Motorsports

Roar Before the 24

January 27, 2024

Every year the IMSA WeatherTech sportscar racing series kicks off the year with the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. On the weekend before the race, all the teams participate in several practice sessions. This prelude to the 24-hour endurance race is known as the “Roar Before the 24”. Last Saturday I headed over to Daytona for some great action and photos.

View Of Daytona International Speedway From Garage Roof — *View of the Front Stretch at Daytona International Speedway from the Garage Roof*

This was my first time seeing these amazing race cars. What makes the Rolex 24 so unique is that 4 classes of cars race together for the entire 24 hours. It produces some exciting racing as the top-tier cars are much faster than the lowest-tier cars which can create some tricky driving challenges. 59 cars will start the race and each car will have a team of 3 to 4 drivers to cover the 24 hours.

85 Jdc Miller Motorsports Porsche And 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari — *85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche and 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari in Turn 1 at the Roar Before the 24*

The top-tier GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) cars remind me of a combination of NASCAR and Indy cars. They are high tech, lightning fast and very aerodynamic. Last year they introduced hybrid power technology. A GTP car can cost over $2 million. The 2 levels of GTD (Grand Touring Daytona) cars are more like actual street cars. The difference in speed compared to GTP cars is stark. The faster GTP cars can complete a lap around the 3.56 course about 12 seconds quicker than the GTD cars. In fact, during qualifying for the race, the speediest GTP car completed a lap in just over 1 minute and 32 seconds.

This form of racing has been around for years. It’s easy to think of a person working in their garage at home souping up a car or building a car from the ground up to race against others. That’s the essence of sports car racing.

Also, during the Rolex 24 this weekend, producer Jerry Bruckheimer will be filming scenes for a new movie featuring Brad Pitt. Watch for this car in the movie.