2016 Rolex 24

After 24 hours of racing at the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the two Corvettes of Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia were separated by just 0.034 seconds!  This was the closest finish in the history of the greatest endurance race in America – a race that has quite a storied history.

With left just over 30 minutes left in the 2016 Rolex 24, Oliver Gavin in the #4 Corvette nudged Earl Bamber in the #912 Porsche in the West Horseshoe to take the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class lead.  Bamber was unable to hold of Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette and ultimately finished third on the podium.  Garcia furiously charged ahead after his teammate Gavin climaxing with just under 3 minutes to go in the race as Garcia in the #3 Corvette passed Gavin in the #4 into the Turn 1 breaking zone.  But alas, Garcia went in just a bit too hot and Gavin repassed him on the exit.  Garcia came back to make it so close at the finish, but Gavin held on for the GTLM win.

While the Corvettes were battling head-to-head, setting fast laps, in GT Daytona (GTD), the Magnus Racing #44 Audi R8 and the Konrad Motorsport #28 Lamborghini Huracan were having a fuel saving competition.  At the same moment that Garcia was setting up to pass Gavin into Turn 1, Fabio Babini in the #28 Lamborghini ran out of fuel at the infield kink allowing Rene Rast in the #44 Audi to pass and coast – literally – to the GTD class victory.

Nicky Catsburg in the beautiful #540 Black Swan Racing Porsche 911 made a nice run and was closing on the #44 at the checker to finish second in GTD.

Meanwhile, at the top of the field, Luis Felipe Derani, in his first sportscar race in the US, brought the #2 Tequila Patron ESM Honda-powered Ligier home for the overall 2016 Rolex 24 victory.  This was both Extreme Speed Motorsports’s and Honda’s first win at Daytona.  The Ligier P2 car also managed to break the grip of the DP cars, in particular the Corvette Daytona Prototypes, who have seemed to dominate the top Prototype class in recent years.  The #2 Ligier had just amazing pace from the drop of the green flag to start the race.  Despite and early spin caused by contact, penalties, and plenty of pit time, the Extreme Speed team put in a great performance for a well-deserved win.

In the Prototype Challenge (PC) class, Kenton Koch brought the #85  JDC-Miller Motorsport car home to victory.

I’ll admit I was sad to see the demise of ALMS and skeptical about the merger with Grand-AM to form a single top-level sportscar series, but with the 2016 Rolex 24 kicking-off season 3 of the IMSA series, it’s clear that sportscar racing in the US is in great shape.  In addition to really competitive racing, IMSA has managed to attract new manufacturers – Lamborghini and Ford – with fabulous looking and sounding cars.

Here you can see many more pictures of the cars from the 2016 Rolex 24.

2016 Rolex 24 Podium Positions By Class