As the first big race of the year, the 24 Hours of Daytona gives teams the opportunity to start the racing season off with the bang. (Or, if things don’t quite go according to plan, figure out what kinks still need to be ironed out!) This year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona once again delivered gobs of excitement, drama, and, for some, heartbreak over hundreds of laps and one full rotation of the Earth. Here’s our quick recap of the contest, along with all of the photos we took over its 24-hour span.
Choosing to debut a new race car at an endurance race is like throwing your toddler into the deep end of the pool for their first swim lesson, and the Rolex 24 at Daytona is just about the deepest end there is. Corvette Racing knows this all too well, as the Corvette C8.R race car proved less than dominant on its maiden outing in Florida. Even though the No. 3 C8.R finished just outside the GTLM-class podium one lap down from the winning BMW M8 GTE, the No. 4 suffered a number of issues and spent the majority of the race in the garage. The team eventually got the car back on track in time to finish the race 325 laps down from the leader. It’s noteworthy, however, that a C8.R had the second quickest lap time in class. So don’t count the mid-engine ‘Vette out as a Le Mans contender just yet.
Cadillac, on the other hand, earned its second straight victory at Daytona in the top-tier Daytona Prototype International (DPi) class, winning the race overall and achieving a new distance record of 833 laps. Mazda‘s DPi car scored its best results yet at Daytona, with the No. 77 Mazda finishing in second place just over a minute behind the winning Cadillac and the No. 55 car coming in sixth place. This is the first time both cars have finished the race since Mazda began its DPi program six years ago.
