DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — If it wasn’t a 24-hour endurance race, some might be ready to hand the trophy to either of the Cadillac teams.
The Cadillacs of Action Express Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing have been fastest in every practice session ahead of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a twice-round-the-clock endurance race that begins Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. The Cadillacs have been so consistent that reigning IMSA sports car champion Pipo Derani put the No. 31 Cadillac on the pole, with Ganassi’s car scheduled to start alongside it on the front row.
“The Cadillacs sure have seemed strong all weekend, doesn’t matter what time of day it is, what the weather is,” said Jordan Taylor, who this year returned to drive for his father’s team, Wayne Taylor Racing, in the top Grand Touring Prototype class.
“BMW seems a little bit more peaky, they can do an outright lap time but maybe their long run isn’t as good. It’s hard to say about the Porsches, they seem to be flying under the radar, but in control of what they are doing. Everyone seems strong in their own right, and as always, it will be a race of attrition.”
There are 59 sports cars entered in the race across four classes and the competition includes 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button, six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and 14 other IndyCar drivers, four Indianapolis 500 winners, and Felipe Massa, who is working with lawyers to prove he was robbed of the 2008 F1 championship.
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport said late Friday it was bringing in IndyCar driver Pietro Fittipaldi, most recently the reserve driver for Haas F1, as a replacement after Clément Novalak suffered leg and hip injuries in a pit lane incident in the final practice session.
“It’s an unfortunate situation for the team and Clément; they have been doing a great job preparing,” Fittipaldi said. “I got the call from the team asking me to jump in at the last minute at Daytona, and I’ll be straight into green flag racing….
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