24h Le Mans
After qualifying, a free practice Thursday night and a final session on Friday, the competitors in the 58th Rolex 24 at Daytona will take the start today, Saturday, at 13:30. The grid is comprised of a remarkable group of experienced drivers including several with wins in more than one racing discipline.
On the heels of promotional and media activities, including a stop in New York at the beginning of the week and a special nod on the facade of the Nasdaq in Times Square, it is finally time for the 38 cars fielded in the 58th Rolex 24 at Daytona to take the start today at 13:30. The race will kick off the beginning of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Qualifying for the four classes – DPi, LMP2, GTLM and GTD – took placeo on Thursday at the Daytona International Speedway. Pole position was clinched by Oliver Jarvis for the second time in a row. Clocking a time of 1:33.711, Tristan Nunez and Olivier Pla's teammate confirmed the potentiel of their Mazda (Team Joest) already seen at the annual ROAR earlier in this month.
Though Jarvis, a former Audi driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is now a veteran of the race, he will have to contend with Juan Pablo Montoya on the first row, a three-time Daytona and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner who finished third at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class. The Colombian driver will join forces with 2019 INdy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud and Dane Cameron at the wheel of Team Penske's Acura.
In GTLM, Porsche scored the pole with the trio Makowiecki-Tandy-Campbell. The all-new Corvette C8.R qualified in third position.
In the LMP2 class, Ben Keating (five participations and a third place finish in LMGTE Am in 2018 at Le Mans) clocked the fastest time of 1:37.446 with the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports team's ORECA 07 he will share with Aubry-Boulle-Trummer. It was his first pole position in the class. This weekend, Keating will pull double duty, also driving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Riley Motorsports in GTD. According to the regulations, he will need to drive at least four hours and 30 minutes in each of the cars, but cannot be at the wheel more than four hours in six.
In the GTD class, Pfaff Motorsports' Porsche 911 GT3R clocked the fastest time and a rookie will take the start at the Daytona circuit he knows so well: two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch at the wheel of a Lexus.
Click for full qualifying results.
