap for Acura during Sunday's "qualifying" session at the Roar, which fell directly behind the four Cadillac DPi-V.Rs, but that lap was also more than one second slower than the session-leading GM prototypes. If Cameron and his teammates intend to deliver a debut win for Acura and Penske on pure pace, IMSA's Balance of Performance tables for the Rolex 24 will likely hold they key to their outcome.


"I wish we had more to show, but we don't; I was giving it all I had in that session," he added. "It's hard to know where everyone stands, but the timing information showed the Cadillacs were not only fast, but they also had more top speed than everybody, so if some of that comes back our way for the race, I think it will be a lot closer between us and them. We were quite good on the infield, but not so much on the straights.


"We can do some homework on our end to find areas where we can be better, so we're looking inward as well, but I think IMSA will play a part in adjusting the speed of some cars to erase the bigger difference we saw in the sector data and top speed data. All anyone is looking for is that balance – striking the right balance – so all the cars can be in the hunt for the win."

 

[h=2]Cadillac Racing Special: Race Ready[/h] Wednesday, 17 January 2018


By George Tamayo / Images by Jake Galstad, Richard Prince


818 Shares
Winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona on the Cadillac DPi-V.R's race debut, and following that with six more victories in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship didn't happen by chance. Cadillac's philosophy of committing early and committing thoroughly to an all-new racecar built to an all-new set of technical regulations was key.

"Being prepared, and having the best product, is all down to the people," says Cadillac Racing's Director of Motorsports Competition, Mark Kent. "Not only the people within Cadillac, but in our race teams and technical partners, too."
"By the time we got to Daytona, everyone was familiar with the DPi-V.R," adds Wayne Taylor, team owner of Wayne Taylor Racing. "We'd done many miles of testing and even a 24-hour race simulation at that point, so our engineers and drivers really had a handle on the car before the season got off to a proper start."
But preparation can only take you so far if a car doesn't have the raw speed and performance to race at the sharp end of IMSA's ultra-competitive Prototype class. First impressions of the DPi-V.R for 2017 Drivers' champ Jordan Taylor told him he had nothing to worry about on that front.
"The first time you take a racecar out on track, you know if it's got what it takes," he says. "The Cadillac, from the very first lap I drove it, was incredible. The power and drivability, the downforce, the braking, and how nimble it felt – just wow."
For all the most successful racecars, the sum is greater than the parts, and that's certainly the case with the DPi-V.R.
"You can't just put a pile of parts together and expect to win," says Kent. "You need to put in the work to be successful. You have to balance the chassis, engine and aero, and then make the right compromises in each of those areas to ensure the overall package is optimized."
Central to the DPi-V.R package is its naturally-aspirated V8 engine. Given Cadillac's illustrious history with such a configuration – going all the way back to 1914 – it was the obvious choice. But sentiment doesn't win championships, and the V8 landed its role on merit.
"We looked at all the engine options from the Cadillac portfolio, and we felt a V8 would give us optimal performance across the range of tracks we'd race on," says Kent. "One of the key things that made it so successful was its reliability. To win races, you have to finish races..."
WORKING AS ONE
In 2017, Cadillac was the only Prototype class manufacturer to split its cars between multiple teams: Wayne Taylor Racing with the No. 10 DPi-V.R, and Action Express Racing with its No. 5 and No. 31 entries. For 2018, two teams become three, with the addition of a fourth Cadillac for Spirit of Daytona Racing.
As Mark Kent notes, Cadillac sought out partner teams who could not just hold up their end of the bargain – as in, win races and, ultimately, championships – but would elevate the project as a whole.
"It's what we call a 'key-partner approach,'" says Kent. "The goal is to have our teams work and learn together. For our part, we bring the right resources, such as ECR on the engines and Dallara on the chassis, as well as our own experience, and we share knowledge across all the teams. That spirit of cooperation and sharing and working together raises the bar for everybody."
Ultimate validation of such an approach came on the race track, with all three Cadillac DPi-V.Rs winning at least once in 2017.
"Cadillac's way of doing things means everyone can play to their strengths," says Action Express team manager Gary Nelson. "Thanks to all the testing miles and work Cadillac put in on the DPi-V.R before the season began, we started with a strong base. It was then our task to optimize the cars for the races, which is where our expertise lies."
For more on the Cadillac DPi-V.R's multiple championship-winning 2017 season, check out RACER's 2018 Cadillac Racing Special digital magazine HERE.
Get the latest news on Cadillac's 2018 race programs HERE.
Find out more on Cadillac's road-ready, track-capable V-Series HERE.

 

[h=2]Miller completes Performance Tech's Rolex line-up[/h] Thursday, 18 January 2018


By Marshall Pruett / Image by Michael Levitt/LAT


Recent Mazda DPi driver Joel Miller has been chosen by Prototype newcomer Performance Tech Motorsports to complete its Rolex 24 at Daytona Lineup. Miller joins joins James French, Kyle Masson and Pato O'Ward in the No. 38 ORECA 07-Gibson for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.










"It's a great week for our team adding Centinel Spine and closing a deal to have Joel with us at the 24," said team owner Brent O'Neill. "I talked with Joel while we were at the Roar and decided he would be a solid addition to the team. Thanks to our long relationship with [Mazda Motorsports director John] Doonan we were able to make that happen even though he's still with Mazda. Joel has an engineering background paired with racing experience which will really help as we continue to learn this new car. He's a great kid, and we're happy to have him."
Miller spent the Roar Before the 24 in BAR1 Motorsports' Riley/Multimatic Mk. 30-Gibson Prototype entry, and with his move to the reigning IMSA PC champions, the Californian will complement one of the stronger pro-am efforts in the field.
"I look forward to working with the Performance Tech team and working together with the drivers," he said. "It's a small family team that always takes the fight to bigger teams which is inspiring to see. They've won this race already in the PC class, so the team knows the process. I'm glad to help bridge the learning gap to IMSA's top class for the Rolex 24 hour but the car was competitive at the Roar, so I expect we will continue on the path the Performance Tech engineers have planned. If I can lend some setup help then, fantastic, I'll be there to help."

 

Vautier encouraged by early Spirit of Daytona pace

Monday, 15 January 2018


By Marshall Pruett / Images by Pruett & Levitt/LAT



As Prototype teams loaded into the recent Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona International Speedway, most expected the existing Cadillac DPi teams to show well, but few would have predicted the program newcomers at Spirit of Daytona were ready to upset the established pecking order.
With everything left to learn about the Cadillac DPi-V.R, drivers Tristan Vautier, Matt McMurry, and Eddie Cheever III would have gone unnoticed if they'd fallen behind Action Express Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing. At the conclusion of three days of running, it was Vautier in the No. 90 Cadillac sitting second overall, splitting his stablemates at AXR and nearly a half-second clear of WTR, defending winners of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

In light of the limited time SDR had with the car prior to the Roar, the immediate speed it found can be heavily attributed to the baseline setup and performance data provided by the brand, and with veteran race engineer Ricky Cameron in charge of the car, the No. 90 became a fixture at the head of the class.


"To be honest, I don't know if we were surprised or not because we didn't have any expectations," Vautier told RACER. "It seems like Ricky Cameron came away with a great setup for us, and we were hoping we'd be fast right away, but we weren't surprised because we didn't know where we would end up."


As SDR's new young team leader, the IndyCar veteran has been able to rekindle a relationship with Cameron – one that dates back to the Frenchman's championship-winning days on the Mazda Road to Indy – with great effect. Add in the rapid rapport he's built with college student and pro racer Matt McMurry, plus the son of Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever, and the Troy Flis-owned team has a tidy little package on its hands.
"Straight away, the chemistry was very good with Matt and Eddie; we all have a good spirit, which is important in endurance racing," Vautier (pictured below) said. "This mentality of wanting to be fast and work together is something we need, and Troy is very good at making everyone comfortable and relaxed to do their jobs well. It funnels down to the mechanics and crew. It makes things smoother, and knowing Ricky really well, it wasn't like coming into a new team for me."
It would be easy to lose SDR among the heavy hitters due to arrive at the Rolex 24. Take AXR and WTR, Acura Team Penske, Mazda Team Joest, Fernando Alonso with United Autosports, Lance Stroll and Paul Di Resta with Jackie Chan DC Racing, and with the somewhat unheralded trio of Vautier/McMurry/Cheever III in the mix, the blue No. 90 Cadillac might be overlooked among the pre-race favorites.

"It's a good position to be in," Vautier added. "I like this. With the big teams and biog names, people see us as outsiders, but we are really motived to prove people wrong. We did well at the Roar, so people might expect more from us, but we need to see what everybody has at the race – their true pace. Maybe we aren't big like them, but maybe that's good for us. The pressure is less. That's a common mistake – to put too much pressure on yourself to live up to big expectations. I think we will just go do our race, be quiet about it, and hope that we can surprise everyone at the finish."

 

Rolex 24 At Daytona Field Includes Drivers From 25 Countries And Six Continents


Wednesday, January 17, 2018


Print This Article >>
Share this Article:
Google+
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Pinterest







Maybe more than any other year – at least in recent memory – the world will be watching when the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off on Jan. 27-28 with the 56th Rolex 24 At Daytona.
U.S. television coverage begins on FOX at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 27 and includes complete domestic streaming throughout the 24 hours on FOX Sports GO. International, flag-to-flag coverage is available on IMSA.com and a variety of international television outlets, as well as IMSA Radio commentary on RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.
Drivers representing every continent except Antarctica – and a total of 25 countries in all – have been entered to drive one of the 50 cars onthis year’s Rolex 24 entry list. A complete breakdown of the countries represented by drivers in the field – led by the United States with 60 drivers – is as follows:


United States – 60
Germany – 18
Great Britain – 18
France – 12
Italy – 9
Brazil - 8
Switzerland – 7
The Netherlands – 6
Austria – 5
Canada – 5
Portugal – 5
Mexico – 5
Colombia – 4
Spain – 4
Denmark – 3
South Africa – 3
Australia – 2
Belgium – 2
Finland – 2
New Zealand – 2
Argentina – 1
China – 1
Ireland - 1
Russia – 1
Sweden – 1


The star-studded entry list includes the world’s best sports car racers – IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championship series champions, and previous Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans race winners – as well as a two-time Formula 1 World Champion, four Indianapolis 500 winners, five IndyCar Series champions and two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winners.
The 20-car Prototype field includes the defending Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning Wayne Taylor Racing team, with a dramatically different driver lineup in its No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. Jordan Taylor, the team’s lone returning driver, will be joined by past IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and Taylor’s new full-season co-driver, Renger van der Zande, a past WeatherTech Championship Prototype Challenge class champion.
Ricky Taylor, who co-drove to the Rolex 24 win and the 2017 Prototype class championship with Jordan Taylor, is part of an all-star driver lineup from Acura Team Penske. Ricky Taylor will share the No. 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi car with three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves – his new full-season teammate in the WeatherTech Championship – and Graham Rahal, who won the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona and owns multiple IndyCar race victories.
The No. 6 Acura DPi will be shared by three-time Rolex 24 At Daytona and two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, 2016 WeatherTech Championship Prototype champion Dane Cameron and 2016 IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud.
Two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso is bringing substantial international star power as he competes in his first Rolex 24 At Daytona in the No. 23 United Autosports Ligier LMP2 along with a pair of talented young co-drivers in Lando Norris and Phil Hanson. Another active F1 racer, Canadian Lance Stroll, will share one of the Jackie Chan DCR JOTA team’s pair of ORECA LMP2 cars, the No. 37 entry alongside Felix Rosenqvist, Robin Frijns and Daniel Juncadella.
The Prototype class also includes a number of other recent Rolex 24 At Daytona winners, including Tequila Patrón ESM, which won in 2016. One member of that winning lineup, Scott Sharp, will share the team’s No. 2 Nissan DPi with Ryan Dalziel, the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona winner, and Olivier Pla. In the team’s No. 22 entry are two more drivers from the 2016 winning lineup, Pipo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek, and Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre.
Another team to watch in a stacked Prototype field is Action Express Racing, with its pair of Cadillac DPi race cars. Co-driving the team’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry will be multi-time Rolex 24 overall winners Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi – who also won back-to-back WeatherTech Championship Prototype titles in 2014 and 2015 and have won every Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup since its inception in 2015 – and Filipe Albuquerque, who now joins Barbosa as a full-time driver for the team in 2018.
In the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi will be 2016 Prototype co-champion Eric Curran with his new full-season co-driver, Felipe Nasr, as well as Mike Conway and Stuart Middleton. Nasr was quickest in the qualifying session for garage and pit selections during the Roar Before The Rolex 24 earlier this month.
Moving to the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing returns to defend its 2017 Rolex 24 victory with the same three drivers in its No. 66 Ford GT, WeatherTech Championship full-timers Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller and past IndyCar champion Sebastien Bourdais. In the team’s No. 67 entry will be Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and the winningest active IndyCar driver, Scott Dixon.
Corvette Racing, which has won the last two WeatherTech Championship GTLM titles, kicks off its 20th anniversary season with its familiar pair of entries, the No. 3 Corvette C7.R for 2017 series champions Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen and their endurance teammate Mike Rockenfeller. In the No. 4 Corvette will be 2016 GTLM co-champions Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner with co-driver Marcel Fassler.
The GTLM field also includes a pair of Porsche 911 RSRs, the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE and a pair of new BMW M8 GTLM race cars from BMW Team RLL.
The GT Daytona (GTD) class once again boasts the largest field in the Rolex 24 with 21 cars from and eight different manufacturers. Not unlike the Prototype class, the defending GTD championship-winning drivers, Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan, also will be racing for different teams in 2018.
Nielsen, who took back-to-back WeatherTech Championship GTD titles with Balzan as her co-driver, has moved to the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R for 2018. She will go in search of her first Rolex 24 victory with full-season co-driver Patrick Long – America’s only Porsche factory driver – and Porsche hotshoes Robert Renauer and Mathieu Jaminet.
Balzan welcomes new full-season co-driver Cooper MacNeil to the lineup for the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3 with endurance teammates Gunnar Jeannette and Jeff Segal. Scuderia Corsa will field a second entry for 2014 Rolex 24 GTD winners Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell, who will be joined in the No. 64 machine by Frank Montecalvo and Sam Bird.
AJ Allmendinger, a 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona overall winner and one of two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winners in the field (joining Montoya), is part of a two-car Acura NSX GT3 lineup from Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian. He will share the No. 86 machine with Katherine Legge, Alvaro Parente and Trent Hindman.
Ferrari leads the GTD entry list with four cars in the field, followed by three apiece from Porsche, Mercedes-AMG and Acura, two each from Lexus and Audi and one BMW.
In addition to kicking off the 2018 WeatherTech Championship season, the Rolex 24 At Daytona also serves as the first event of the four-round Patrón Endurance Cup season that also includes the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans. At Daytona, Patrón Endurance Cup points will be awarded at six-hour intervals.
On-track activities for the Rolex 24 At Daytona get under way on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 9:20 a.m. ET with a one-hour practice session. There will be a total of three practice sessions on Thursday, as well as 15-minute qualifying sessions for each of the three classes beginning Thursday at 3:55 p.m. ET. Qualifying will be streamed live on IMSA.com.
Friday’s activities include a fourth and final practice session from 9:40 to 10:40 a.m. ET, as well as the first of two IMSA-sanctioned Ferrari Challenge races and the four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge, which opens the 2018 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season at 1 p.m. ET.
Following a pre-race autograph session in Daytona International Speedway’s UNOH Fanzone from 12 to 12:45 p.m. ET, the grid will be open to race fans in attendance from 1:05 to 2:20 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled to drop on the 56th Rolex 24 At Daytona at 2:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 27.
Tickets for the Rolex 24 At Daytona are now available at DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com.

 

Team Penske:
https://imsatv.imsa.com/video/012018/team-penske-talks-rolex-24

Team Penske Talks Rolex 24


The star-studded lineup for Acura Team Penske discusses Rolex 24 preparation and what it takes to win the prestigious, twice-around-the-clock event. The 2018 Rolex 24 At Daytona is set for Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.

 

Right around the corner Rolex 24
https://imsatv.imsa.com/video/012018/right-around-corner-rolex-24

Right Around The Corner: Rolex 24


The biggest race of the year is right around the corner. See some of this year’s stars like Fernando Alonso, Scott Pruett, Andy Lally and more, as well as relive some of the best moments from last year’s Rolex 24 set again for Saturday, January 27, 2018. Watch live on FOX at 2 p.m. ET.

 

Rolex 24 one of a kind
https://imsatv.imsa.com/video/012018/rolex-24-daytona-one-kind

The Rolex 24 At Daytona: One of a Kind


With the Roar Before the 24 in the rearview mirror, all eyes are on the 56th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Everyone wants to triumph in this twice-around-the-clock race, but who will take home a coveted Rolex watch? Tune in on Saturday, January 27th on FOX at 2 p.m. ET to find out

 

[h=2]IMSA Continental Tire Joao Barbosa[/h]

 

Fernando Alonso, United Autosports Transition to Daytona


Two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso and the United Autosports driver lineup give their thoughts on the 2018 Rolex 24 At Daytona and what it means to race in this iconic event. Watch the race live on FOX at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 27.

https://imsatv.imsa.com/video/012018...sition-daytona