Mercedes-AMG Motorsport got the new season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship off to a successful start. In the legendary Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway, Maro Engel (GER), Jules Gounon (AND), Daniel Juncadella (ESP) and Cooper MacNeil (USA) brought the #79 Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by WeatherTech Racing across the finish line as the second GT3 car and were able to celebrate a deserved podium success. In the process, the team also secured the class win in the hard-fought GTD-Pro classification.
In the official qualifying event, the Roar Before the Rolex 24, the four participating Mercedes-AMG GT3s had managed to post the four best lap times of all the GT3 cars (GTD/GTD-Pro classes). However, the fastest car, the #57 WINWARD Racing entry, was relegated to the back of the field for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Following an accident in a practice session prior to the main race, the team from Texas had to change to a replacement car and lost its excellent grid position for the 24-hour race as a result. Moreover, driver Lucas Auer (AUT) got injured. The Austrian was treated in a hospital in Daytona and is on his way to recovery. Daniel Morad (CAN) stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Lucas Auer in the #57 car.
The 61st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona got underway in dry conditions at 1.40pm local time (7.40pm CET). The three Mercedes-AMGs that started the race at the front of the 33-strong GT3 field made it through the opening part of the race without any problems. Starting drivers Fabian Schiller (#75, GER), Mike Skeen (#32, USA) and Maro Engel (#79) were able to defend their positions and subsequently established themselves in the front-running group. However, early and frequent yellow-flag situations led to numerous position changes throughout the field and also prevented participants to pull clear from the competition. One of the drivers to benefit from this was Russell Ward (USA), the starting driver in the #57 WINWARD Racing car. The American put in a strong stint, consistently made up positions and was back within reach of the top ten of the GT3 cars after one hour of racing already.
Daniel Morad then consequently continued progress of the #57 car. As a result, all four Mercedes-AMG GT3s were among the first ten of the GT3 class again when darkness fell at around 6pm local time. The Mercedes-AMG customer sports teams also made it through the first hours of the night in commanding fashion. With around one third of the race completed, however, the #75 SunEnergy1 by AKKODIS APS car incurred radiator damage. The team initially continued its race but then was forced to park its car with 233 laps completed. Later on, the Team Korthoff Motorsports entry with starting number 32 suffered from a similar fate. Wheel bearing damage and subsequent repair were the reason the team lost valuable time and had to continue its race with gap of 14 laps to the leading GT3 car that proved impossible to make up. The driver quartet of Maximilian Götz (GER), Mikaël Grenier (CAN), Kenton Koch (USA) and Mike Skeen (USA, that had previously racked up numerous laps in the lead of the class, eventually crossed the finish line in P15 of the GTD class.
The two other Mercedes-AMG GT3 had more racing luck: at sunrise, both Philip Ellis (SUI) with the #57 car and Daniel Juncadella behind the wheel of the #79 entry were still in the front-running group of the GT3 field. In the process, both cars also regularly racked up laps in the lead. This continued during the following hours of the race. 60 minutes before the chequered flag was out, there were still ten GT3 cars on the same lap and frequently staged spectacular duels in long and highly exciting position fights. However, in spite of partly very different strategies, none of the competitors was able to pull a decisive gap, also as a result of the still frequent yellow flags.
At the restart with 30 minutes remaining, there were various contacts in the field. One of the affected drivers was Philip Ellis. His #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was damaged after contact while in a position with a good perspective and had to let the front-running group pull away. Already prior to the final dash, Maro Engel was able to secure the lead in the GTD-Pro classification with an entertaining move. As the final driver in the #79 car, he also defended his position in the hotly contested closing stages in dominant fashion and sealed the class win as a result.
Class podium for Wilsports in GT4 race
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge also got its new season underway at Daytona International Speedway. In a supporting event of the main race, a total of 46 cars across the GS and TCR category staged a thrilling four-hour race on Friday evening Central-European time already.
With 107 laps completed, Gary Ferrera und Kris Wilson with their #11 car run by customer sport team Wilsports secured second place on the podium of the GS Bronze class. The fastest Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the overall results was the #72 Murillo Racing car: Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak (both USA) just missed out on the overall podium by finishing fourth. The sister car with starting number 72 and the #23 JTR Motorsports Engineering car delivered another pair of top ten results for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.
“What a fantastic race! For our brand, winning the GTD-Pro class for the second time here is a tremendous success. On the other hand, we are also sad because of our other customer teams. WINWARD Racing has worked its way up from the back of the field all the way to the front with a fantastic performance and was taken out of the race by an unfortunate situation in the final hour. Sincere thanks to all our customer teams and congratulations to Acura on the overall win. And, of course, I wish Lucas a speedy recovery.”
Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing
“Many thanks to the entire WeatherTech team and to Mercedes-AMG for the car that worked in an outstanding way. And, of course, also huge thanks to my teammates who have all done an incredible job. They are among the best in the world and they have all driven a super race.”
Maro Engel, WeatherTech Racing #79
„Fantastic, we made it! Thanks to the entire team. Winning here is simply extraordinary. The long season that is still ahead of us couldn’t have started in a better way. I couldn’t have imagined all this in my dreams.”
Jules Gounon, WeatherTech Racing #79
“I am overjoyed and I still can’t really believe it. It was a difficult and a close race, especially in the final hours. Maro brought it home in a commanding way. Starting the new year with such a victory is simply unbelievable. I am looking forward to further exciting races.“
Daniel Juncadella, WeatherTech Racing #79
It was a lot of fun. The race was very well balanced, the cars were bumper to bumper for a long time. We were always there at the front, we stayed out of dangerous situations and we were there when it mattered. Everybody has done a super job, starting at Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach all the way to the on-site crew. I am close to tears now that I finally managed to win here. I couldn’t be any happier.”
Cooper MacNeil, WeatherTech Racing #79
“Of course, I am disappointed that we couldn’t secure the result for the team and for Lucas Auer that they would have deserved. It was a very difficult with many thrilling duels. Sadly, racing luck left us at the end. Nevertheless, I am more than proud of the entire team and my fellow drivers, everybody has done their utmost. Now, we are looking forward to the next IMSA round at Sebring.”
Philip Ellis, WINWARD Racing #57
“First of all, I would like to thank our entire team. Everyone has done a fantastic job throughout the weekend. Eventually, it was all or nothing and we gave i tour all to secure the win. Now, we are disappointed for the moment. After all, we had made it all the way from the back of the field to the front and even led the GT3 field at times. It probably was the most incredible race we ever drove. It really was fun.“
Russell Ward, WINWARD Racing #57
“We have 24 thrilling hours with highs and lows behind us. We have shown that we are fast, and all drivers have done a good job. Eventually, many things came together, it probably wasn’t meant to be. Nevertheless, we had a nice weekend, and we will do even better next time. Congratulations to WeatherTech Racing on the GTD-Pro class win.”
Maximilian Götz, Team Korthoff Motorsports #32
“Having been part of it here is a great feeling. We had a good line-up, made the right strategic decisions and we were really fast. All in all, we have shown a solid performance, but then didn’t have the necessary bit of racing luck. That is what motorsport is like.”
Kenton Koch, Team Korthoff Motorsports #32
