Daytona 24 HRS - The Race

This Saturday marks the start of the 50th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, with some 60 cars taken the green flag at 3.30 pm e.t.. The race is run on a 3.56-mile combined course (part Nascar tri-oval and part infield course) and is the first major automobile race of the year in the Americas.

It all started in 1962, a few years after the track was built, with a three hour race which was won by the legendary Dan Gurney in a 1600-cc Porsche 718. Two years later the race was expanded to 2.000 km in a move to upstage the classic 1.000 km of Nurburg, Spa, and Monza. But it was still about half of the Le Mans' race winners distance. So again, two years later (in 1966) the race length was extended to 24 hrs, the distance it still has.

A couple of remarkable differences with Le Mans, is that it is run within a speedway arena (Le Mans is run on public roads), with most parts of the steep banking included. It is held in the wintertime, when the nights are at their longest (Le Mans is in the summer). The stadium lighting is turned on around the track, but only at a 20% (similar to lighting used at Le Mans).

There are several classes running together, making it quite difficult for the drivers not to get into an accident. In an 24 hour race you are never sure whether the slower driver in front has seen you in his tiny mirror, and often your heart is in your throat as you put a move on him. Race ending accidents are often the result.

A while back I wrote a piece about the return of Emanuelle Pirro to Daytona. The clip below shows him testing an R8. The sound is good enough to allow the engine's roar to be appreciated.


The last couple of years Audi have been the car to beat, both at Daytona and at Le Mans.

The following movie clip is from Sports Car Illustrated "GRAND-AM Roar Before the 24 Hours of Daytona 2012". Just so you get a feel of what is to come, this very weekend.



The last clip is this year's entry by Foametix/Burtin racing Porsche GT3 #17, driven by Bryan Sellers in night time practice. They are gathering solid data from tests and practice to set what is hopefully the winning strategy. Their best lap was at 1:49.623 at 116.91 mph good for a solid 8 spot in the 45-car GT-class field.



Over the 50 years of running this historic race, many different car manufacturers have entered into this race, hoping to "win on Sunday, sell on Monday".  The manufacturer with the most overall wins is Porsche with 22. It has also won a record 11 consecutive races from 1977-1987. In second place is Riley with Ferrari in third place.

Coverage starts on Saturday at 2.30 pm e.t. on Speed.

Source: wikipedia, sportscarillustrated, motorsports.com