IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona once again came down to the final few minutes to decide the winners. This year, the main battle came for the overall win with the GTP class.
Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Penske Motorsport Porsche held off Tom Blomqvist in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac to take the win. For team owner Roger Penske, it’s his first Rolex 24 overall victory since 1969.
“To come back here and have both cars run for 24 hours, and then win the race, it’s hard for me to believe,” Penske said. “This goes down as one of the biggest wins we’ve had.”
Nasr took the lead from Blomqvist in the pits after a late full-course-yellow. Back under green, Nasr managed the traffic to perfection, keeping the Whelen Cadillac just out of range.
The GTP class had multiple key issues after darkness fell Saturday night. The No. 01 for Cadillac Racing had a puncture while running second, which took the team out of contention. Things only got worse as the car was forced to retire with just under ten hours to go.
Meanwhile, the No. 10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing had a massive electrical failure, forcing the car behind the wall. They did manage to return to the race, finishing 190 laps down.
The elimination of these two teams from contention left the Penske Porsche and Whelen Cadillac as the clear favorites. In the end, Porsche came out on top.
The LMP2 class had a messy 24 hours, with an early incident being the most notable. After clipping the grass and losing control, the No. 20 High Class Racing LMP2 took out the GTD Pro leading No.14 Lexus for Vasser Sullivan Racing.
This incident summed up the race for the LMP2 class, which saw a plethora of incidents and issues throughout. In the end, the No.18 for Era Motorsport took the win, beating the No. 4 Crowdstrike Racing machine by over six seconds.
The GTD Pro class was impacted by the LMP2 incident, taking out the Lexus as the early favorite. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari took the victory by 35 seconds over the pole-sitting No. 77 Porsche for AO Racing.
The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes took the GTD class win in the second closest battle to the finish. Driver Daniel Morad finished the race on a double-stint, fighting off a late charge by the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari.
Here are the full results for the 2024 Rolex 24.
The event itself saw the largest crowd ever for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, showcasing the continued revitalization of sports car racing in America and the world. For IMSA, their season continues on March 16th for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Image courtesy of IMSA.com
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