As just playing Ketsup’ with the Nonstop changing Teams
and Drivers announcements…
The veritable IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship landscape keeps Ah-Chaingin’ on a weekly, or is that daily basis?
Since I just cannot keep up with the Shear volume of never ending Changes! To the
following updates to my ever growing No Fenders 24 Hours of Daytona Preview stories.
Like having learned during the Roar that
Michelin was joining the “Green Brigade!” By introducing it’s newest “Eco-Friendly”
racing tyres. But even more important was the fact that tyre allocation has
been reduced from 38 sets to only 20 sets of tyres during the race! Or at least
I believe that’s “Race Allotment,” i.e.; Thursday thru Sunday? And we’ll be
hearing a lot about Double Stinting tyres…
Naturally, I’d Arse-sumed that Andretti Autosport
IndyCar Driver Kyle Kirkwood would continue as part of the winning #14 Lexus RC
F GT3 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Pro entry that won last year’s Petit Le Mans
race He Co-Drove.
Yet instead, Kirkwood’s been announced as the
fourth Pilote of the team’s No. 12 GTD entry. Joining Franky Montecalvo, Aaron Telitz
and Parker Thompson in what should be a pretty Stout GTD line-up.
Initially IMSA had Capped this year’s 61st
running of the Rolex 24 to 60 entries, due to the new GTP Prototypes and GT3 Spec
machinery? Needing slightly larger Pitboxes.
Yet on January 5th, IMSA announced
the addition of the No. 75 sunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to the GTD
(Daytona) Class, enlarging the GTD category to what initially appeard to be 25 entries.
Which is now only 24 thanks to Turner Motorsport’s GTD Pro entry, noted below.
As the team’s owned by Australian Businessman Kenny
Habul, and I suspect the real reason this entry was “shoehorned” onto the grid
was revealed just five days later. When it was announced that fellow Aussie’
will Power would be making His Rolex 24 Debut as one of it’s four drivers. With
Power joining Habul, Axcil Jefferies and Fabian Schiller.
Obviously Power’s recovered fully from His
Broken Ribs Go Karting escapade last fall. And Will mused how He used to be
competing against Team Boss Kenny Habul Wayback during His Formula ford days
Down Under.
As Habul’s crowning moment in formula ford appears
to be finishing on the Podium with Will at the 1999 Australia Formula ford support
race at Surfers Paradise. Where Kenny finished third in a Sprint Qualifying
race for that year’s Gold Coast Indy 300 which Power won. Although Kenny’s No
slouch behind the wheel, having won the Bathurst 12 Hours last year.
Whilst I was unawares that Power had spent time
racing in the V8 Supercars series. So DJ willyP’s not completely a stranger to
Tintops machinery, albeit it’s Power’s Rookie foray as a IMSA GTD Pilote.
Then on the evening of January 17th, albeit I
didn’t get the memo until the next morning. Power has had to withdraw from his
Debutante Rolex 24 outing in order to care for His wife Liz. Whose had some
setbacks from recent surgery, with a long recovery period ahead, and Will
obviously needs to take care of Her.
Thus Power will be replaced by GT Veteran Luca
Stoltz, who I’ve never heard of before. With DJ WillyP’ Hoping to be able to do
something at Daytona with Kenny in the future…
Although it had been rumoured for several
weeks, or was it months? Finally on Friday, January 6th, Rick Ware
Racing announced it was running a Full season LMP2 campaign with the de rigour
Oreca 07 chassis. With it’s full season drivers being Eric Lux and Pietro
fittipaldi. While Pietro will also contest the entire FIA World Endurance
Championship season aboard an LMP2 entry.
But it’s Andretti Autosport IndyCar Driver
Devlin DeFrancesco who will be the team’s third driver at All of the Michelin
Endurance Cup (MEC) rounds that had long been rumoured to have an IMSA LMP2
ride this year.
Team Penske NASCAR driver and reigning Daytona
500 winner Austin Cindric will round out the RWR entry’s Drivers lineup for
Daytona. As the Rolex 24 seems to be becoming Team Penske’s Playground, with it’s
two Porsche 963 GTP entries,
All three of it’s IndyCar Drivers at one point,
and a Cup Driver for good measure competing.
Interestingly, I noticed when beginning my Mondo’
Rolex 24 previews, that Turner Motorsport’s had split up it’s winning Driver
tandem. With Robby Foley now Headlining the team’s traditional #96 BMW M4 GT3
GTD entry. Whilst Bimmer Billy’, aka Bill auberlen Spearheads it’s new #95 GTD
Pro entry for the four Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC) events.
As Auberlen’s joined in the cockpit with the
unknown of Chandler Holl for Mwah. Along with John Edwards, longtime Team BMW
RLL Hotschue’, who I’d been wondering where He’d gone this year? With the trio
being joined at Daytona by Bruno Spengler, who I tend to recall also drove for
Team BMW RLL previously…
And lastly, word finally came 24 Hours before
the Roar before The 24 three day test commenced that Kevin Magnussen had indeed
withdrawn from this year’s Rolex 24 due to His recent Hand surgery. As Kevin
will be replaced by MDK Motorsports Porsche Carrera Cup driver Jason Hart. Who’ll
join Mark Kvamme, Trenton Estep and Jan Magnussen aboard the team’s No. 53 Porsche
911 GT3 R GTD entry.
Whilst Thar seems to be some Cornfuzion’ over
which of the BMW M Hybrid V-8 GTP Prototypes Colton Herta will be driving? Having
even read that Colton will drive both the #24 and #25 entries.
But I’ll let all of Yuhs with Eyes Sharp as Rats figure it out instead of relying on Ye Blind Word Butcher to tell Y’all which car Colton’s in…
