JOTA staff on hand to assist Cadillac Racing
There were many personnel waiting patiently to pick up credentials this morning before media day at Daytona.
Among them were Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s newly-promoted Sporting Manager and Team Director, Leon Price, and Technical Director Tomoki Takahashi.
They’ll be present and lending their expertise from the WEC side of Cadillac Racing to assist Cadillac’s GTP efforts in this year’s Rolex 24. In addition, JOTA Founder and Director Sam Hignett will be here for race weekend.
Zilisch on GTP debut: “I’m glad they’ve allowed me to come do this”
Trackhouse Racing NASCAR Cup Series driver Connor Zilisch said he already feels comfortable and at home with the Action Express Racing team he’ll be working with at the Rolex 24 this year. The Sanctioned Test last November, where he drove the V-Series.R for the first time, helped put him at ease ahead of the Roar and his GTP race debut.
“I feel like I got pretty comfortable. I wasn’t pushing too hard; I didn’t want to make too many mistakes for the test before the Roar. But it was good to put all the stuff I’d done in the sim into reality and get a feel for what the car’s actually like. All the controls and tools you have in the car are very different from what I’m used to with stock cars,” he told DSC.
“I’ve got the relationship with GM through the NASCAR stuff I do, so to race with a prestigious team in IMSA like Action Express, with great teammates, is really exciting. I’ve got one Test Day (at Daytona) here under my belt, and it’s going to be good to get some more laps over the next two weeks. Hopefully I’m comfortable in the car, and we have a competitive. We have a lot of work left to do, but I feel at home already.”
In addition to the Sanctioned Test, Zilisch also got some runs in during a test at COTA and spent multiple days on the sim to help prepare.
“I feel pretty confident and feel ready for any possible scenario,” he added. “I’ve probably done five days of sim work running through commands. It’ll be good to put it all to the test. I’m glad that they’ve allowed me to come do this.”
The 19-year-old may be the fourth driver aboard the #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R, along with Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, but he attracted his fair share of attention during the Media Day due to his rise in profile over the past 12 months during his standout season in what is now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
He tells DSC he feels that getting a high-profile race in before the start of the NASCAR season will help rather than hinder the preparations for his step up to full-time Cup Series racing.
“Obviously, NASCAR, you’re not allowed to test, so to get time in a racecar is helpful to me. There’s not a lot going on yet in the NASCAR world. Teams are starting to prepare for the start of the year, but I don’t think this takes away from anything. You get two months off, so it’s good to get those muscles going again before you step into a full-time season of NASCAR.”
Defending Rolex 24 winner Vanthoor upbeat about full-time return to IMSA
It’s all change for 2024 WEC Hypercar Drivers’ World Champions Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre, moving to full-time IMSA competition following the closure of Porsche Penske Motorsport’s WEC programme at the end of 2025. The duo will continue racing together in the same car this term, but in new surroundings in the GTP class.
Vanthoor told DSC that despite it being a tough off-season for himself and the team as it transitions to a single-championship effort, he’s not going to dwell on the negatives too much.
“For sure, I’m disappointed to not be in WEC and mainly Le Mans. If you look at my career, I’ve won every big race and championship; the only thing I’m missing is that overall Le Mans victory. It’s something I’m very keen to try and achieve in my life, but it won’t be possible this year,” he said.
“But, I’m not less motivated or down to be here. I’m also very excited to be here and to do IMSA full-time. It’s something I’m looking forward to, I enjoy being in IMSA, the States. I’ve done it multiple years, so I know what’s coming and what approach to take.
“Everything is in place for us to be successful in a tough class to race, we have good cards on the table, and that’s what you want as a driver.”
13 Autosport owner Fidani: “New name, same people” in 2026
There’s a new name above the garage door for the defending GTD winner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with the #13 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R now competing under the 13 Motorsports banner.
Two-time Bob Akin Award winner Orey Fidani purchased the entry from AWA owner Andrew Wojteczko over the off-season, although the Canadian operation will still provide technical support for the effort.
“New name, same people, little bit more to it than that but not much” Fidani, who will share the car with Matt Bell, Lars Kern and new addition Ben Green, told to DSC.
“Nothing’s changed really in terms of operations and how we’re running, and our crew and everybody, just I’ve taken ownership of the team. It’s making a stable to have a bigger shop, and we’ll have a new two-storey pit lane set up. Instead of funding one through me from Andrew, everything’s directly through me now, which is a little more streamlined and just makes things easier.”
Entering his third year with the Corvette, it’s clear that Fidani has no intention to explore a change of manufacturer for his new operation any time soon, with the Canadian delighted at the level of customer support received to date.
“They’ve been awesome,” Fidani says. “GM and Pratt Miller have been very good to work with, and hopefully we’ll stay with them for a long period of time.”
Nick Tandy happy to showcase LEGO Rexy’s best features
The always understated Nick Tandy showed undiluted, even boyish, excitement at the pre-Roar media day as he was handed a fully assembled LEGO Technic ‘Rexy’ as a prop, not because he is a massive fan of LEGO (Plot spoiler: He is a MASSIVE LEGO fan!) but because he discovered that the awesome piece of Danish, brick-based kit is fitted with working air jacks!
In addition, Nick has arrived at Daytona with a brand new helmet design incorporating the track maps of the four circuits involved in his still so fast unique ‘Tandy Slam’ of overall 24 hour race victories – Daytona, Le Mans, Nürburgring and Spa.
Ericsson anticipating fun outing in IMSA GTD debut
Marcus Ericsson’s even-year run of racing in the Rolex 24 continues this year, though now he’ll be racing a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 this time, instead of in the top class.
The Andretti Global IndyCar driver will be driving fellow TWG-owned team Wayne Taylor Racing’s Lamborghini this weekend, having made his GT racing debut in Sepang over the winter.
“I learned a ton,” Ericsson said about his weekend in the 12H Malaysia. “It’s a completely different car to anything I’ve ever driven. I’ve only done single-seaters or big prototypes.
“To get that chance to do a lot of laps in Sepang – you know, we had a test day, and then a lot of driving in the race and all that. It was really, really useful, and it’s going to help me a ton going into this Roar and Rolex 24. It was a really good thing that we did that.”
Marcus’ brother Hampus won the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Pro title for Wayne Taylor Racing last year, alongside Danny Formal – who’ll be one of the other three drivers in the #45 Huracán.
“I love this race. I always want to do this race if I can. Speaking to the team, they were keen to have me back, so it sort of made sense for me to come here,” added the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner. “And also for me, I like to challenge myself. I like to try different things, to sort of learn and develop as a driver. That was some of the reasons why I’m here.
“As I always say, Daytona is the start of the racing season, so it’s great to be here and be a part of that. If we can come away from here with a great result, that’s really going to give some positive momentum into my season in IndyCar.”
Evolutionary Pilot Sport ProGT+ tyre makes debut at Daytona
Michelin’s new GTP tyres have been in the spotlight in the build-up to the Rolex 24, but that’s not the only change in 2026 from the French constructor, as the GT tyre used in both GTD PRO and GTD has been updated too.
The new rubber for the teams racing with GT3 machinery is more of an evolution, but it will still add an interesting dimension to the start of the season.
“There are two changes to it,” Jeff Fischer, Michelin’s motorsports series manager, told IMSA.com. “One is improved bead fit on rims of all the different GT OEMs, and the second is a change to the tread profile to improve thermal robustness at hotter condition tracks.
“There’s no change to the compound or any other casing or construction changes. We just identified a few small areas that we can continue to make improvements and accommodate the needs of the competitors in the category and composition for the tyre to be robust for this series.”
