INTERVIEW: Michael van der Mark

Cadillacs were running 1-2 as the Rolex 24 At Daytona heads into the ninth hour, Alex Lynn taking the lead in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing V-LMDh from Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Action Express Racing car toward the end of the hour. It was the 19th lead change in the race. The No. 31 has reportedly lost telemetry, however, meaning the drivers will have to verbally report energy usage back to the pit stand.

Pascal Wehrlein steered his Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 to a second win in as many days in the CORE Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia, once again heading home Avalanche Andretti driver Jake Dennis, while Rene Rast secured a first podium for NEOM McLaren in Formula E. Wehrlein made things easier...

Juncos Hollinger Racing has unveiled a brand-new car livery and team identity for its 2023 NTT IndyCar and Indy NXT series entries. The squad has expanded its IndyCar program this year with a second Dallara-Chevrolet. Britain’s Callum Ilott remains with the team for a second year and will drive the No. 77, while Argentina’s Agustin Canapino will be his teammate in JHR’s No. 78 machine.

The third hour of the Rolex 24 At Daytona was interrupted by the first extended yellow of the race when the No. 42 NTE/SSR Lamborghini Huracan had a rear suspension failure and spun into the tire barrier in Turn 1. That set some things into motion that took the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura out of the overall lead, and set up a frantic battle between Colin Braun in the No. 60 and leader Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac as Braun tried to find a way by. Despite Braun’s best efforts, van der Zande led at the end of the hour. Louis Deletraz held third in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura. The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL car remains in the garage.

Sebastien Bourdais gave way to teammate Renger van der Zande as darkness prepares to give way to daytime in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It was a quiet hour with little change and no major issues for any of the top-running cars as the sunrise begins to approach the Florida coast.

Double DTM and FIA World Rallycross champion Mattias Ekstrom delighted his home fans at Sweden’s Pite Havsbad on Sunday by winning the Race Of Champions — the annual event pitting some of the world’s top racers in multiple types of cars — for a record-equaling fourth time.

A series of full-course cautions set up high drama for the finish of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The first, for the No. 64 TGM/TF Sport Aston Martin off course, came with 1h55m left in the race, bringing out a long yellow. The restart was short lived, although fraught with action in the GTD PRO battle between Ben Barnicoat (No. 14 Lexus), Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette) and Maro Engel (No. 79 Mercedes-AMG).

Audi has completed the planned acquisition of a minority stake in the Sauber Group ahead of its 2026 entry into Formula 1. The current Alfa Romeo team was confirmed as Audi’s strategic partner when it announced its decision to produce a power unit for the 2026 regulations last year, and former Volkswagen Motorsport executive Andreas Seidl has been brought in from McLaren to as Sauber Group CEO to manage the transition.

Like the pit stops where “energy” has replaced fuel in determining time spent in the pits as well as stint lengths, there are a few other things about the LMDh cars in GTP that could alter strategy. Like the pit stops, however, the changes will largely be invisible to the casual observer.

Michael Andretti’s NTT IndyCar Series program has found itself in an uncomfortable place over the last two seasons. For a team that’s accustomed to having a firm hold on a coveted spot within IndyCar’s “Big 3” teams alongside Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Autosport’s been displaced by the emerging Arrow McLaren operation.

Yet again, a hectic start gave way to a mundane stretch in the 14th hour of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The GTP cars dipped into the pits to kick off the top of the hour and a whole host of driver changes took place. Two lead changes would come...

With a quarter of the Rolex 24 At Daytona complete, Filipe Albuquerque is out front in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 as the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 has had battery problems. The Porsche spent 25 minutes in the garage changing the ESS before getting back on track 20 laps down. It’s Acura, Cadillac, Acura, Cadillac at the front, WTR chased by Action Express, Meyer Shank and Chip Ganassi Racing.

The GTD leader, the No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG, was knocked out of the lead in the West Horseshoe by Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac diving inside. Mike Skeen had put the car in front, but at the end of the second hour...

Tom Blomqvist has seized control of the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona in the first hour, keeping the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 up front through the first round of pit stops that came about 55 minutes in. Meanwhile, as the first hour ended, the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL stopped at pit in, near the HV impound. The car was sent back to the garage.

It was all change at the top of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona. The new GTP class brought a crop of never-raced LMDH cars, with new manufacturers Porsche and BMW joining Acura and Cadillac, new teams, and new technology. It was a dive headfirst into the unknown.

A clean move at the end of the Rolex 24 At Daytona’s 11th hour gave Colin Braun and the No. 60 MSR Acura the lead over Alexander Sims in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac. Approaching the Le Mans chicane, Braun slipstreamed up to an LMP2 car in the top lane and easily outbraked the Cadillac riding on the inside.

Multi-car contact has removed a couple of contenders from the Rolex 24 At Daytona fight for the moment, including the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Simon Pagenaud in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura had contact with the No. 8 Tower Motorsports car, causing it to spin in front of Scott Dixon in the No. 01. Dixon checked up, and was then rear-ended by the No. 13 AWA Duqueine, which has had several turns at the front of LMP3. Dixon headed to the pits with rear bodywork damage, and changing it put the No. 01 a lap down. The No. 13 is now three laps down to the LMP3 leader.