Photo: Mike Levitt / IMSA
*** Former NASCAR Cup Series team leader and current Hendrick Motorsports racing VP Chad Knaus is “rooted in [No. 48] team ”according to Jimmie Johnson. Knaus has assisted Action Express Racing technical director Iain Watt on the engineering side of the Cadillac DPi-VR squadron, which includes another Hendrick team.
*** Johnson said he had his “busiest winter” between the pre-season tests of the Rolex 24 and the NTT IndyCar Series, as well as tests on an F3 car in preparation for his open-wheel debut. “All three cars are really different,” he said. “Each of them has small nuances that extract the speed of the turn from them. Yesterday I spent time trying to take the aggression out of the IndyCar and try to figure out how to perfect this car a little more. “
*** Johnson’s connection to co-pilot Mike Rockenfeller goes back to 2011, when the NASCAR legend sent an email to the German after his terrible accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The two admitted that they never thought they would ever share a car together.
*** Click here to see the list of entrants for tomorrow’s Motul Pole Award 100, which had 24 Rolex teams nominating just two drivers per lineup.
*** Saturday’s qualifying session for the first qualifying race will not count in the IMSA record book for pole position, although the session did count for record purposes.
*** Several teams raised concerns about tomorrow’s qualifying race and the potential risks and costs at stake. An owner of the LMP2 team told Sportscar365 that they will take a “very, very cautious” approach to the 100-minute race, specifically due to the lack of spare parts available at the site due to higher-than-expected demand for parts .
*** Sportscar365 understands that there are only two spare chassis for the Oreca 07 Gibson in Florida, one being the second PR1 / Mathiasen Motorsports car that is on site, as well as the Performance Tech car it has used in recent seasons.
*** Felipe Nasr admitted that he probably knew Chase Elliott had a ride for the Rolex 24 before the NASCAR star found out for himself after mid-season discussions with Action Express Racing team manager Gary Nelson, who had the idea of putting the Hendrick driver at No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi.
*** The Brazilian participated in two victories for Elliott in the NASCAR Cup Series last year, at the Daytona Road Course and Charlotte Roval. Season co-driver Pipo Derani was also present at the Daytona race.
*** Among the changes at the event will be a “virtual pre-race ceremony” for the opening of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season next Friday, although the Rolex 24 has its traditional live pre-race show, but without fans on the grid. The IMSA VIP grid walk, which was tested at some post-COVID events last year, will not take place in Daytona.
*** The 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R is a brand new chassis after its winning Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring class car was retired to sponsor the 1st Phorm at its headquarters in Fenton, Missouri.
*** Ryan Hardwick said he posed the initial question of expanding his racing efforts for the Pilot Challenge after seeing several of his Bronze / Silver rated competitors competing in the series last year. “Initially it came from me,” said Hardwick. “John stayed with the Porsche Motorsport North America people and we all sat in Sebring.”
*** Hardwick’s GTD co-driver Patrick Long said he feels a sense of “partial ownership” in the fact that more Porsches are on the GTD grid this year, thanks to last year’s results, often being the only one brand representative. There are at least three entries for the full season, including Wright Motorsports, this season, with the potential of a fourth for Christina Nielsen and Katherine Legge starting at Sebring.
*** Veteran Porsche engineer Owen Hayes is working with Team Hardpoint EBM this year as part of the team’s biggest commitment to the German manufacturer that will include several entries in the new Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
*** The Magnus No. 44 with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo is sporting a special painting in honor of “Speed Racer” this weekend. The white and gray car is complete with a red dot on the side of the car.
*** NTE Sport has “all inclinations” to compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup with its Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, according to JR Hildebrand, who is making his debut on the Rolex 24. “I think for all of us now it’s to focus here on this event, but we’d love to do more and enjoy the experience, ”he said.
*** Pfaff Motorsports may end up temporarily moving to the U.S. according to driver Zach Robichon, who said “nothing is off the table” in terms of the Canadian team’s options amid continuing COVID-19-related travel restrictions .
“The problem with us is coming home,” explained Robichon. “There are some gray areas on what is allowed and what is not allowed, but it usually means a two-week quarantine. It looks like it will not change, but we have taken the necessary steps to accommodate it. “
*** Rob Hodes and Garrett Grist have been confirmed on DragonSpeed for the full season of the Endurance Cup according to team boss Elton Julian, who said it is undecided whether IndyCar’s rising star, Rinus Veekay or Ben Hanley , will be at No. 81 Oreca for the remaining three races.
*** Julian did not rule out his second participation in the LMP2 in Sebring, after the news on Friday that the opening of the WEC season was transferred to Portimão.
*** DragonSpeed also did not rule out a potential entry into the European Le Mans Series alongside his only WEC car, with Juan Pablo Montoya. The Barcelona-based team sold its Dallara IndyCar chassis to Meyer Shank Racing and will focus exclusively on LMP2 racing this year.
“COVID basically kicked us back to 2018,” Julian told Sportscar365. “And in 2018, we weren’t at IndyCar; we were winning at ELMS. “
*** IndyCar refugee Zach Veach said he has ambitions to expand into other forms of motor sports in the coming years, with plans to run ten winged sprint races in the midwest this year, along with his full season commitments in the No 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
*** The 26-year-old, who recently moved to Charlotte to be closer to the team’s store, is scheduled to share his apartment with Jack Hawksworth when the UK driver is in the U.S. for several long periods of the year.
*** Kenny Habul bought a large property in Monte. Panoramic circuit in Bathurst. The Australian living in the United States, who is making his Rolex 24, now owns 489 Conrod Straight, a 17-acre property that has been in the same family for nearly a century.
*** The newly created Corvette factory pilot, Alexander Sims, is partnering with the Heart of England charity to support its conservation initiatives. The Englishman will make a donation to mitigate the 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide produced by his air travel to endurance events throughout the season, along with the expected 5,000 liters of fuel that will be used during tests and races.
*** The Alegra Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo suffered minor damage in an accident during qualifying, but it must be repaired in time to participate in night training.
Ryan Myrehn contributed to this report
