2023 24 Hours of Daytona
This event was the 61st running of the 24 Hours of Daytona since its inception in 1962, and the first of 11 races across multiple classes in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, as well as the first of four rounds in the 2023 Michelin Endurance Cup.
60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, driven by Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Hélio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, took the overall win, but the team was later penalized for tire pressure data manipulation, resulting in penalties, fines and probation for those responsible.
Daytona 24 relevant activity at the Roar weekend includes load-in, media day, scrutineering, and five (5) practice sessions.
[19][20] As a result of his injuries, Lucas Auer was forced to miss the rest of the event and Daniel Morad filled in for him.
[23] The third practice session saw Matt Campbell lap quickest for Porsche Penske Motorsport with a time of 1:35.802, 0.172 seconds ahead of Albuquerque.
[24] Alexander Sims led the fourth practice session for Whelen Engineering Racing with a time of 1:35.493.
[28] In the final practice session, Renger van der Zande was fastest for Cadillac Racing with a time of 1:36.742.
Mercedes-AMG cars dominated the session, taking the top four spots overall and claiming pole position in both classes, with the No.
For this class, IMSA mandated that the driver holding a bronze rating from the FIA (indicating amateur status) on each team qualify the car.
8 Tower Motorsports entry, crashed heavily at the Le Mans chicane, causing significant damage.
Tandy had his best two laps from the session deleted for causing a red flag, effectively leaving him with no time set.
3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet, driven by Jordan Taylor, moved forward and took the lead in the GTD Pro class, while the No.
32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes moved to the lead of GTD, despite an incident with a prototype in the previous hour.
On the restart, Castroneves attempted to pass for the lead, but lost control and spun, dropping him to the rear of the GTP field and forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop for new tires.
[45] The ninth hour saw another full course yellow after a tire barrier became dislodged and dragged partially onto the racing surface.
01 Cadillac inherited the lead after choosing not to pit, with the car off-sequence from the rest of the GTP field due to its earlier incident.
10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura suffered a broken oil fill tube during this caution, which cost them a lap to the leader repairing The pit stop dropped the 60 down to third, with the No.
6 Porsche suffered a high-speed spin in the infield section, causing damage to the bodywork of the car and costing it several laps in repair.
23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin fell out of the fight for the GTD Pro lead after suffering susepnsion damage.
33 Sean Creech Motorsports entry pitted at the 19 hour mark with gearbox problems, dropping it 17 laps behind the No.
27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin suffered a brief setback as an electrical problem caused the car to come to a halt on course, dropping it out of the GTD battle for the time.
20 High Class Racing Oreca, driven by Anders Fjordbach, lost control and crashed heavily at the Le Mans Chicane.
10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura back in with a chance at the overall win, as it finally recovered from its repairs during the night.
The incidents left debris strewn across the track and caused the retirements of both the 57 and the 21, leading to the final full course caution period of the race.
17 AWA Duqueine cruised to victory in the class with a 12 lap lead over their nearest competitor and having been unchallenged since the gearbox issues for the No.
44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin and was the best placed of all GTD cars in the field despite its Pro-Am driver lineup.
10 Wayne Taylor Racing team did not push for harsher punishment, stating that they "respect the process and the decision made by IMSA".
Gounon, Juncadella, Engel, and MacNeil took the GTD Pro points standings lead with García, Taylor, and Milner placing second.
De Angelis, Sørensen, James, and Turner led the GTD Drivers' Championship, followed by the second-placed Lally, Potter, Pumpelly, and Thiim.
Acura, Mercedes-AMG, and Aston Martin assumed the lead of their respective Manufacturers' Championships with ten races left in the season.
