Autos

PHOTOS: Meyer Shank Repeats, Acura Makes Rolex 24 History with First GTP Win

Published

2 months ago

January 29, 2023

The Meyer Shank Racing drivers celebrate their 2023 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA victory in the Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway at the conclusion of the 24-hour endurance race Sunday, January 29, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (IMSA) – The debut of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s newest class not only lived up to expectations, but arguably outperformed it with one of the most dramatic runs to the Rolex 24 At Daytona overall victory in recent memory. It all unfolded in front of a rapt international television audience and a record crowd at Daytona International Speedway.

The full Meyer Shank Racing team celebrates in Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane after the GTP Hybrid Acura ARX-06 wins the 61st Rolex 24 At DAYTONA at the Daytona International Speedway Sunday, January 29, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist drove the pole-winning No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to a 4.190-second victory, to win the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class win in the first race with hybrid-powered prototypes. It was the second consecutive and third overall Rolex 24 victory for the Meyer Shank team, which led a race-best 365 of the 783 laps, crossing the stripe 4.190 seconds ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.

The Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh cars from Chip Ganassi Racing finished third (with driver Renger van der Zande in the No. 01) and fourth (Earl Bamber in the No. 02). The top four cars were separated by 11.176 seconds after 24 hours of racing on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course.

“I knew we had a fantastic car, unbelievable,’’ said an excited Blomqvist, who won the 2022 Rolex 24 in his first race with Meyer Shank and went on to collect the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class championship. “I just have to say, a massive ‘well done’ to everyone who’s been a part of this project.

Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 GTP Hybrid Acura ARX-06 crosses the finish line first at the conclusion of the 61st Rolex 24 At DAYTONA at Daytona International Speedway Sunday, January 29, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

“What a car we’ve built and I’m so grateful to be able to drive that and be trusted with the duty to take it to the finish. Amazing, I was a bit nervous because the (No.) 10 car was definitely the second fastest car when it came down to it. But yeah, we held it off and had to take it to another level to secure this victory.’’

Blomqvist shared the car in the race with Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, the latter duo also part of last year’s Rolex 24 triumph. Today’s victory, in fact, is Castroneves’ third straight in the iconic race, tying late sports car legend Peter Gregg for most consecutive overall victories in sports car racing’s renowned season opener.

At driver Helio Castroneves’ behest, the Meyer Shank Racing team climbs the fence in celebration after winning the 61st Rolex 24 At DAYTONA at Daytona International Speedway Sunday, January 29, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

“This team is amazing. This is absolutely a dream come true,’’ Castroneves, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner said after once again convincing his teammates and team owners Mike Shank and Jim Meyer to climb the track fence in celebration. “So happy to start the year like that and keep it going.’’

Colin Braun, Simon Pagenaud, Tom Blomqvist and Helio Castoneves receive the prestigious Rolex 24 watch after winning the 61st Rolex 24 At DAYTONA at Daytona International Speedway Sunday, January 29, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Pagenaud, Castroneves’ teammate on the Meyer Shank IndyCar team, was also all smiles, earning his second straight Rolex winner’s watch.

“I think I’m getting used to it,’’ he joked, adding, “I’ll tell you what, it was tough out there but it was fun. I’m going to savor this one.”

The MSR No. 60 Acura led the final 97 laps despite having to repair the gearbox midrace and worrying whether it would indeed make it to the end. It marks the third straight Rolex 24 overall victory for Acura, which also won with the WTRAndretti team in 2021.

Nine hybrid prototypes made the highly anticipated debut of the GTP class in the race. All but one were still running at the finish, including the top six overall finishers, an impressive outing for a car making its first competitive showing in one of the longest, most grueling events on the schedule.

The celebratory feeling went from track to pits to company brass. The first win in a totally new car elicited both relief and confidence. The finish of the race, the reliability and competitiveness a good sign for all.

“It feels unbelievable,’’ said David Salters, president of Honda Performance Development (HPD), which developed the race winner. “The real privilege is to work with those people (Acura teams) and achieve days like today. We all know it doesn’t happen all the time. Was it worth it? It’s been two years and I think it’s the best thing I’ve been involved in in my whole life.

“If that isn’t a demonstration of precision-crafted performance, I don’t know what is,’’ Salters added. “It’s a landmark moment. It’s the pinnacle of sports car racing.”

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Garg Doubles Up, Liefooghe Gets Redemption in VP Racing Challenge Race 2 at Sebring Managing Traffic Was Key to Victory in Both Classes

Published

3 weeks ago

March 12, 2023

FNN SPORTS

SEBRING, Fla. – After leading every lap en route to victory in this morning’s first race of a Sunday doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway, Bijoy Garg had a much tougher time in this afternoon’s second 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race.

But the end result was the same, as Garg drove the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 back into Victory Lane. Despite starting the race from the pole position, Garg surrendered the lead to Dan Goldburg in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 on the opening lap.

Goldburg grabbed the advantage just before the full-course caution came out due to a first-lap incident in Turn 1 involving Adrian Kunzle in the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier, Scott Neal in the No. 86 Kellymoss with Riley Ligier and Courtney Crone in the No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine. When the green flag flew again 10 minutes into the race, a three-car battle ensued at the front of the LMP3 field that included Goldburg, Garg and Antonio Serravalle in the No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Ligier.

Though no positions changed hands, the battle remained close among the three cars through the halfway point of the race. It was particularly close between Goldburg and Garg, who made several runs at Goldburg in traffic before finally making the decisive pass in Sebring’s famed Hairpin (Turn 7) with 15 minutes left in the race.

“I did a pretty big dive bomb, but it worked out and none of us got damage,” said Garg.

Garg then went from hunter to hunted for the next few laps as he navigated traffic with Goldburg in his mirrors, before catching a break when Goldburg spun in Turn 7 with under 10 minutes remaining. Garg went on to win by 4.949 seconds over Serravalle, picking up a Sebring weekend sweep for himself and his Jr III Racing teammates.

“I lost the lead off the start, but I wasn’t too worried,” Garg said. “I knew it all came down to the traffic and just finding an opportunity there, so as long as I stayed with (Goldburg), I was fine. I used some lapped cars, set a pick for him and then got it.

“From there, it’s all about the traffic management, as usual. It’s not easy going to a multi-class. I’m just really happy to come out with the win today.”

Serravalle was one of a number of series newcomers in the 30-car field at Sebring. He had a double podium day with a third-place run in the morning before his runner-up performance in the afternoon for the Muehlner squad.

Goldburg recovered from the spin to finish third for his fourth consecutive podium result to open the VP Racing Challenge season. He will depart the weekend atop both the overall LMP3 championship standings, as well as the Bronze driver standings. He has been the highest-finishing Bronze-rated driver in every race so far.

The next event for the VP Racing Challenge is scheduled for July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge Chevrolet Grand Prix weekend.

Liefooghe Rebounds for GSX Class Victory in No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW

Gregory Liefooghe started from the GSX class pole in the No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 and led every lap but the last one in this morning’s first 45-minute race.

And while he also started this afternoon’s race from the class pole, it appeared on the opening lap like he might come up empty on the day as he fell from first to fifth at the end of the first lap.

“The start was pretty sporty,” Liefooghe said. “There was two LMP3 cars that crashed right in front of me. I was on the outside, so I kind of got stuck, fell back and almost got collected, so I was really happy to survive.”

He did more than survive. Liefooghe went right to work when the race went back to green following a 10-minute full-course caution period, picking off the cars in front of him, including Luca Mars, who won this morning’s race in the No. 59 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Ford Mustang GT4 but had to make an unscheduled trip to pit lane early in Race 2.

“Unfortunately, Lucas broke down,” Liefooghe said. “I’m not sure what happened to him. We were looking forward to a battle with him and see how we improved our car compared to his since this morning.”

Liefooghe would not be denied in Race 2, especially with Mars out of the picture. He drove away from the field after taking the lead, and took the checkered flag 22.712 seconds ahead of Sebastian Carazo, who finished second in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

“It just seems like our car was really good on the high-speed stuff,” Liefooghe surmised. “(Turns) 17 and 1 was our strong suit. It felt like we were able to brake a lot deeper than the other competitors and we kind of squeaked by in those two spots on track.”

While Liefooghe and Carazo, who also finished third this morning, had podium finishes in both of the day’s races, they were greeted by a new face on the podium at the end of Race 2. Patrick Wilmot came home third in the No. 88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW.

Autos

2023 DAYTONA 200: Josh Herrin Claws Back from Penalty to Snatch Victory

Published

3 weeks ago

March 11, 2023

Mellissa Thomas

Josh Herrin (center) celebrates his DAYTONA 200 win at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 11, 2023, 12 years after his last win. Josh Hayes won second place and Cameron Petersen won third. Photo: J. Willie David III/Florida National News.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FNN) – Josh Herrin rallied back from the 7th position in a ten-lap restart to defeat Josh Hayes by .070 seconds in the 81st running of the DAYTONA 200, the annual single-man motorcycle endurance race.

Josh Herrin started strong and held the lead for most of the race. Two racers crashed out early, but things didn’t really get disruptive until the race got down to less than 10 laps remaining.

The most notable crash of the race was Herrin’s contact with Richie Escalante, who had been keeping up with Herrin for the majority of the race. The contact sent Escalante sliding off the track–and out of the running–with just eight laps to go. Escalante attempted to lift the bike up to get back on it, but there was no chance remaining for him to get back in the race. Seeing his chance of victory lost, he slammed his gloves to the ground as he removed them.

The call of whether the contact was an intentional push or race incident was tricky because when played back in slow motion, the collision looks incidental since Escalante had leaned in a bit too far and then just barely lifted back up at the last second while Herrin went wide in the turn as he was sometimes doing throughout the race. However, when played back in real time, it looks like Herrin intentionally went wide to knock Escalante out. The collision went under review.

Despite the brief break after Escalante’s crash, Herrin regained the lead. With five laps remaining, Teagg Hobbs crashed into Jason Waters, causing a red flag. After the red flag period, Herrin got penalized for his collision with Escalante by dropping six positions to the number seven spot. Five laps were added, making it a 10-lap race for the restart.

Ultimately, Herrin was penalized six positions to start at seventh for the restart. Herrin confessed he wasn’t sure he could make it to the end, given the amount of pain he was in, but he heard the struggling conditions of several other racers, since they couldn’t switch out tires during the red flag period, and give it all he had.

“After 15 years of trying I finally got it right,” Herrin said. “This is by far my favorite event that I ever get to race. It’s the one race a year where we really see the teamwork that goes on.”

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

Autos

PHOTOS: 2023 DAYTONA Supercross: Eli Tomac Matches Richard Petty with Historic 7th Daytona Win

Published

4 weeks ago

March 4, 2023

Mellissa Thomas

Eli Tomac crosses the finish line, winning the DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway a record seventh time, matching Richard Petty's record Saturday, March 4, 2023. Webb took second place. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FNN) – The DAYTONA Supercross brought double the thrills for motocross fans Saturday, always showcasing races for 250SX and 450SX class dirt bikes on motocross legend Rick Carmichael’s insane course.

The gates drop to start the 450SX main event race during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

This year’s DAYTONA SX was bound to make history in several ways:

-The potential for 450SX legend Eli Tomac, who broke Ricky Carmichael’s DAYTONA SX winning record last year with his sixth win, to match NASCAR legend Richard Petty’s record as the only other athlete to win seven events at the Daytona International Speedway.

-The potential for any one of six rookies–Haiden Deegan, Tom Vialle, Chance Hymas, Talon Hawkins, Caden Braswell, Josiah Natzke–to get their first Daytona victory.

The 250SX Winners

In the end, this year’s 250SX saw two international winners take the podium and saw: Aussie rider Hunter Lawrence took his first DAYTONA Supercross victory Saturday, with English rider Max Anstie following in second place and Haiden Deegan, who wasn’t quite sure about his supercross career, closed out the DAYTONA Supercross 250SX podium in third place.

The 450SX Winners

Eli Tomac speeds through the white sand portion of the Ricky Carmichael-designed DAYTONA Supercross course in the 450SX main event race at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Florida rain, which began during the 250SX main event, intensified when the 450SX main event race began, making it that much more chaotic. Eli Tomac fought hard and early to steal the lead from Cooper Webb, who began in the lead. The two made contact twice, the first of which saw Tomac lose his footing a little, but he was able to regain the lead. The record is meaningful to Tomac not only for the record’s sake, but his practices didn’t end well–he came out fourth. He was fine the end of the very first 450SX heat, though: he finished first, giving him a bit of a break as the others continued to compete for their spots in the main event.

Eli Tomac (#1) gains on Cooper Webb to nab the lead during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Cooper Webb won second place while Chase Sexton rounded out the 450SX podium in third place.

Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb shake hands after Tomac wins the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Webb took second place. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Chase Sexton crosses the 450SX finish line in third place during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Sexton and Justin “Bam Bam” Barcia traded hits several times throughout the race to attain or maintain dominance, but in the end, Barcia made a miscalculation close to the finish line that knocked him out of the running for top three, and Sexton quickly took his place to nab third.

________________________________________

Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com