2024 marks the ten-year anniversary of the creation of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship as we know it now – and the ten-year anniversary of GT Daytona, IMSA’s nominally “pro-am” GT3 class which features 23 cars, the same number as last year.
As with GTD Pro there are new cars to look forward to, from Aston Martin, Corvette and Ford, as well as a wide variety of returning marques, albeit with some teams switching between brands during the off-season. 11 manufacturers in total, including Acura.
GTD traditionally produces racing that’s close and fierce – and there’s nothing about the line-up below that suggests 2024 will be any different. Or, that the GTD Pro cars will once again have their hands full not just in their own class, but also with the quicker cars from this field.
Acura NSX GT3 EVO22
#66 – Gradient Racing – Tatiana Calderón, Katherine Legge, Stevan McAleer, Sheena Monk
With WTRAndretti switching its GTD programme from Acura to Lamborghini during the off-season, Gradient Racing is left to fly the flag for the NSX on its own this year.
Gauging the team’s prospects is not an easy task. As a whole, 2023 was not kind to Gradient Racing though its fourth-place finish at Daytona to start the year proved to be its result of the season.
2023 full-season pairing Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge return to the team for 2024 and will be joined by Tatiana Calderón and male driver Stevan McAleer at Daytona – with Calderón forming an all-female trio in the Michelin Endurance Cup with Monk and Legge.
The NSX GT3 is a capable car. The question is whether or not Gradient can find a way to start the season strong once again as part of this larger, deeper GTD field.
Aston Martin ((2024) Vantage AMR GT3)
#27 – Heart of Racing Team – Roman De Angelis, Ian James, Zacharie Robichon, Marco Sørensen
#44 – Magnus Racing – Andy Lally, John Potter, Spencer Pumpelly, Nicki Thiim
Aston Martin is represented by two quality teams in the GTD class this year, with future Valkyrie Hypercar and GTP team Heart of Racing and IMSA stalwart Magnus Racing both bringing new-for-2024 AMR GT3s to the class.
Both outfits know what it takes to win in IMSA and bring strong driver crews to the race. The question mark is the car, as the new-spec AMR, (along with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Ford Mustang GT3) will be making its global race debut at the Rolex 24.
The feedback from testing has been overwhelmingly positive for the new Vantage, the car lauded for being particularly easy to drive. Up against a field as deep as this though, we will have to wait until the race to see whether or not the car is reliable enough and fast enough to claim a memorable result in its first outing.
Heart of Racing is the defending GTD class winner at Daytona and returns with team boss Ian James, young Roman de Angelis, as well as 2022 GTD winner Zacharie Robichon and Aston Martin factory driver Marco Sørensen. There is no weak link to be found here.
For Magnus Racing, its long-time line-up of Lally, Potter and Pumpelly is more than capable of delivering a strong result, and the late addition of Nicki Thiim adds an extra punch. Just last year with the previous generation Vantage, Magnus finished second on the banking and will be hungry to take that extra step this year.
BMW M4 GT3
#96 – Turner Motorsport – Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, Jens Klingmann, Jake Walker
With 2023 GTD champion Paul Miller Racing graduating to GTD Pro for this season, Turner Motorsport is BMW’s sole representative in the class for this year.
Last year proved that the M4 GT3 was a force to be reckoned with, in IMSA and beyond, so that’s not in question. As a team, Turner is one of the best in the business too. With that combination, plus the quartet of drivers set to take on Daytona, surely there’s no reason that Turner can’t claim the victory here?
Foley and Gallagher as a full-season duo finished fourth in the standings in 2023 and finished the campaign on a high with two second-place finishes in the final three races. Klingmann needs no introduction, as a Turner and BMW stalwart who has competed with Turner at Daytona seven times since 2016.
The wildcard is Jake Walker, a 17-year-old graduate of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series. His first taste of proper endurance racing came at the Indianapolis 8 Hour last autumn and made a strong enough impression for Turner to bring him on board for the full Michelin Endurance Cup.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
#13 – AWA – Orey Fidani, Matthew Bell, Lars Kern, Alex Lynn
#17 – AWA – Anthony Mantella, Nico Varrone, Thomas Merrill, Charlie Eastwood
The new era for Corvette Racing starts here. Alongside the Pratt Miller-run GTD Pro effort, which will feature factory-driving talent and much of the same personnel working on the cars, AWA brings a pair of customer-run Z06 GT3.Rs to the grid in GTD.
Stepping into this high-quality category, with a pair of brand-new cars, will not be an easy task for the Canadian team, but its standout performances in LMP3 puts it in good stead. Corvette’s top brass have a great deal of faith in AWA’s ability to deliver strong results. And with this set of drivers, if the Z06 GT3.R can hit the ground running in terms of raw speed and reliability on its global debut, there’s no reason it can’t spring a surprise.
In the #13, Matt Bell and Orey Fidani move to GTD from LMP3 with the team and are joined by Lars Kern and Cadillac WEC driver Alex Lynn, who lest we forget is a GTE Pro winner at Le Mans.
The #17 meanwhile, sees Anthony Mantella and Thomas Merrill joined by 2023 WEC GTE Am title and Le Mans winner Nico Varrone and newly-minted Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood. Mantella and Varrone are in for the full season, and head to Florida with the sole aim of claiming another class win at the 24 after winning LMP3 last year.
Ferrari 296 GT3
#023 – Triarsi Competizione – Alessio Rovera, Onofrio Triarsi, Ricky Agostini, Charlie Scardina
#21 – AF Corse – Simon Mann, François Heriau, Kei Cozzolino, Miguel Molina
#34 – Conquest Racing – Alessandro Balzan, Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, Manny Franco, Albert Costa
#47 – Cetilar Racing – Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto, Eddie Cheever III, Antonio Fuoco
Ferrari is represented by four customer teams – one for the full season, and three more for the Michelin Endurance Cup, all with the ORECA-constructed 296 GT3.
Conquest Racing is the full-season team, Eric Bachelart’s squad is back in IMSA for the first time since before the merger. Manny Franco and reigning Le Mans LMP2 class winner Albert Costa (Balboa) will be leading the charge for the year, supported by the experience of Alessandro Balzan and another intriguing newcomer in Monegasque Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.
Triarsi Competizione returns with an unchanged core trio of Ferrari works GT driver Rovera, plus Triarsi and Scardina. The newcomer in the equation is Ricky Agostini, who boasts one-make championships in Europe plus a solid record in GT3 racing in his native Italy.
AF Corse is synonymous with Ferrari and they’re back to represent the Prancing Horse in GTD. Ferrari Hypercar driver Molina returns from last year’s MEC programme, and so too does Mann. François Heriau’s already back to full race fitness after losing much of 2023 to injuries – and Japanese-Italian talent Cozzolino only adds more firepower.
Speaking of firepower, Ferrari’s Le Mans pole winner Antonio Fuoco brings it in spades to Cetilar Racing’s blue Ferrari effort with team owner Lacorte and Sernagiotto, plus Eddie Cheever III, at his side.
Ford Mustang GT3
#55 – Proton Competition – Corey Lewis, Giammarco Levorato, Ryan Hardwick, Dennis Olsen
After such a longstanding relationship with Porsche, Proton Competition competing with Ford is going to take a bit of getting used to!
For 2024 Christian Ried’s highly-successful team has been lured away from the German marque for its flagship GT effort, and this year’s Rolex 24 Hours marks the start of this new era.
The Mustang GT3 is an unknown quantity at this point, but feedback from recent tests has been almost exclusively positive. The car’s reliability will be in the spotlight here, as Proton, with assistance from Ford, should be able to get the car running up to speed almost immediately.
As for the driver line-up for this one, Proton has assembled a strong quartet, with former Rolex 24 winner Corey Lewis and ELMS GTE race winner Giammarco Levorato in for the full-season, joined by reigning ELMS GTE champion Ryan Hardwick for the Endurance Cup races and new Ford factory driver Dennis Olsen for Daytona only – in what will be his first race since parting ways with Porsche.
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO 2
#45 – Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti – Kyle Marcelli, Danny Formal, Graham Doyle, Ashton Harrison
#78 – Forte Racing – Misha Goikhberg, Loris Spinelli, Devlin DeFrancesco, Sandy Mitchell
#83 – Iron Dames – Michelle Gatting, Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey, Doriane Pin
The list of four Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2s in GTD was reduced to three ahead of the Roar following the class change for the #60 Iron Lynx car.
The first is the #45 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, which changes from Acura this season. The formation of the team has also changed following the end of its collaboration with Racers Edge Motorsports.
Its driver crew sees reigning Lamborghini Super Trofeo PRO Champions, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal for the full season joined by Grahan Doyle and Ashton Harrison.
Iron Dames meanwhile, brings its WEC trio of Gatting, Bovy and Frey to the party in the #83, with Doriane Pin in the fourth chair. Pin, who raced in LMP2 last year, is set to pursue a career in single-seaters as part of the Dames programme in 2024 and makes this one of the more well-rounded line-ups in the field.
The third Huracan, the #78, is run by Forte Racing and should be considered one of the favourites for class honours. Forte will hope to pick up in 2024 where it left off in 2023, winning at Petit Le Mans back in October.
For Forte’s second season in GTD, its driver crew is led by newly-minted Lamborghini factory driver Loris Spinelli, who will compete all season long with Misha Goikhberg, who has already signed with the team through to the end of 2025.
At the Endurance rounds, the team will benefit from the additional firepower of IndyCar driver Devlin DeFrancesco. It will also be joined by another Lamborghini works driver, Sandy Mitchell, for Daytona, the Scot looking to add a Daytona win to his trio of Spa 24 Hours class victories.
Lexus RC F GT3
#12 – Vasser Sullivan – Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, Aaron Telitz, Ritomo Miyata
GTD Pro winning team Vasser Sullivan again brings a second RC F GT3 to the IMSA field, in GTD. The driver line-up to last year is nearly identical, with Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson and Aaron Telitz all returning.
The one change is in the fourth chair. After Kyle Kirkwood featured last year, this time the team has been handed the services of young up-and-comer Ritomo Miyata for the 24 Hours.
The 24-year-old Japanese racer, who won the 2023 Super Formula and SUPER GT GT500 Championships in the same year, appears to be on a path to success in sportscars. Miyata was selected as a Toyota WEC Challenge driver last year and this Rolex 24 Hours marks the beginning of a new adventure that will at least include Formula 2 and the European Le Mans Series LMP2 class. He’s a true prodigy, and one to keep an eye fixed on when he’s behind the wheel.
What should Vasser Sullivan expect from Rolex this year in such a deep GTD field? It’s hard to say. On paper, you’d think running with the RC F GT3, the oldest car in the field, would reduce its prospects. However, as the team proved last year, anything is possible if your drivers keep it clean and the team on the pit wall executes a strong race strategy.
It also helps when a young, hungry driver like Thompson wins the class pole position with a new course record! There’s no reason Vasser Sullivan can’t emerge as a contender in the final hours of this one.
McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
#70 – Inception Racing – Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff, Ollie Millroy, Tom Gamble
Alongside Pfaff’s GTD Pro effort, McLaren is represented in GTD by Inception Racing, which last year took on the full season and finished sixth in the class standings. Inception Racing also has nearly a year of experience with the latest 720S GT3 EVO under its belt.
Last year’s full-season duo of Brendan Iribe and Frederik Schandorff return and will look to build on their run to third in class at the Rolex last year when the flag drops at Daytona.
For Rolex, they will be joined by the British duo of Ollie Millroy and Tom Gamble. Highly experienced Millroy, who was with the team for the endurance rounds last year returns, and factory driver Gamble adds real punch.
Gamble, in particular, is one to watch in the class, the 22-year-old is rapid, mature and has a bright future in GT racing.
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
#32 – Korthoff Preston Motorsports – Mike Skeen, Mikaël Grenier, Kenton Koch, Maximillian Götz
#57 – Winward Racing – Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje, Daniel Morad
#80 – Lone Star Racing – Salih Yoluç, Rui Andrade, Scott Andrews, Adam Christodolou
Mercedes-AMG’s chances of GTD glory at Daytona in 2024 sit with three customer teams: Korthoff Preston Motorsports, Winward Racing and Lone Star Racing.
Korthoff Preston brings a new-look AMG GT3 EVO to the party, the livery designed by driver Mike Skeen. The team is highly ambitious and will hope that continuity will pay dividends. It brings the same line-up to Florida as 2023, the combo of Skeen, Mikaël Grenier, Kenton Koch and Maximillian Götz.
Winward Racing meanwhile, will race with Russell Ward and Philip Ellis as the full-time duo, with Indy Dontje reprising his MEC role and Daniel Morad back for the Rolex 24 after his super-sub outing last year.
Lone Star Racing’s line-up came together late, but it looks to be one to keep track of. Nürburgring Nordschleife specialist Adam Christodolou, 2023 ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am standout Salih Yoluc, 2023 WEC LMP2 champion Rui Andrade and previous Rolex 24 class winner Scott Andrews could well spring a surprise.
The Roar was quiet for Mercedes, with no real moments of pace. But the sweeping BoP changes announced yesterday looks to have benefitted the AMG GT3s in the field. Time will tell if the changes have brought the German marque into the fray…
Porsche 911 GT3 R
#43 – Andretti Motorsports – Jarett Andretti, Gabby Chaves, Scott Hargrove, Thomas Preining
#86 – MDK Motorsports – Li Kerong, Anders Fjørdbach, Klaus Bachler, Larry ten Voorde
#92 – KellyMoss with Riley – David Brule, Alec Udell, Trent Hindman, Julien Andlauer
#120 – Wright Motorsports – Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, Jan Heylen, Frédéric Makowiecki
After a less-than-impressive debut for the 911 GT3 R 992 at Daytona last January, Porsche returns with a quartet of customer outfits looking to return to the top step of the podium at the 24 Hours for the first time since 2022.
The 992 was a controversial car at this race last year. The manufacturer complained about the balance of performance, the teams echoed that but also expressed worries privately about the car itself, before a technical fix was delivered to customers in the spring. The hope is that 2024 brings with it better fortunes, and so far in testing and qualifying, that’s proven to be the case.
First up on the list is the #43 from Andretti Motorsports, which is being run separately from the WTRAndretti Lamborghini effort. It’s a new car for the team this year, with a switch from Aston Martin to Porsche and an expanded programme, the team committing to the full season this term. DTM champion Thomas Preining leads the line-up, with Jarett Andretti, Gabby Chaves and Scott Hargrove completing the quartet.
For MDK, it’s a return to GTD for a second year with Porsche. Operationally the team now benefits from a partnership with Spanish-based, Danish-run team High Class Racing and the hope is that will increase its odds of success. The driver roster features Li Kerong, Anders Fjørdbach, Klaus Bachler and Larry ten Voorde.
Like MDK, KellyMoss initially had two cars entered for the Rolex 24, but both teams eventually scaled back their efforts to a single car before the Roar. The #92 from KellyMoss with Riley sees Porsche star Julien Andlauer, former CTSC champion Trent Hindman and team returnees David Brule and Alex Udell team up. Ironically, Brule’s crash in qualifying means that the #92 has been rebuilt from the withdrawn #91 car.
The final Porsche on the list is from Wright Motorsports, which like Turner Motorsports, has additional cars on site in Daytona this week as part of its involvement in the filming for Apple’s forthcoming racing movie starring Brad Pitt.
For the race proper Wright brings what it hopes will be a winning combination. Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer, who have shared a car with Wright in GT World Challenge, are both Rolex rookies – and will benefit from the experience of team regular Jan Heylen, and Porsche factory driver Frédéric Makowiecki all week long.
Missed DSC’s other class previews? Catch up below:
Images © Richard Dole, Jake Galstad, Michael L. Levitt / IMSA
