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The No. 5 Action Express Racing won the 2018 Rolex
24. Can it repeat this year? (Image source: theapex.racing)
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Will the mighty Cadillac's continue Thar
Stranglehold upon Day-Toners' High Banks?
For last year's riveting No Fenders Rolex 24
Prototypes preview, I found 10 entrants listed for the 56th running of the 24
Hours of Daytona, which I regaled Y'all in;
DPi RUNNERS...
As previously noted, IMSA has split the Prototypes Class into two
separate entities, paving the way to ensure that the Daytona Prototype
International (DPi) competitors will be the fastest category overall, Hence
ensuring that the European-spec LMP2 contingent no longer will threaten for an
upset Rolex 24 victory ahead of the Manufacturer based runners.
ACURA (2)
Acura
ARX-05
Engine: 3.5-litre V-6 Turbo
Team: Acura Team Penske
#6) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron and Simon Pagenaud
#7) Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Alexander Rossi
Surely most IndyCar Fans, Whale' at least
those tunin' in. Will have Thar Attenzione squarely focused upon El Capitano's,
nee Roger Penske's latest foray into Sports Car racing, with his two car All Star lineup featuring two of
Indy Cars past Biggest names, i.e.; Castroneves & Montoya.
While in typical Penske tradition, Thars' NO
weak links in the Driver selections, as "Symone Pagenoe," nee Pageantry,
aka simon Pagenaud remains, whilst thou Graminator', nee Graham Rahal, due to
his lanky 6ft 3in frame has bowed out in favour of IndyCar HotSchue Alexander
Rossi, who along with Pagenaud will contest the Endurance rounds this year.
Meanwhile, Monty and Hulio's regular season
co-drivers aren't slouches, with both Ricky Taylor and Dane Cameron being
past series championship winners.
Whilst in a nod to
it being IMSA's 50th Anniversary season, Penske will run Throwback liveries of
past Acura Sports Car runners Comptech, who featured IndyCar Blogger Geo.
Phillips favourite ABC Announcer Parker Johnstone at its Helm...
CADILLAC (6)
Cadillac
DPi VR
Engine: 5.5-litre normally aspirated V-8
Teams: Action Express Racing, JDC-Miller Motorsports,
Juncos Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing
#5) João
Barbosa, Filipe
Albuquerque, Mike Conway and Christian Fittipaldi
#10) Jordan Taylor, Renger
van der Zande, Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi
#31) Eric
Curran, Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani
#50) Kyle Kiser, Rene Binder, Will Owen and Agustín
Canapino
#84) Chris Miller, Stephen Simpson, Simon Trummer and Juan Piedrahita
#85) Rubens Barrichello, Tristan Vautier, Devlin DeFrancesco and Mikhail Goikhberg
Once again, the defending Rolex 24 race
Winner Hails from the Caddy' stables, this time being the No. 5 "Mustang
Sally;" Err sampling Action Express Racing (AXR) Cadilac VR DPi.
Yet ARSE-Sumedly, Mucho Attenzione will be
focused upon the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing, but not on its normal chauffeurs Renger van der Zande and Jordan Taylor.
Nope, instead that Media Darling; Uhm I meant Fernando Alonso, Ci! With the
team's forth driver being another Formula 1 refugee who I fondly call 'em
"K-Squared," nee Kamui Kobayashi.
Similarly, Action Express Racing's (AXR) two
car squad is loaded for Bear, albeit with slightly Tweaked Driver Rosters. Most
notably being the addition of new Fulltime Pilote Pipo Derani, who
needed to find new employment after the demise of (ESM) Extreme Speed
Motorsports.
Whilst Christian Fittipaldi makes his Swan
Song as a driver and will retire from racing after this year's 24 Hours of
Daytona...
As Yuhs should never count out AXR, who after
all have won three consecutive Daytona Prototype (DP) class titles between
2014-16, and four of the last five years Outright!
(2018) Twice with the formable Duo of JB',
aka João Barbosa
and Christian Fittipaldi, whom are both triple Rolex 24 winners! With Eric Curran
having anchored the Seester' #31 Whelen Engineering Championship winning AXR
mount. Claiming the title with Dane Cameron in 2016, and last
year with former F1 Driver Felipe Nasr. As Curran will just run the Enduros'
this season.
Then Thars' two brand new Caddy' runners, as
JDC Miller Motorsports steps up from LMP2 status last year, and will fill the
field with its No's 84-85 tandem, with Rubino', nee Rubens Barrichello being
it's Marquee Driver.
Indy Cars Juncos Racing is a brand new entity
in Sports Car racing, with its shiny new No. 50 Cadd-OhLacc' featuring three
Rolex 24 rookies, comprising of IndyCar Drivers Kyle Kiser and Rene Binder. Along
with Argentina's Agustín Canapino, as Will Owen is
the only one of the Quartet with previous Daytona 24hrs experience.
MAZDA (2)
Mazda
RT24P
Engine: 2.0-litre Inline-4 turbo
Team: Mazda Team Joest
#55) Jonathan Bomarito, Harry Tincknell and Olivier
Pla
#77) Tristan Nunez, Oliver Jarvis, Timo Bernhard and Rene Rast
Once again, the little car that could? Led
thou way in the Roar Before the Rolex 24's pre Qualie' Show, when Pitlane
spaces & Garage selections are decided, with Oliver Jarvis throwing down
the Gauntlet with a Mega lap time of 1m33.398s! Unofficially
Breaking P.J. Jones 1993 record time aboard the all Conquering AAR Eagle MKIII.
But the biggest news for Mazda Team Joest is
the Off-season's Technical Department's retooling, most notably with the
addition of spurned IndyCar Newbie' Engineer Leena Gade, who'll Engineer the team's No. 77 entry.
Meanwhile the Driver Roster's almost
completely intact, from last year, with the only changes being Olivier Pla
replacing Indy Cars Ed Carpenter Racing's Spencer Pigot.
Along with the addition of Timo Bernhard,
a past 24 Heurs du Mans winner for Porsche, albeit it seems odd that both
entries don't sport four drivers apiece.
As Bernhard and Pla will serve as the
Endurance round Drivers, whilst Rast's involvement could be limited due to his
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters commitments.
NISSAN (1)
Nissan
Onroak DPi
Engine: 3.8-litre V-6 turbo
Team: CORE Autosport,
#54) John Bennett, Colin Brown, Loic Duvall and Romain Dumas
The Good News is that Thars still a Nissan DPi entry
contesting the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship this year. But
unfortunately, it's not being run by Extreme Speed Motorsports, (ESM) who along
with IMSA lost their longtime financial backer Tequila
Patron at the end of last year.
But good for CORE Autosport for upgrading its
Prototype programme this season by stepping up to the Top-flight DPi class. As
once again the #54 features a pair 'O former Audi LMP1 Men, nee Messer's Duvall & Dumas at
its controls for the Rolex 24 complimenting Messer's Benet & Brown.
As the Acura's theoretically should be Cadillac's
fiercest rival for victory, while the verdict's still out upon the Mazda's, and
the lone Nissan is definitely this year's Dark Horse Contendah'
