Daytona – first day at school

January 9, 2015

Daytona – first day at school

January 9, 2015

daytona

Teams are ready to hit the track this morning at Daytona International Speedway as the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship kicks off with the annual “Roar before the 24” test at the famous Florida venue.

While teams and manufacturers have been in test and development mode in the off season, this weekend’s three-day test is the first time teams will be able to “compare notes” on their relative competitiveness.

The test is also the first opportunity for new team and driver combinations to start working together. New faces in the GTLM class for 2015 including seven-time ALMS championship winner Lucas Luhr who has joined BMW as a full-time driver in 2015. Dirk Werner also moves from an endurance role at BMW to a full season ride.

Corvette Racing have added ex-ALMS P1 champion and IndyCar race winner Simon Pagenaud for Daytona. The Frenchman will join Olivier Gavin and Tommy Milner for the season opener.

While full-time driver lineups have yet to be announced for Porsche, Earl Bamber will join forces with seasoned specialists Frédéric Makowiecki and Joerg Bergmeister for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Marc Lieb will share driving duties in the sister car.

Porsche favorite Patrick Long will now combine a full season FIA WEC assault with Patrick Dempsey alongside endurance event drives in the TUDOR Championship with Bryan Sellars and Wolf Henzler.

A total of five brands will do battle for the Rolex 24 honors in GTLM with Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche fighting it out.

In the prototype ranks Joey Hand moves from his BMW role to a full-season assault with Ganassi Racing alongside Scott Pruett. Former Ganassi driver Memo Rojas will now drive full-time at DeltaWing Racing with Katherine Legge.

Teams will enjoy eight sessions over the three-day test – kicking off this morning at 10:20am

Friday, January 9, 2015
10:20 am -12:05 pm Session #1 – TUDOR Championship
2:55 pm – 5:25 pm Session #2 – TUDOR Championship

Saturday, January 10, 2015
9:00 am -10:45 am Session #3 – TUDOR Championship
1:05 pm – 2:35 pm Session #4 – TUDOR Championship
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm Session #5 – TUDOR Championship
6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Session #6 – TUDOR Championship

Sunday, January 11, 2015
10:20 am -12:05 pm Session #7 – TUDOR Championship
2:40 pm – 3:40 pm Session #8 – TUDOR Championship

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