2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona (January 22-25)

[The359]

The season starts again in North America this weekend. Only 51 cars this year, but that's to be expected. This is the first time the new Lolas and Dallaras will be at the 24. Chip Ganassi going to take it all again, or can Penske or another Grand-Am team finally make the upset?

I'm flying down on Wednesday for the whole four days of practice and qualifying.

Entry List

Schedule (PDF)

Coverage will once again be on FOX And Speed. FOX from 3pm EST to 4:30pm, then Speed from 4:30pm to 10pm, then picking up again from 7am to the finish.

(Please sticky)

[Chaos81]

I can't wait. Been looking forward to this weekend for awhile, and I'm not even going to the race.


Too bad Speed doesn't have any overnight coverage.

[Flyin Ryan]

A Riley will win again.

I hope it starts out a rain race.

[The359]

Weather forecast has the temp rising into the 70s by race weekend, with only a 30% chance of rain on Sunday.

[fish88]

In competition this is probably the best 24H race IMO (Not in cars and atmosphere though).

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by Flyin Ryan

A Riley will win again.

I hope it starts out a rain race.

I wouldn't bet against Dallara and especially Lola this time. The Krohn car without Tracy was wickedly fast at the test days.

[No Sweat Photos]

Originally Posted by Chaos81

I can't wait. Been looking forward to this weekend for awhile, and I'm not even going to the race.


Too bad Speed doesn't have any overnight coverage.

Do you realize that the camera guys need a little sleep !!!!

When Speed goes off the air they put the covers over the cameras. I'm not sure what feeds the race teams get in the pits when speed goes off the air.

Bill
nosweatphotos.com

[Knowlesy]

Should be a close fight between Penske and the Ganassi 01.

[chocmonster7]

I'm not too fussed who wins, just going to have a great time enjoying myself!

[AstonGeoff]

And we get some live coverage on Eurosport 2 as well, from Saturday evening. So I know what I'll be watching

[dxk1]

The No. 55, Level 5 Motorsports driver Line-up of Bouchut, Matos, Zabinski and Tucker looks pretty good. I just wonder if such a new team to the DP Class has much of a chance. They were very quick in the practice weekend. Bouchut has won the Daytona 24 (and LeMans 24 for that matter) before and is quite experienced on the Daytona track. Matos won the GT Class last year so between the two of them, they will be formidable. Zabinski and Tucker are reasonably solid. I guess the big thing will be how the pit crew and preparations work out. It'll be interesting if the car is still in contention at the end and they can throw Bouchut in there for the final stint, he's one of the fastest drivers around in any class.

DK

[The359]

I'm not sure if their BMW powerplant will be on pace over race distance.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by AstonGeoff

And we get some live coverage on Eurosport 2 as well, from Saturday evening. So I know what I'll be watching

Last year that coverage was

[dxk1]

Originally Posted by The359

I'm not sure if their BMW powerplant will be on pace over race distance.

That was a concern I had as well as I'm not aware of the BMW engine being overly reliable over the long distance races in the Rolex Series. Seems they had early success last year and then faded.

DK

[b555]

It's going to be a thriller.rumors are that dinan has put in some extra effort into their bmw engine.But how stupid do the DP engine mancufacturers think we are when it comes down to the horsepower output?these are some figures from the manufacturers:the ford,pontiac & lexus engines were producing 500 hp in 2006.the 2006 porsche 3.8L V6 was producing around 510hp.in 2007 & 2008 all 3 came with newly designed engines.
2008 ford 5.0L V8-500hp.but in reality it's producing around 530 hp.
pontiac & lexus 5.0L V8-500hp.but again in reality they are producing around 520-530hp.bmw V8 is also producing around the 525hp.now porsche is claiming that it's 2009 4.0L V6 with 1st generation DFI is still only producing 510 hp.but my porsche source told me that the engine is producing more that 520 hp.they may their reasons for doing this,but the numbers are already out.but i can't wait for the race to start.saturday night 2230h CET on eurosport2.

[PatrickB]

I think its a safe bet that all the DP engines are WELL over 520hp. I remember last fall an "insider" said with the new heads they where allowed the Lexus V-8 was closing in on 600hp.

Plus look at the lap times. The DP's this season at Daytona are in the low 1:41s same as the SRP1s were, but the SRP1s had 2" more tire, more downforce and were around 650+hp.

[cmk]

There are a couple of placeholder entries on the list (2nd Penske car, 2nd Nonnamaker car) so we may well see the entry drop to 49 by track time. A number of great drivers in the field and some really strong entries in both classes as a result. That will be enough to sustain my interest this year.

[Jonerz]

I have been looking forward to Daytona for a long time. As soon as the new year hit I was ready for it. I can't believe it is already here. Anyone know what the radio coverage will be like? The last time I required radio coverage I got classical music and a random low quality talk show. For the 9 hours or so that there is no TV coverage I need a fix!

DP: 01 Ganassi Lexus-Riley (look at the track record of Lexus, Riley, and Ganassi, how can you NOT pick them?)
GT: 67 TRG 911 GT3 (superb driver line-up, however... if you believe my comment below, this could very well be the GT candidate for Daytona luck)

Weather: There will be a monsoon early Sunday morning.
Heart Breaker: Brumos will come THIS close to winning but a $0.25 piece will fail them once more.
Daytona Luck: A favorite in both the DP and GT class will be out within the first two hours, or out of contention within the first four.
DP story: Ford (Roush/Yates) gives their first of many shellackings of the competition this year.
GT story: Porsche gets revenge in a big way over their tube-frame rivals.

Chris

[Dauer 962]

Originally Posted by b555

now porsche is claiming that it's 2009 4.0L V6 with 1st generation DFI is still only producing 510 hp.but my porsche source told me that the engine is producing more that 520 hp.they may their reasons for doing this,but the numbers are already out.but i can't wait for the race to start.saturday night 2230h CET on eurosport2.

I would doubt very much that the Porsche flat six has DFI in GA.

[Mystery]

Originally Posted by b555

but i can't wait for the race to start.saturday night 2230h CET on eurosport2.

Am I right in saying that Eurosport are missing the start of the race?

[b555]

that is right.the start of the race is being broadcasted by fox.

[b555]

You know how Grand Am is.the porsche flat six was struggling against the V8 from ford,lexus and pontiac.I heard that they are allowed to use the 1st generation DFI,but they will lose there 50lbs weight advantage and there engines will also be rev-limited(9200rpm).Plus in January test days david.timo and darren have said that the engine has more power and that they are getting better fuel mileage.And wiedeking has said (in 2007 i think)that DFI allowes you to have more horsepower and get better milaeage.but I could be wrong and my sources could have given me bad info.So Dauer if you more info on the subject,please share it with us.

[mattcat]

I have to put my money on the 01...they are consistently error free in this race, making them nearly impossible to beat of late. As long as Danica isn't on the winning team, though, I'll be satisfied .

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by b555

that is right.the start of the race is being broadcasted by fox.

Which isn't available in Europe...

[b555]

It will be very difficult to predict a winner this year.The dallara and lola have improved their cars and the fact that wayne taylor racing and krohn racing have the ford V8 engine turns them into possible winners.don't forget brumos racing,penske racing,michael shank racing,Level 5 Motorsports and The gainso guys.lets hope that there is close racing and that this edition is not decided by day break and goes down to the last laps.