A brand new period in top-level endurance racing kicked off this previous weekend with the 24 Hours of Daytona, the opening spherical of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the primary to host the brand new GTP premier class open to LMDh and LMH hybrid race automobiles.
There have been solely LMDh race automobiles on the observe, fielded by Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche, and it was Acura, the one producer fielding a V-6-powered LMDh (the remaining had V-8s), that got here out on prime.
The quantity 60 Acura ARX-06 fielded by Meyer Shank Racing and pushed by Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaug was the primary to cross the end line. It completed 4.1 seconds forward of the no. 10 Acura ARX-06 fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport and pushed by Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Brendon Hartley. and Ricky Taylor.
Rounding out the highest three locations within the GTP class was the no. 1 Cadillac V-LMDh fielded by Cadillac Racing with Chip Ganassi and pushed by Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, and Renger van der Zande.
No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 on the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona
It was Acura’s third consecutive win within the 24 Hours of Daytona, and second consecutive one-two end.
The no. 60 ARX-06 began the race at pole and dominated many of the race till a collection of warning flags closed up the sphere for the ultimate eight hours. The 2 Cadillac V-LMDh automobiles put up an honest battle however had been merely outpaced ultimately. BMW’s two M Hybrid V8s additionally did not have the tempo however proved extra dependable than the pair of Porsche 963s, with the no. 7 Porsche dropping a number of laps as a result of a battery change and the no. 6 automotive having to retire after it expired in a cloud of smoke.
First place within the LMP2 class and seventh general went to the no. 55 Oreca 07 fielded by Proton Competitors and pushed by James Allen, Gianmaria Bruni, Francesco Pizzi, and Fred Poordad.
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 on the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona
And first place within the LMP3 class and fifteenth general went to the no. 17 Duqueine D-08 fielded by AWA and pushed by Wayne Boyd, Anthony Mantella, Thomas Merrill, and Nicolás Varrone.
Additional down, a GTD automotive completed forward of a GTD Professional automotive. On this case, the no. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 fielded by Coronary heart of Racing Crew and pushed by Roman De Angelis, Ian James, Marco Sørensen, and Darren Turner completed first within the GTD class and sixteenth general. First within the GTD Professional class and seventeenth general was the no. 79 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 Evo fielded by WeatherTech Racing and pushed by Maro Engel, Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella, and Cooper MacNeil. The GTD Professional class is the alternative for the previous GTLM class which was beforehand the premier class for production-based automobiles.
The following spherical on the 2023 SportsCar Championship calendar is the 12 Hours of Sebring on Mar. 18.