Most liked posts in thread: IMSA 2016

Many Things to See in the Pits

The Roar at the Rolex 24 has many new sights in the garage.

Seems that diffusers work for creating down force, if you make them big enough and you are traveling fast enough. Steering wheels have changed a bit in race cars since the day of aluminum spokes and wood rims. I like the drink button so you don't have to take your hands off the wheel to enjoy your favorite beverage. Ganassi also has mechanics that are easy on the eyes. A lot of innovations in one garage.

 

Outstanding Race Weekend at Daytona

It was a most enjoyable weekend of racing at the IMSA BMW 200 Continental and Rolex 24 hours. So many aspects of being at the race track were enjoyable and there is much to discuss. A few things I found interesting included:



MINI Corral and Hospitality Patio - Some of the early arrivals Friday morning at the MINI Corral above. The parking was right next to the tram stop and Fan Injector (DIS term for enhanced entry to the grandstands.) The MINI Hospitality Patio was a great spot to see the race, meet people, grab some food/drink. The hospitality provided by MINI USA made the weekend and race experience greatly improved.



MINIs on the Race Track - The MINIs were fast, qualifying on the front row and all 3 cars placing in the top half. The race story was not as positive as some bumper car activity put a couple of the MINIs back in the field. The team feels positive about their progress and is looking forward to Sebring. (This photo was taken from the grandstand area above the MINI Patio.)

New and Improved Daytona International Speedway - $400 million in improvement to the fan areas of the track moved the Speedway into a new class of racing entertainment. The fan facilities are first class.

Ford Performance - That is the term that Ford promoted and while they had some fast cars, the results in the 24 Hours were not up to their expectations. A Mustang did win the GS class on Friday, so they can claim a victory. Ford did have a big presence at the race - a Ford Corral, Ford Patio, and large Ford display in the infield. I must thank Ford for their give-away-promotional item, an external battery for electronic devices. After keeping up with timing and scoring on my phone, the battery would not last a whole day.

DeltaWing - The Not Normal car in the prototype class led in the early stages of the race with Katherine Legge at the wheel. Her co-driver managed to stuff it into a spun car when yellow flags and lights were displayed. The car looked quick on the track.

New Cars Winning - Honda the overall victor!! Wish I had some money on that outcome in Vegas. The Roar practice session did show some different cars running with good speed. A Lamborghini was leading the GTD class until it ran out of fuel with 2 laps remaining. Then, an Audi took top honors. Some different faces and cars on the winners' podium.

 

More Thoughts at Daytona



Rear brakes on a Corvette Daytona Prototype. Like the carbon fiber rotors. Would be nice if they could be squeezed inside the front wheels on the MINI. This team must have something new in the transaxle as they kept it covered with a blanket.



One of the cars in the Rolex 24 is more Not Normal than a MINI. The DeltaWing, powered by a 2.0 L engine, posted the fastest and second fastest times in a number of the practice sessions. These were overall fastest times in a class with the Corvette prototypes and the Gannasi Ford prototypes. The new Turner BMW M6 is behind the DeltaWing in this shot.

Should be a very interesting race this year and the MINI Hospitality Patio will make the event more enjoyable this year.

MINI Patio Hospitality @DIS info on Jan 29, 2016 (093784) | MotorsportReg.com

 

Hot Laps

The Hot Laps were held Saturday about noon, after the Ferrari Challenge race and before the start of the 24 Hours.



The photo above is of the Hot Lap MINI, which the MINI JCW team towed down from Indianapolis, and the other Hot Lap cars - Lamborghini, BMW M6, Porsche, and Audi. The cars other than the MINI were pace cars for the 24 Hours (look close and you can see lights mounted on the roof of the Lambo).



The Hot Lap MINI on the track.

There are so many activities going on at the track during the weekend of the 24 Hours that it is impossible to take them all in. I do believe there are people in the infield who are totally entertained all weekend although they never even see a car on the track. There are many, many vendors worthy of a visit, and the manufacturers all have freebees - Continental/hats, Corvette/t-shirts, Ford Performance/external electronics batteries. There is a Ferrari Challenge race on Friday and another one on Saturday (a lot of cars on the track and 3 or 4 different classes among the looking-all-the-same Ferraris). There are historic race cars on display in the garage area and they have a period on the track on Saturday for some hot laps. This year that group included a Ford GT 40 and a Cobra Daytona Coupe - multi-million dollar collector cars out on the race track running as hard as their owners desire.

While I am sharing some photos, below is a close up of the #540 Porsche that finished 2nd in the GTD class. Interesting wrap.