Anticipation is building for the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona,
A Total of 36 GT3-Spec Cars Are Ready to Take on the 24-Hour Marathon - the 36 cars are split into 13 in GTD PRO and 23 in GTD.
GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO)
No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3
Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow/Neil Verhagen/Sheldon van der Linde
Paul Miller Racing’s second season with the BMW M4 GT3 marked its year of years: five wins and a clinch of the GTD championship one race before the end of the 2023 campaign. To grow from that, PMR has made a big step for its third: advancing into GTD PRO with the red mirrors, wing endplates and number panels now syncing even more with the team’s livery. A famous 2020 Rolex 24 win remains one of the highlights for Sellers and Snow, now two-time IMSA champions.
Greater BMW influence comes with two new endurance drivers. Verhagen, the team’s new IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup third driver, has a Nurburgring 24 Hours win and significant BMW GT3 running, while past DTM champion van der Linde adds even more experience as the fourth driver at the Rolex 24.
No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims/Daniel Juncadella
The new era of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports sees the team evolve from full factory iteration to factory-supported but part of a wider General Motors effort supporting multiple Corvette programs. The new mid-engine Corvette Z06 GT3.R serves as a collaboration by both parties for the development of the full GT3-specification model, replacing the departed C8.R GTD than had been modified from GTE to GT3 regulations. So in several respects it’s all new at Corvette for 2024, but there’s still significant carryover.
Garcia’s unmatched record includes 28 wins (including two at the Rolex 24 and four at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring) and five championships in 15 years with Corvette Racing. Sims, the 2023 IMSA Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) champion with Whelen Cadillac Racing, shifts back into the GT ranks for another full-season bow. He enjoyed great success in the old GT Le Mans (GTLM) category with BMW and has some GT experience with Corvette in both IMSA endurance races and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Juncadella joins the Corvette Racing factory lineup as third driver for the No. 3; the Spaniard’s achieved significant results with Mercedes-AMG including both 2023 Rolex 24 and Motul Petit Le Mans wins in GTD PRO and 2022 Spa 24 Hours and Indianapolis 8 Hours wins, plus a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup championship.
No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg/Earl Bamber
Milner’s dozen-plus years of service to Corvette Racing has paid off with the American serving as the primary, integral test and development driver of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and a return to full-time racing in IMSA after a handful of years racing only selected events. Like Garcia in the No. 3 car, Milner is an anchor for the No. 4: his record with the team includes 20 wins (notably winning the 2016 Rolex 24, 2013 and 2016 Sebring Twelve Hours and 2011 Le Mans) and two championships in 13 years.
Catsburg has proven himself one of the most versatile GT drivers worldwide for nearly a decade, but his recent record and form has established him as a key player in the Corvette Racing record books. He’s won both the 2021 Rolex 24 and 2022 Sebring Twelve Hours races and added three wins (including Le Mans) and the GTE Am title in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Surprisingly, this will mark his first full-time IMSA campaign as the majority of his starts have been endurance races.
Bamber has had roughly a decade of sports car success, most frequently with Porsche, but he’s expanded his manufacturer portfolio the last couple years. A key member of Cadillac’s WEC LMDh program with Chip Ganassi Racing, the 2019 IMSA GTLM champion has won either or both overall or in class at Le Mans, Nurburging, Spa and Bathurst. The Rolex 24 is a rare race that has eluded him.
No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
Oliver Jarvis/Marvin Kirchhoefer/James Hinchcliffe/Alexander Rossi
Pfaff Motorsports seems to thrive on change and its 2024 effort is no different. The biggest outward switch is a shift from Porsche after five years to McLaren, bringing the brand into GTD PRO for the first time. Second is another driver change lineup, although that’s been common in most of the last five years for the team that has won the 2022 Rolex 24 and secured GTD and GTD PRO class championships back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
On the driving strength, Jarvis looks to add a third Rolex 24 win in a third different class (2013 GT, 2022 DPi and overall), Kirchhoefer looks to impress in his first race as a full-time IMSA driver, Hinchcliffe seeks to better a best class finish of fourth in four prior Rolex 24 starts as he returns for the first time since 2017, while 2021 Rolex 24 overall winner Rossi makes his GT debut.
No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth/Kyle Kirkwood/Mike Conway
Few remaining boxes are left to tick for Jimmy Vasser and James “Sulli” Sullivan with the venerable Lexus RC F GT3, which has been in action since 2017. After securing both team and manufacturer’s first IMSA championships in 2023 with Barnicoat and Hawksworth in the team’s No. 14 GTD PRO entry, a Rolex 24 win in 2024 would be a nice addition as they look to add to their four total Michelin Endurance Cup victories (three at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, one at Motul Petit Le Mans).
Since getting paired at the start of 2022 as the team added a GTD PRO entry, Barnicoat and Hawksworth have won four races and finished on the podium in 16 of 21 starts, finishing second and first in the championship. Kirkwood, now a two-time IndyCar race winner in addition to a run of junior open-wheel championships, has several IMSA wins already to his name. One of the more unusual stats is that Conway, the team’s fourth driver at the Rolex 24 and a 24 Hours of Le Mans and two-time WEC champion, has yet to win in 18 career IMSA starts.
No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Mirko Bortolotti/Andrea Caldarelli/Jordan Pepper/Franck Perera
As Lamborghini waits to debut its SC63 GTP until later in the Michelin Endurance Cup season, the Italian manufacturer has once again assembled a quartet of all-stars aboard one of two GTD PRO entries as part of a three-car Iron Lynx effort split among both GT classes.
Bortolotti (2018 and 2019, GRT Grasser Racing Team), Perera (2018, GRT Grasser Racing Team) and Caldarelli (2020, Paul Miller Racing) already have Rolex 24 class wins on their resumes with Lamborghini as part of the brand’s three-year win streak. Pepper, one of the more experienced and successful GT3 drivers of the last several years, has finishes of fifth and fourth in his first two Rolex 24 starts.
No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo
Ross Gunn/Alex Riberas/Mario Farnbacher
The Heart of Racing’s No. 23 Aston Martin has not gotten off to great starts at the Rolex 24, with finishes of 18th, 13th and seventh in the last three trips to Daytona in January. With an Evo package of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 coming out for this season, the hope is the updated car produces enhanced results for the team that always races with a dual purpose. Beyond competing on track, the Heart of Racing Team races to raise funds and awareness for Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research.
Gunn and Riberas race together in GTD PRO for a third consecutive year and have wins at four venues (Long Beach, Watkins Glen International, Lime Rock Park, Road America). Farnbacher returns to the team as its Michelin Endurance Cup third driver; in three seasons together driving with Riberas and/or Ian James, the trio scored three wins and five additional podiums. Now set for his 12th Rolex 24 start, Farnbacher’s best race finish is third in 2017 in GTD in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Claudio Schiavoni/Matteo Cressoni/Matteo Cairoli/Romain Grosjean
Initially announced as a GTD car, this car was shifted to GTD PRO earlier this month. The easiest way to remember Grosjean, the ex-Formula 1 veteran and current IndyCar driver, is in this No. 60 Iron Lynx entry and not the team’s No. 19 car is that he’s the only non-Italian, non-ending-with-an-i driver aboard the bright yellow and black car. Here’s where it gets confusing: the two Matteos both shift brands (Cairoli from Porsche to Lamborghini; Cressoni from Ferrari to Lamborghini), and both have a best finish of eighth in class at the Rolex 24. Schiavoni was 11th in his Rolex 24 debut last year.
No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3
Daniel Serra/Davide Rigon/Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado
The Giuseppe Risi-led Risi Competizione outfit has been a stalwart at the Rolex 24 off-and-on since 1998, but remains in search of an elusive first win. In its second attempt with the Ferrari 296 GT3, it looks to break that drought.
The Serra, Rigon, Pier Guidi and Calado quartet finished second in GTD PRO in 2022, securing the best finish for the team and drivers. All four Ferrari veterans have achieved quite a bit, with Pier Guidi and Calado helping steer the Ferrari 499P to an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year. Serra has a pair of Motul Petit Le Mans race wins to his name while Rigon has five podiums, but no victories, in his IMSA career.
No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3
Mike Rockenfeller/Harry Tincknell/Christopher Mies
First of the Fords back in action for 2024 is the No. 64 entry, with a full-season lineup that could be dubbed “When Harry Met Rocky.” Rockenfeller’s extensive sports and touring car experience includes championships in several series, wins at the Rolex 24, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nurburgring 24 hours and Spa 24 hours, and a growing versatility of vehicles driven. He switches to the new Ford Mustang GT3 for 2024 after campaigning the JDC-Miller Porsche 963 in most IMSA GTP rounds last year, and the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Le Mans.
Tincknell is back for a full season of IMSA competition after opening the 2023 season with AO Racing (GTD) and finishing out the last three races in Proton Competition’s Porsche 963 (GTP). The Englishman has a pair of Le Mans class wins to his name and six IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins with the Mazda prototype program from 2019 to 2021. He’s back for his second Ford program effort, as he won four WEC races in a stint from 2016 to 2019. Mies, this car’s third driver, has two ADAC GT Masters championships, two Bathurst 12-hour victories and two Nurburgring 24-hour wins.
No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3
Joey Hand/Dirk Mueller/Frederic Vervisch
The “Joey and Dirk” show moves to its third different act as teammates and co-drivers in a third different decade of competition, which is quite remarkable. The duo won an American Le Mans Series GT title together with BMW in 2011 and spent four seasons paired in the last Ford iteration from 2016 to 2019 in IMSA GT Le Mans action. During that period, the pair won five races and captured 14 podiums and seven pole positions. They also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2016) and Rolex 24 (2017) together.
If Vervisch’s resume isn’t as extensive as the other pair, it’s not lacking either. Beyond some good results in formula cars, he’s also got some 24-hour race success to his name with a pair of Nurburgring triumphs.
No. 75 Sun Energy 1 Mercedes-AMG GT3
Kenny Habul/Jules Gounon/Maro Engel/Luca Stolz
Mercedes-AMG has made a habit of winning the Rolex 24 in the last few years, with Winward Racing (2021 GTD) and WeatherTech Racing (2023 GTD PRO) delivering victories for the three-pointed star. Absent a full-season entry in the GTD PRO class for 2024, the brand’s only hope of going back-to-back in class this year rests with Sun Energy 1, which seeks a bounce back of results after consecutive failures to finish. The team has a podium pedigree, though, having come second in GTD to Winward here in 2021.
Habul, the team leader who’s always kept the vibrant No. 75 car in the field, makes his return to racing after sustaining back injuries at the 24 Hours of Spa last year. Prior to the injury, he scored a monumental victory in 2023 as the Australian won on home soil co-driving with Gounon and Stolz at the 12 Hours of Bathurst. Gounon and Engel were part of last year’s WeatherTech-winning GTD PRO lineup, while Engel was also one of Winward’s GTD quartet. Stolz, who makes his fourth straight Rolex 24 start with Sun Energy 1 and seventh at the race, was part of that 2021 runner-up lineup.
No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992)
Seb Priaulx/Laurin Heinrich/Michael Christensen
PJ Hyett and Gunnar Jeannette have made a stout early impression with the AO Racing team, as the Chicago area-based program shifts from a single-car GTD effort to a two-class, two-car program split across GTD PRO and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2). Perhaps even more notable is that in its sophomore season, AO Racing will fly the flag as the only Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD PRO class.
That leaves the team with significant opportunity to wow beyond the waves it made in 2023, as its “Rexy” or “Roxy” nicknamed green or pink dinosaur-liveried “911 GT3 Rawr” entry became a rapid fan favorite. In Priaulx and Heinrich, they have a pair of full-season drivers who have a combined one WeatherTech Championship season under their belt but already several championships in other sports car series. Porsche provides factory support in the form of Christensen, who has Rolex 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins on his resume.
GT Daytona (GTD)
No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
Frankie Montecalvo/Parker Thompson/Aaron Telitz/Ritomo Miyata
Luck has often eluded Vasser Sullivan’s No. 12 Lexus in comparison to its often-charmed No. 14 car, but continuity has not. Montecalvo and Telitz have driven together off and on since 2019 and were part of the lineup that marked the team’s best Rolex 24 finish, second in GTD that year. There’s an adjustment to that continuity as Telitz flips to the Michelin Endurance Cup third driver role while highly-rated and past Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion Thompson shifts up to a full-season effort. Keep an eye on fourth driver Miyata as a potential Rolex 24 revelation; he won both the Japanese Super Formula and Super GT GT500 titles in 2023.
No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Orey Fidani/Matt Bell/Lars Kern/Alex Lynn
AWA brings its two-car effort into GTD from Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) for 2024, having had significant, successful dialogue with General Motors that rewarded the team with a customer Corvette Z06 GT3.R effort. While the car and class change, a striking yellow and black livery with the same trio of Fidani, Bell and Kern does not aboard the No. 13 entry. Cadillac prototype veteran Lynn is aboard as a fourth driver, so the team has the ingredients to impress from the start in its new class and with its new car.
No. 17 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Anthony Mantella/Nico Varrone/Thomas Merrill/Charlie Eastwood
Take the above capsule for AWA’s No. 13 car and swap the driver names, and the story is nearly identical for what will be another striking livery with a turquoise blue and red combination. Mantella, Varrone and Merrill were part of the No. 17 car’s win in the LMP3 class at last year’s Rolex 24, with Mantella (Indianapolis) and Varrone (Le Mans) adding further class wins at historic venues last year. Eastwood, part of the Corvette Racing factory roster, is a talented Englishman who’ll join AWA for this race only before moving to Tower Motorsports in LMP2 for the remainder of the year.
No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3
Simon Mann/Francois Heriau/Kei Cozzolino/Miguel Molina
A Mann-driven No. 21 Ferrari makes its fourth consecutive Rolex 24 appearance. Notably, Mann finished fourth in GTD in 2022 while Heriau, an LMP2 veteran, shifts into GTD this year. Molina, a Ferrari Hypercar driver, and Cozzolino should help bolster this car’s pace.
No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3
Alessio Rovera/Charlie Scardina/Onofrio Triarsi/Ricky Agostini
Triarsi Competizione produces a nearly identical effort for its second crack at the Rolex 24 after finishing 10th last year. Rovera, Scardina and Triarsi are back, and Agostini replaces Andrea Bertolini as fourth driver. Rovera has a 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Am class win to his name and Agostini has had extensive success in single-make championships, usually with Ferrari’s Italian rival Lamborghini. The team produced a best finish of fourth in its four 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup starts.
No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo
Roman De Angelis/Marco Sorensen/Zacharie Robichon/Ian James
The 2023 Rolex 24 GTD winners have a nearly identical, yet perhaps even stronger lineup they’re seeking to defend in 2024. De Angelis, Sorensen and James are back with Robichon joining the squad as its third driver for Michelin Endurance Cup races. To run through just some of the accolades, both Robichon and De Angelis have both GTD full-season and WeatherTech Sprint Cup championships and Robichon also has a Rolex 24 win, with Wright Motorsports in 2022. Team principal James races less frequently now but still has pace; his pole at Motul Petit Le Mans last October was his first in nearly 20 years.
No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
Mike Skeen/Mikael Grenier/Kenton Koch/Maximilian Goetz
The steady but solid No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Mercedes-AMG GT3 should once again contend for both the Rolex 24 race win and the GTD championship. The quartet of Skeen, Grenier, Koch and Goetz returns unchanged, which makes sense as Skeen, Grenier and Koch secured the 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup class championship.
No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
Manny Franco/Albert Costa/Cedric Sbirrazzuoli/Alessandro Balzan
Conquest Racing has dipped its toes in and out of IMSA over the years and the Eric Bachelart-led team is back for a full-season effort with the Ferrari 296 GT3 in 2024. Franco has plied his trade in other sports car series and together with Balzan, a two-time IMSA champion and this car’s fourth driver at the Rolex 24, won the first race for the 296 GT3 in North America last August at Road America. Franco will share the full-season entry with Costa, who was part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning entry in LMP2. Sbirrazzuoli has 12 WeatherTech Championship starts with Lamborghini from 2016 to 2017.
No. 43 Andretti Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992)
Jarett Andretti/Gabby Chaves/Scott Hargrove/Thomas Preining
Buckle up for a convergence of changes and cool stories around this car. Jarett Andretti’s program shifts from a split 2023 season running a Ligier LMP3 car and an Aston Martin GTD car, running as either No. 36 or 94, to a single Porsche GTD entry with No. 43 for 2024. The No. 43 is significant as it was Jarett’s late father John’s number for his most successful seasons in NASCAR. Chaves, a past Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR champion, gets a full-season WeatherTech Championship opportunity after several partial IMSA campaigns in DPi, LMP3 or GTD. Hargrove, a two-time Porsche GT3 Cup champion, makes a welcome WeatherTech Championship return for the first time in five years. Preining, the 2023 DTM champion, is a very capable addition as fourth driver as he prepares for his Rolex 24 debut.
No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo
Andy Lally/John Potter/Spencer Pumpelly/Nicki Thiim
We write this annually, but few things are as consistent in sports car racing as Magnus Racing fielding a No. 44 entry with Lally, Potter and Pumpelly aboard and Thiim, the Aston Martin factory ace, back again for 2024. As Potter described in the team’s confirmation release, “We already had the WhatsApp chat setup with these drivers, so it seemed easier to continue as is.” The team is preparing for its 14th season and in search of a third Rolex 24 win (2012, 2016). Lally is set to extend his record of consecutive Rolex starts to 22, while he has a race-leading five Rolex 24 wins and Potter and Pumpelly have two each.
No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Danny Formal/Kyle Marcelli/Graham Doyle/Ashton Harrison
For anyone who’s followed Lamborghini Super Trofeo competition recently, they’ll know the Formal/Marcelli combination is one of the best in that championship. It makes it natural for that pair to step up to WeatherTech Championship action full-time in one of the Huracán GT3 EVO2 cars. Doyle, 17, also ascends from Super Trofeo action as the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup driver. Harrison will run as fourth driver in the Rolex 24, and after her race debut last year in an Acura she’ll return to Lamborghini. She also had success in Super Trofeo; she was the first female to win a Lamborghini World Final race.
No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
Roberto Lacorte/Giorgio Sernagiotto/Antonio Fuoco/Eddie Cheever III
Little changes for Cetilar Racing in 2024, which now has a year of experience with the Ferrari 296 GT3 model under its belt. Lacorte, Sernagiotto and Fuoco’s day of days in IMSA came at the 2022 Twelve Hours of Sebring, which they won in GTD. Cheever makes his IMSA return for the first time since that same Sebring race, when he was in a Risi Competizione GTD PRO entry, and his first Rolex 24 start since 2018 in a Spirit of Daytona Cadillac DPi car.
No. 55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
Corey Lewis/Giammarco Levorato/Ryan Hardwick/Dennis Olsen
A late entrant, but a potential quality one in the field brings together three IMSA veterans and one young Italian who arrives this year. Lewis and Hardwick have separate Rolex 24 GTD class wins apiece (2020 and 2022, respectively), and raced together as part of Paul Miller Racing’s Lamborghini lineup in 2019. Olsen has a single IMSA win and a Bathurst 12-hour win on his resume. Levorato, the fourth driver, was part of Proton’s European Le Mans Series program last year.
No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Philip Ellis/Russell Ward/Indy Dontje/Daniel Morad
The run of bad luck that struck Winward Racing throughout 2023 began in Daytona, with a significant accident in practice sidelining Lucas Auer alongside the Ellis/Ward/Dontje trio. That opened a spot for Morad, who impressed mightily as a late fill-in. Late contact with Ellis behind the wheel negated the team’s chances of winning a second Rolex 24. Still, each of the first three was part of the 2021 win, and Morad has a 2017 class win to his name, so the Mercedes-AMG squad is plenty capable of adding another.
No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Katherine Legge/Sheena Monk/Tatiana Calderon/Stevan McAleer
Things started decently for Gradient Racing at last year’s Rolex 24 with a just-off-the-podium fourth, the best finish of their 2023 campaign. Most of the band is back together with Legge, a past IMSA GTD season and Rolex 24 runner-up and one of the most versatile, experienced drivers in the field, and Monk together for their second full season in the J.G. Wentworth-adorned green-and-white Acura. Changes come with Calderon, who has amassed a plethora of sports car and open-wheel experience, joining as Michelin Endurance Cup third driver and the perennially underrated but consistently quick McAleer on board as a fourth at the Rolex 24.
No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO
Brendan Iribe/Frederik Schandorff/Ollie Millroy/Tom Gamble
One of the frequent questions in GTD asked the last couple years is when Inception Racing will score its maiden victory. The team has five podium finishes in its first 19 starts since a 2021 debut at Motul Petit Le Mans, and finished sixth in its first full season last year. Returning with a near identical lineup and a sorted car helps; the only change beyond full-season drivers Iribe and Schandorff with Michelin Endurance Cup driver Millroy is Gamble as fourth at the Rolex 24. He was part of the Heart of Racing Aston Martin effort in 2023.
No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Misha Goikhberg/Loris Spinelli/Devlin DeFrancesco/Sandy Mitchell
The U.S. RaceTronics effort now operating under the Forte Racing name steadily improved throughout the 2023 IMSA season, which culminated with its first win at Motul Petit Le Mans. Goikhberg has a past Rolex 24 class win (2016 Prototype Challenge) and Spinelli has been regarded as one of Lamborghini’s strongest drivers for several years. DeFrancesco, new to the team for Michelin Endurance Cup races, also has a Rolex 24 class win (2022 LMP2). Mitchell, another Lamborghini factory ace, completes the quartet.
No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Scott Andrews/Salih Yoluc/Rui Andrade/Adam Christodoulou
Lone Star Racing has made occasional WeatherTech Championship starts over the years but prepares for its maiden Rolex 24 in 2024 with a respectable lineup. All four drivers have at least one major endurance class race win to their name, although Andrews (2021 in LMP3) is the only past Rolex 24 winner.
No. 83 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
Sarah Bovy/Rahel Frey/Michelle Gatting
The Iron Dames were undoubtedly one of the teams of the year across the global sports car landscape in 2023, only just missing a podium after contending at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and winning the final GTE-specification race to cap off the WEC season. Their IMSA starts produced flashes of brilliance too, most notably from Doriane Pin in qualifying and early in the race at Motul Petit Le Mans. The results this car achieved in 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup races – all four 11th place or worse – were entirely unreflective of the promise shown. It stands to reason if luck can match the pace set forth by any of the Iron Dames aboard the car, a good result will follow.
No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992)
Anders Fjordbach/Kerong Li/Klaus Bachler/Larry ten Voorde
MDK Motorsports fields an eclectic lineup in its Porsche. Fjordbach has extensive LMP2 experience as he moves into GTD. Bachler ran his first full IMSA season with Pfaff Motorsports in its Porsche last year. Li made his Rolex 24 debut a year ago in a Lamborghini; ten Voorde is due to make his first start this year.
No. 92 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992)
David Brule/Alec Udell/Trent Hindman/Julien Andlauer
Kellymoss with Riley initially had two Porsches but have dropped to just one on the latest entry list, but features a solid lineup. The Udell/Brule pair returns after running select races together in 2023; their best finish was third at Sebring. Hindman has a GTD title and a pair of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) championships on his resume and is an experienced, but still young, veteran of the sport. The same goes for Andlauer, who raced occasionally in this car last year.
No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
Robby Foley/Patrick Gallagher/Jake Walker/Jens Klingmann
Turner Motorsport’s 2023 season was peculiar; it failed to win a WeatherTech Championship race for the first time in more than a decade. At the same time, it won both the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX titles, and took home the BMW M Sports Trophy as the top BMW Customer Racing sports car team worldwide. The Foley/Gallagher pair is back for a second year together and look to improve upon a trio of runner-up finishes. Rising teenager Walker becomes the latest entry to the Turner finishing school for promising young drivers as its Michelin Endurance Cup extra. BMW veteran Klingmann completes the quartet at the Rolex 24. Walker’s addition and Klingmann’s return leaves one distinct absence from the Turner and BMW lineup: IMSA’s all-time wins leader, Bill Auberlen. Auberlen made his first of 33 Rolex 24 starts in 1987 and has garnered two class wins. The last Rolex 24 he missed was in 2009.
No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 992)
Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer/Jan Heylen/Fred Makowiecki
Wright Motorsports goes through a significant shift for 2024 with its program. After Alan Brynjolfsson stepped away from racing, the full-season Volt Racing entry he shared with Trent Hindman departs. In addition, Ryan Hardwick ended his four-year stint with Wright after 2023 too, although team and driver achieved a number of key race wins and championships together. What’s left is new to IMSA, but not new to Wright. After success in SRO GT World Challenge America competition, the Adelson/Skeer pairing steps up to run the Michelin Endurance Cup with longtime Wright stalwart Heylen, who was part of Wright’s most recent Rolex 24 win in 2022. Makowiecki, a Porsche factory ace who has Sebring, Le Mans and Petit Le Mans win to his name, rounds out the Daytona lineup in pursuit of his first Rolex 24 victory.
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