Weeeeell, Haven't seen any signs of a Roar thread being started for this year's R24, sooooo, figured I'd start one for the hell of it so all chat can be funneled through here! NA Sportscar activity on this forum in general seems to be quieter since the Rona dark days, so here we go!!
As usual, there is a metric f**k ton of info for everyone to consider for casuals and hard-cores alike!
From the DIS Roar Event Page - "
The 2023 Roar Before the Rolex 24 kicks off the racing season at DAYTONA as the three-day test serves as the final dress rehearsal before the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA. Watch as some of the world's top drivers take to the track. Running the weekend prior to the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, the Roar Before the Rolex 24 sets up two back-to-back weekends of intense IMSA action and sets the starting grid for the 2023 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA by a traditional qualifying format on Sunday!"
https://www.daytonainternationalspee...-the-rolex-24/
First off (and perhaps most importantly) the preliminary weather report for this weekend's test from the good lad(s?) at Racecast Weather. Looking great so far.
Weather Report
Website -
http://www.racecastweather.com/
Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/RacecastWx/
IMSA Competitor's Hub (Lots of cool behind the scenes info here) ->
https://www.imsa.com/competitors/
Official Roar Schedule ->
https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uplo...OAR-011123.pdf
IMSA Pitlane Assignments (Roar Only) ->
https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uplo...gnments-V2.pdf
IMSA Track Map ->
https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uplo...-Track-Map.pdf
Live Timing ->
https://livetiming.alkamelsystems.com/imsa/
IMSA TV ->
https://imsatv.imsa.com/ - For VP Challenge raace & R24 Qualifying.
IMSA Official Youtube ->
https://www.youtube.com/@imsaofficial
IMSA News Links Resources ->
Racer.com |
Sportscar365 |
Daily Sports Car |
Motorsport.com
Official ROAR Entry Lists
WeatherTech
Michelin Pilot Challenge
VP Racing Challenge
Twitter Resources
IMSA
IMSA Radio
Rolex24Hours
Daytona International Speedway - Sadly the R24 is quite the afterthought on this page. Oh well, sharing it anyway.
Youtubers
As always, what would the Roar before the 24 be without our hero camera people recording all the track angles, paddock action and other activities like the legends they are...each and every January! These are all of the regular Rolex youtubers that my pea-brain can remember from years past, probably leaving out several others.
Lanky Turtle <- Our lord and savior!
MidKnightR1
Buddybryan3
K Train 2787 Productions
SethV Tube
Additional Interesting Bits
Marshall Pruett's Terrific GTP 101 Tech Tours So Far...
Acura -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJctWKE83XU
BMW -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRvn0utijUo
Marshall Pruett & Graham Goodwin Report from December GTP & GT Test + Season Previews
Part 1 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmagr0PJf8c
Part 2 (Interview w/ Josef Newgarden) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWHOzKF-Dmo
Part 3 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu_Q5iq8yj8
Final Notes
I'm part of a Rolex 24 fans facebook group that I first joined back when I attended my first R24 in 2020. There's some fascinating insight into how the build-up of the race is going from a fan & camper's perspective.
- Easily 15-20+ posts a day since December of people looking to buy camping/lot 4 parking/infield parking/infield RV passes (all of which have been sold out since late summer or early fall
).
- Some in the group who are regulars and renew each year interact with their various agents and the ticketing office at DIS, one regular quoted a DIS ticket rep saying they've sold 4-5,000 more tickets than 2022, and that was in early January. Wasn't specific as to what kind of tickets, but either way that's 4-5k more people coming through the gates, and who's to say how much that number has gone up since then!
- Looks like the race morning Daytona 5K has been axed in lieu of Car corral parade laps during R24 race weekend.
-
https://racer.com/2023/01/13/hand-su...un-into-doubt/ - Unfortunately, Kevin Magnussen is at risk of not making the R24 with the new MDK Motorsport due to hand surgery, F1 is still the priority for him, so he's getting it out of the way before the season starts.
- News to me; Acura apparently hasn't done a full 24 hour endurance test with their new ARX-06! ->
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/a...-of-gtp-debut/
- - -
Woof, this one was a bear to create, this is all I could possibly think of in the span of a few hours and my brain is fried, burning the midnight oil for sure. Hope you guys and gals enjoy! I'm looking at heading back down for the Rolex in 2024, can't wait to see the new Lambo GTPs with Grosjean, the new Mustang GT3 and 65F (18C) sunshine in the middle of January!
Hope you all don't mind the poll. Hopefully that'll spurn some more interest and attention.
Cheers.
