ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA - 2016 NEW MACHINES Ford joins BMW and Ferrari in debuting new GTLM machines in 2016 READY TO RUMBLE AT THE ROLEX 2016 GTLM BATTLE FIRST to FIRST Ford, Ferrari, BMW Debut New Cars 2 If the first major race of the New Year asks, “what’s “When you have a brand new car you always find some new?” The answer is, “nearly everything.” things that are not ideal and then you work to improve The Rolex 24 At Daytona is the first event for the new those things or to adjust to them,” said Luhr, whose veteran IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and opens the BMW Team RLL finished second by a mere 0.48 seconds here stunning $400 million Daytona Rising Stadium. Icing the in 2015. new season cake is the spectacular array of new cars. While the popular Risi Competizione team awaited The highly anticipated debut of the Chip Ganassi Racing delivery of its new Ferrari 488 GTE, the team joined with (CGR) Ford EcoBoost GTs adds yet another top manufacturer longtime Ferrari stalwart AF Corse at the recent Roar Before and a pair of stunning cars to the powerful GTLM class. the 24 test with GTLM newcomers Scuderia Corsa and SMP Since Ford announced its return to competition at Racing in a thorough testing regimen of the new car. Le Mans last June, the Ford CGR team has been on an While the pace, traffic, and reliability challenges in the aggressive testing and development path in preparation for frantic Rolex 24 At Daytona are daunting, an even bigger its competition debut here. battle awaits as Ford, BMW and Ferrari try to unseat the Joey Hand will drive with Dirk 2015 IMSA GTLM champions from Porsche North America Müller while Ryan Briscoe (pictured and the Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans GTLM winning left) is teamed with Richard Corvette Racing team. Westbrook. Both pairs are joined Porsche North America’s Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy here by Sebastien Bourdais and shocked the competition on a rain soaked Road Atlanta Stefan Mücke respectively. with an overall race victory for their MICHELIN-fitted GTLM They have checked all the pre- class Porsche 911 RSR in the 2015 season finale. flight development boxes and are With updated cars, and teammates Frederic Makowiecki ready to race. and Earl Bamber, they are primed to take on all comers in Ford is not the only manufacturer the 2016 WeatherTech Championship. introducing a new GTLM class car There is a similar story at Corvette Racing. Jan here at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe took the 2015 BMW Team RLL presents a pair of GTLM wins at Daytona and Sebring while teammates Oliver new BMW M6 GTLMs, while Ferrari Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor completed the enters a trio of the spectacular endurance racing GT category Triple Crown at the Le Mans new 488 GTEs in the hands of the Scuderia Corsa, Risi 24 Hour race. Competizione Ferrari and SMP Racing teams. Both Porsche and Corvette have made significant Showing early pace, BMW’s Lucas Luhr topped the GTLM updates under the 2016 GTLM rules which significantly time sheets in the early January tests here. increase downforce “It’s a new game with the new car,” said Luhr. “It’s a by permitting wider total change from the Z4. The drivability is different with bodywork, a bigger a turbocharged engine rather than a naturally aspirated rear diffuser, and an engine like the Z4 had.” additional set back With Bill Auberlen, John Edwards and Dirk Werner on the rear wing in joining Luhr on the full season WeatherTech Championship addition to safety entry list and Graham Rahal, Augusto Farfus, Kuno changes. Wittmer and Bruno Spengler also on board here, BMW “The updates is anxious to give our cars more kick off its 100th downforce and make anniversary year in them more fun to drive,” said Corvette’s Tommy Milner style. (pictured above). “The car feels “We can go deeper under braking and the new different and you MICHELIN tires have certainly helped us to make a good take a different step forward.” Former Le Mans winners Mike Rockenfeller approach to and Marcel Fassler bolster the deep Corvette line up here. driving it,” said With five premier manufacturers presenting a total of Luhr (pictured 11 GTLM entries, a stunning 60 percent of respondents right). “It’s a big difference,” said Luhr of an M6 that is in a pre-season poll by RACER.com voted the class as the wider, longer, and taller than his 2015 BMW Z4 ride. one they looked forward to most in 2016 WeatherTech Opening the season with a premier 24-hour race is a big Championship competition. challenge, especially with a brand new car. And that is nothing new. 3 DPDP or p2p2 FOR THE ROLEX VICTORY? A colorful Baker’s dozen field of diverse Prototypes is 2014 WEC champion Alex Wurz and touring car legend Andy poised to make history at the 54th running of the Rolex 24 At Priaulx in the CGR No. 01. Daytona. If it is self-explanatory that winners win and Scott Dixon The top class in the 50+ car field is a spicy blend of is a master of the race winning universe. top teams and drivers with Daytona Prototypes and LMP2 The 35-year old Kiwi came from behind combinations powered by BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, yet again in 2015 to claim his fourth Mazda, Nissan and Elan engines in what appears to be an IndyCar championship, to go with his two exceptionally wide-open race. victories here at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Taking it from the top, a pair of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Dixon’s speed, consistency, humility, Ford EcoBoost Riley DPs will look to repeat the team’s 2015 and calm under pressure make him a win. favorite of many fans and a shining The CGR driver lineup features IndyCar superstar Scott example to younger drivers. Asked Dixon and Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, teamed with about the many talented drivers who NASCAR stars Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson in the No. 02 have driven and won for CGR through car. the years, Managing Director Mike Hull The combination proved to be the winning blend in 2015 (pictured above) simply says, “Scott is my guy.” and returns intact. Hull is a big believer in driver match-ups and that approach Fresh from a strong season in the FIA European Formula 3 usually puts Dixon in the car at the most critical stages of the Championship, young Canadian star Lance Stroll teams with race where he delivers multiple stints at a quick and consistent FIA World Endurance champion Brendon Hartley, Toyota’s pace that competitors struggle to match. 4 FOR THE ROLEX VICTORY? Not to be outdone, Chevrolet fields a fiercely powerful HPD of Scott Sharp, Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and foursome led by the No. 5 Action Express DP of 2014 Rolex Pipo Derani. 24 race winners Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa being The ESM team regularly competes on the FIA-WEC series joined by Filipe Albuquerque and the legendary Scott and Michael Shank Racing recently announced its plans to Pruett. enter the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hour race. Pruett is looking to break a tie with Hurley Haywood Perhaps the cars to watch most closely will be the pair of and claim an unprecedented sixth Rolex 24 victory. repowered Mazda Prototypes. Looking to build upon their breakthrough 2015 success Jonathan Bomarito, Tristan Nunez and Spencer Pigot shoe which saw them claim two victories, Dane Cameron and Eric the No. 55 car while Mazda stalwarts Joel Miller, Tom Long Curran have Simon Pagenaud and Jonny Adam aboard the and Ben Devlin are aboard the No. 70. An off-season switch to No. 31 Whelen Action Express. the MZ-2.OT Mazda engine has catapulted the Mazdas well The hometown-based No. 90 VisitFlorida Racing counters up the field and the team has shown considerable pace in with Ryan Dalziel, Marc Goossens and Ryan Hunter-Reay. pre-race testing. The Wayne Taylor Racing team of Ricky Taylor and Nissan, a consistent winner on the international P2 scene, Jordan Taylor are joined again joined by Max Angelelli and is the choice of SMP Racing and its drivers Mikhail Aleshin, have been strong contenders in the each of the past two Kirill Ladygin, Nicolas Minassian and Maurizio Mediani. years at Daytona. The dark horses in the Prototype field are the radical Honda features both the Honda HPD Ligier of Michael Elan powered DeltaWing driven by Katherine Legge, Andy Shank Racing with John Pew and Ozz Negri, joined by A.J. Meyrick, Sean Rayhall and Andreas Wirth and the venerable Allmendinger and Olivier Pla; and the Patrón ESM Honda BMW powered No. 50 entry featuring Dorsey Schroeder. 5 FASTFACTS Watch us now on FOX Don’t miss the first race of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as the series competes at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. FLY THE FLAGS Thursday, Jan. 28 (All times EDT) The international importance of the IMSA WeatherTech Qualifying SportsCar Championship and the Rolex 24 are reflected 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. IMSA.com (Live) in the entry list. In the factory dominated GTLM class (IMSA App) alone, the 11 entries include drivers from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Saturday, Jan. 30 France, Switzerland, Brazil, Russia, Finland and Monaco. 2:00 pm FOX Sports 1 4:00 pm FOX Sports 2 10:00 pm IMSA.com “Mr.