24h Le Mans
Oliver Jarvis (#77 Mazda DPi) has claimed pole position at the 57th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first round of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Forty-seven cars will line up on the grid on Saturday for what promises to be a closely-fought race.
Having excelled at the Roar Before The 24 (the equivalent of the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day) three weeks ago, Mazda Team Joest will now start from pole at the 24 Hours of Daytona after Oliver Jarvis clocked a time of 1:33.685, in the #77 Mazda DPi. The #7 Acura DPi entered by Acura Team Penske starts from second with Ricky Taylor qualifying in 1:33.873. Acura Team Penske’s other Acura Dpi (#6) qualified third.
What is remarkable is that the top seven qualifiers are separated by less than a second. Five Cadillac DPis qualified fifth to ninth. The #31 Whelen Engineering Racing entry, driven by Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran and Pipo Derani, will start from fifth place, in front of the #10 Konica Minolta Cadillac Dpi-V.R. steered by Renger Van Der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Fernando Alonso (Le Mans 24 Hours winner in 2018 with Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Kamui Kobayashi (another Toyota Gazoo Racing driver in the FIA WEC World Endurance Championship).
The LMP2 class launched in 2017 by the ACO and the FIA also appeals to teams on the other side of the Atlantic. The Dragonspeed Oreca LMP2 driven by Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Nicolas Lpaierre and James Allen has qualified tenth overall, with a time of 1:35.904. It beat the Oreca LMP2 fielded by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports. That car is piloted by two young French drivers, Gabriel Aubry and Enzo Guibbert, alongside Matthew McMurry and Mark Kvamme.
Porsche GT Team came out on top in the GTLM class (equivalent to LMGTE Pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans). The #911 Porsche 911 RSR handled by Pilet, Tandy and Makowiecki clocked the best time with 1:42.257, while the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R fielded by Corvette Racing and the #67 Ford GT #67 for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing complete the Top Three in this class. The #24 BMW M8 GTE, whose crew includes Alex Zanardi, the Italian driver who lost his legs in a horrific accident at the Lausitzring venue in the CART series in 2001, qualified seventh. Last but not least, the GTD class was dominated by the #13 Ferrari 488 GT3 entered by Via Italia Racing.
The 24 Hours of Daytona starts at 14:35 (20:35 CET) on 26 January 2019, when the 47 cars will be unleashed for a fierce fight for the win.
PHOTOS: courtesy of IMSA
