Photo: IMSA
*** Trenton Estep replaced Charles Finelli in No. 7 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine D08 Nissan, in a driver change to the rookie entry to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the LMP3. The car will start second on the class grid, thanks to second place in last weekend’s qualifying race.
*** IMSA has announced that it will carry out pre-race aerodynamic inspections on all DPi cars tomorrow at 12:45 pm. “Upon completion of the inspection, the cars will proceed directly to the area designated for pre-grid activities,” a statement from the sanctioning body reading.
*** It comes amid a clarification made to the aerodynamic configuration of the Cadillac DPi-VR, which now establishes the mandatory use of standard approved front fender inserts of the car.
*** Click here to see the provisional Rolex 24 grid in Daytona.
*** The story was made on Friday, with Augusto Farfus taking the first laps in a fully electric race car on the track at Daytona International Speedway (photo above). The Brazilian was behind the wheel of the new Hyundai Veloster N ETCR car, which also made its North American public debut.
*** The demonstration was part of IMSA’s assessment of the platform for a potential new electric racing series. “We are thrilled to be a part of this today,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “This is the kind of monumental and historic moments that we want to be a part of, both in the IMSA family and in NASCAR.”
*** The car was equipped with Michelin tires for the first time due to IMSA’s partnership with the French tire giant, with most of the car’s development having been in Goodyear rubber, the official Pure ETCR tire and the FIA WTCR World Touring Car Cup.
*** The president of the WSC, Marcello Lotti, also participated in the conquest. Lotti told Sportscar365 that additional manufacturers in addition to the four automakers already committed were in discussions and meetings of the working group. So far, Hyundai and Alfa Romeo are IMSA’s only two automotive partners with car offerings.
*** Chip Ganassi revealed that his Cadillac DPi-VR program is currently a one-year contract and “is not looking so far” in the future regarding potential prospects for LMDh for the team once the regulation is released in 2023.
*** Ganassi said the DPi program, which will have Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande as riders for the entire season, has been sort of a “fire simulation” of a program so far, with Friday’s race scoring your 7th day of running. “We still have a little to learn,” he told reporters on Friday during a call from Zoom.
*** Sports car rookie Magnussen said his e-mail inbox was “full of notes” from his father, Jan, a former winner of Florida’s classic endurance category.
“I think he had some kind of nightmare about me hitting the pit lane because he always talks about it,” said Kevin. “He told me 50 times how slippery the pit is. The first time I left the pits I was scared and nervous. But it wasn’t too bad! “
*** Jimmie Johnson, who also prepared for his first DPi start, said he now feels “at the window” in terms of speed. The best lap of the weekend for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is 1: 35.555, which is 1.4 seconds slower than van der Zande, whose time from practice 3 so far has set the pace for tomorrow’s race .
*** Richard Lietz is Austrian again, after a quick fix by Stand 21 in his driver suit, which had the Australian flag next to his name during the Roar weekend.
*** Driver training for the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 has not been determined for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring or 24 Hours of Le Mans, according to Cooper MacNeil, who confirmed that he will be driving the side of a spin by Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell for the sprint races this year.
*** NBC Sports will use a team of 14 people on the air to cover Rolex 24, led by Leigh Diffey and Dave Burns at the booth alongside analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr., Townsend Bell, Calvin Fish, Steve Letarte, Kyle Petty, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Till. Meanwhile, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Kevin Lee, Dillon Welch and Parker Kligerman will report on the pit road.
