The new year marks the start of a new era for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will open the 2023 schedule with the 61st edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
A new premier class for prototypes is the towering tale of the 24-hour endurance race that marks the unofficial kick-off of the major league racing season.
The new Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDh) vehicles in the top Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category will once again bridge the gap to the 24 Hours of Le Mans while bringing a new level of engine electrification to IMSA.
With at least some of the cars on the Daytona grid also slated to race at Le Mans in June, for the first time in decades (since the “Ford vs. Ferrari” battles) it’s possible for the same car to win the overall title at Daytona and Le Mans.
Four manufacturers will be represented in the GTP category, two of which are new to IMSA’s premier class. Porsche Motorsport (with Team Penske) and BMW (with Rahal Letterman Lanigan) will field LMDh prototypes and join the (now defunct) remnants of the DPi category Acura (Meyer Shank Racing, Wayne Taylor Racing) and Cadillac (Chip Ganassi Racing, Action Express Racing) connect ).
Here’s what else you need to know ahead of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener on January 29-30 at Daytona International Speedway:
NOTED DRIVER ADDITIONS
The Rolex 24 will feature 10 active drivers from the NTT IndyCar Series, including IMSA debuts of Team Penske drivers Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, which are merged into an LMP2 entry (Unfortunately, teammate Will Power had to cancel this debut).
Colton Herta will move up to the GTP category with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud return with Meyer Shank Racing to defend their 2022 Rolex 24 overall win. Scott Dixon also returns to the premier class with Chip Ganassi Racing for his 20th start in the Rolex 24 and third straight in the No. 01 Cadillac.
Other IndyCar drivers in the field: Romain Grosjean will make his debut in GTD Pro with Iron Lynx Racing (as a precursor to driving a GTP Lamborghini next year); Devlin DeFrancesco (Rick Ware Racing) and Rinus VeeKay (TDS Racing) are in LMP2; and Kyle Kirkwood will return to GTD with Vasser Sullivan.
Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric will also return, teaming up with DeFrancesco in an LMP2 outing for Rick Ware Racing.
AUTOCOUNT
The Rolex 24 field was capped at 61 cars, matching last year’s field (which was the largest since 2014). The field was limited due to space restrictions for GTP’s LMDh cars in the pits and garages.
Click here for the official Rolex 24 at Daytona 2023 entry list.
STARTING LINEUP
Tom Blomqvist secured his first pole position of the GTP era, qualifying for defending champion Meyer Shank Racing in the No. 60 ARX-06 Acura, which he shares with Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud.
The #7 Porsche 963 from Porsche Penske Motorsports starts second.
Click here for the Rolex 24 at Daytona 2023 starting grid
RACE BROADCAST
The 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona will be streamed across the NBC Sports app, NBCSports.com and Peacock covering the event from flag to flag.
Coverage of the race begins Saturday, January 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be televised from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on USA Network and then from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. exclusively on Peacock and IMSA.TV broadcast will return to USA Network from 10:00 p.m. to midnight and then switch to Peacock/IMSA.TV until 6:00 a.m
Rolex 24 coverage will be available on USA Network from 6am to 12pm on Sunday January 29th. The conclusion of the Rolex 24 runs from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC.
HOW TO WATCH IMSA ON NBC SPORTS: Broadcast schedule for 2023
Leigh Diffey will announce the race along with analysts Calvin Fish and Townsend Bell. Brian Till will also act as an analyst during the race.
Marty Snider will anchor coverage from the Peacock Pit Box with NASCAR via NBC analysts Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton and IndyCar via NBC analyst James Hinchcliffe.
Kevin Lee, Parker Kligerman, Dillon Welch, Hannah Newhouse and Georgia Henneberry will be the pit reporters. Dave Burns and Lee will also handle play by play during the race.
Other events streaming on Peacock from Daytona in January (all times ET):
—21th January: IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge, 2:05 p.m
—22nd of January: IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge, 12:20 p.m
—22nd of January: Qualification IMSA Rolex 24, 1:25 p.m
—January 27th: BMW Endurance Michelin Pilot Challenge, 1:45 p.m
ROLEX 24 coverage by NBC Sports
Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi take their famous rivalry to the next level at Daytona
Pfaff Motorsports returns to Rolex 24 in prime parking spot, punching above its weight
Cadillac and Acura battle it out for the top of the speed charts
Herta, Rahal team up with BMW for overall victory at Rolex 24
Wayne Taylor Racing takes Andretti Autosport to the next level
Austin Cindric wants to join the legendary club of Rolex 24-Daytona 500 winners
Helio Castroneves recalls the ‘Days of Thunder’ moment at the 2022 Rolex 24 win
The “Bus Bros” tackle the “Bus Stop” for Rolex 24 at Daytona debuts
Romain Grosjean adds Rolex 24 at Daytona to his crown jewel career
Tom Blomqvist beats the clock to win the Rolex 24 on pole at Daytona
GTP cars debut in traffic at “Gymkhana” level
Five things to watch out for in the new GTP class as a golden era of sports cars returns
Cadillac introduces liveries for LMDh cars
Austin Cindric, Devlin DeFrancesco and Pietro Fittipaldi team up in LMP2
IndyCar drivers at the 61st Rolex 24th
ROLEX 24 DAY SCHEDULE, START TIMES
Here’s a recap of everything that happened at Daytona International Speedway for the last two weeks of January, starting with the Roar test session. Rolex 24 start times and full schedule:
Wednesday January 18th
7am: Open GTP garages
4 p.m: Non-GTP garages open
4 p.m: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship tugs invite (parking only)
6:30 p.m.: Close non-GTP garages
9:30 p.m: Close GTP workshops
Thursday January 19th
7am: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship workshops, trucking companies are open
8:30 am: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Safety Inspection
10 am: Rolex 24 Media Day
14 o’clock: Michelin Pilot Challenge driver and team manager briefing
3 pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver and team manager briefing
5:15 p.m.: track walk
19:30 o’clock: Close non-GTP garages
9:30 p.m: Close GTP workshops
Friday January 20th
7am: garages open
8:45-9:15 a.m: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Training
9:30-10:45 am: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
11-12:30 p.m: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
1:45-2:15 p.m: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Training
14:30-16:00: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
4:15pm-6pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Training (GTD/LMP3/LMP2 4:15-5:45; 4:30-6: GTD Pro, GTP)
8 p.m: Close non-GTP workshops
9:30 p.m.: Close GTP garages
Saturday January 21st
7am: garages open
8:40-9:15 a.m: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Qualification
9:30am-11am: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
11:15-12:45: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
14:05-14:50: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Race 1 (Streaming on Peacock)
3:10 p.m.: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
16:30-17:30: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
18:30-20:30: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
22 O `clock: close garages
Sunday January 22nd
7am: garages open
10:15-11:15 am: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
12:20-1:05 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Race 2 (Streaming on Peacock)
1:25-3:00 p.m: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 Qualifying (Streaming on Peacock)
8:30 p.m.: close garages
Wednesday January 25th
6 o’clock in the morning: garages open
7:30am-10:00am: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Safety Inspection, not GTP
8 o’clock: Loading the Mazda MX-5
10-11:30 am: track walk
10am-12pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship car photos
11:30 am: Briefing from the Michelin Pilot Challenge team manager
Midday: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team manager briefing
12:30 pm: New IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers’ briefing
12pm-2pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Safety and Technical Inspection, non GTP
1:45-2:30 p.m: Mazda MX-5 Training
2:45-3:45 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
2:30pm-7:30pm: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Safety Inspection, GTP only
4-5:30 p.m: route hike
6:45 p.m.: close garages
Thursday, January 26th
7am: garages open
9-9:30 a.m: Mazda MX-5 Training
9:45-10:45 am: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
11:05-12:35 p.m: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
12:55-1:10 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Qualification
2:25-3:00 p.m: Qualification for the Michelin Pilot Challenge
15:20-17:05: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Practice (3:20-5:05: GTD, LMP3, LMP2; 3:35-5:05: GTD Pro, GTP)
17:30-18:15: Mazda MX-5, Race 1
7:15pm-9pm: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
10:15 p.m: garages close
Friday January 27th
7am: garages open
9:25-9:55 a.m: Michelin Pilot Challenge training
10:15-11 a.m: Mazda MX-5, Race 2
10:30 am: Michelin Pilot Challenge driver and team manager briefing
11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.: Practice of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
1:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.: BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona (Michelin Pilot Challenge; streaming on Peacock)
8:45 p.m.: close garages
Saturday January 28th
6.30 am: garages open
9:45 o clock: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver and team manager briefing
12:30-12:40 p.m.: Warming up the Rolex 24 engine
13:30-13:40: Rolex 24 formation laps
1:40 p.m.: The 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona (starting on NBC; streaming flag to flag on Peacock)
Sunday January 29th
1:40 p.m.: Finish of the 61st Rolex 24 in Daytona
19:30 o’clock: close garages
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