Big guns at the races

THE Rolex 24 at Daytona didn’t need Fernando Alonso to make it a world-class event. The sports car race already ranks among the most prestigious on the motor sports calendar.

But it doesn’t hurt to have a two-time Formula One world champion in the line-up, though IMSA wasn’t exactly struggling to draw a crowd to the twice-round-the-clock endurance race that began on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway because it is already a star-studded affair.

It was the final race for Scott Pruett, the retiring record-tying five-time Rolex 24 overall winner, Team Penske made its debut in a new Acura prototype programme that had assembled Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor and Graham Rahal on one team, and Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron and Simon Pagenaud on the other. That’s five Indianapolis 500 victories, two former Rolex winners, two former IMSA champions, and two series champions from Indy cars.

“Since I started racing in Daytona, I’d never seen a field with this many talented drivers and teams,” said Joao Barbosa, part of the Action Express Racing team that started third. “The interest in this race is huge, Formula One drivers want to do this race, and I think IMSA really hit a big home run this year.”

Part of the lure was Alonso, who has been competing in the top races in the world one-by-one in his quest to prove he’s the most versatile driver in motorsports. The Spaniard got a break from McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown last year when he was allowed to race the Indianapolis 500.

Brown owns the United Autosports team that Alonso was anchoring, and the Rolex was an entry point - the first endurance race- for Alonso to eventually make an appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The team didn’t think a win was within reach and that assessment proved correct. However, officially, Alonso led two laps of this IMSA season opener. Midway through the race, in the middle of a round of pit stops, the No. 23 United Autosports prototype with Alonso behind the wheel, soared in front.

“Already the fans sent me the picture, leading the 24 Hours of Daytona,” Alonso said smiling shortly after getting out of the car after his final stint on Sunday.

The two laps he led were the highlight of the race for the team. The car Alonso shared with Phil Lanson and Lando Norris never had the speed to compete with the front runners. A flat tyre sent them to the pits on lap 357 for a replacement and a new rear. “I think unfortunately we had too many issues that were out of our control,” Alonso said. 

He completed one final stint behind the wheel and teammate Norris brought the car home to an overall 38th place finish 87 laps off the lead. Despite the poor finish, Alonso said he enjoyed the entire experience.

“I really did enjoy it,” he said. “I love driving and when you drive eight or nine hours in one race, it’s much better than one. So that’s a very good feeling driving 24 hours.”

The biggest question was if Alonso will return next year. When asked, he did not hesitate to answer. “I think so,” he said. “I think it’s a race that is in January where normally the motor sport calendar is quite empty, where I think for us drivers it’s quite convenient to come here to do this race. And yeah, instead of being on the bicycle or in the gym, you know, you are driving.  So it’s much better.”

While there were plenty of teams that got lots of hype for superstar drivers or new cars at the Rolex 24 this year, it was the relatively low-key No. 5 Cadillac DPi-V.R of Mustang Sampling Racing that limped it in for the overall win.

Filipe Albuquerque drove the No. 5 home after 808 laps and 2,876.48 miles to set a new record distance and a new record number of laps for this race. But it wasn’t easy, Albuquerque told Fox Sports that his steering wheel was ‘lit up like a Christmas tree’ with various errors as his car was overheating.

Fortunately, the No. 5 had fewer issues than some of its tyre-popping competitors in the Prototype class and had built up a decent gap of nearly an entire lap on the next fastest car at the end.