Here’s insight from some of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans key team officials into the test and excitement that lies ahead at the Rolex 24 at Daytona:

Chip Ganassi, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team principal: “The Rolex 24 At Daytona is always a special race to me, not only because it signifies the beginning of the racing season but more importantly because of the magnitude of the event itself. There are few races in the world that capture the imagination of race fans everywhere as well as the automotive industry and the Rolex is one of them. It also has a diverse group or manufacturers and drivers alike and when you win the Rolex 24 At Daytona, you know you have accomplished something special.”

Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing program manager: “We had a very smooth and largely trouble-free run at the Roar earlier this month. Now we will try to put it all into practice once again for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It’s hard to put into words how far Corvette Racing has come since our first race here in 1999. The at-track team makeup is different, the cars are different and the stature of the event has grown tremendously. What hasn’t changed is our desire and expectation to succeed in this race. It takes a lot of skill, strategy and good fortune. By and large, no one has done that better or longer than Corvette Racing. We plan to use that to our advantage in hopes of a fourth Daytona victory.”

Bobby Rahal, Team Principal, BMW Team RLL: “The BMW M8 GTE is the only entirely new car in the GTLM field this year and we believe it has a great deal of potential. While we fought a number of new car gremlins at the Roar, I think everyone is generally quite happy. Certainly we will have a busy time back at the shop before the ‘Rolex 24’, but that is nothing unexpected. Compared with teams like Schnitzer who have been racing for BMW for multiple decades, we are the new guys, but the relationship is everything in motorsport. We are very proud to start our tenth year with BMW and especially proud to be the team that will debut the BMW M8 GTE.”

Rick Mayer, race engineer, No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE: “Daytona is the iconic, classic ‘Roval’ and the only ‘Roval’ we run in IMSA competition. Track grip varies with the weather conditions. Any rain will add additional complexity, and there is some rain forecasted for the race. The track surface is still relatively smooth; the infield was repaved a couple years back. The corners are all slow except the “Bus Stop” and the “Kink”. This is all complicated by having to run very high tire pressures and very low cambers in order to diminish the chance of having banking related tire failures. There are many ways to get a good lap time here but good stable braking, good corner exits from Turn 3, 6 and the “Bus Stop”, plus speed through the latter are key to a competitive race car.”

Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars: “Starting the season with a 24-classic like Daytona is a very special challenge for the teams and drivers. However, we are as well prepared as possible to lay the foundation for a successful year of motorsport in 2018 at this iconic race, which attracts fans from all over the world. As the most successful manufacturer in the history of this race, Porsche has enjoyed some of its biggest wins here. Continuing this run of unforgettable victories against such impressive opposition is a very strong motivation for the Porsche GT Team with the 911 RSR, as well as for our customer teams with the 911 GT3 R.”