Rolex 24 December Test: What We Learned

The December test for the upcoming Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona was very interesting indeed.  It marked the public on-track debut of two of the three DPi's for next year, those being the Cadillac and the Mazda.  It also marked the debut of Porsches' new GTLM entry.  Here's what this test told us:

1. The DPi's are going to be fast.  The AXR #31 Cadillac driven by Eric Curran was right on the old DP/P2 track record set by Alex Gurney a few years back, and that's in their first real on-track action at the track.

2. The DPi's may not be completely reliable.  Both Cadillac and Mazda were hampered by electrical issues that certainly show the greenness of these new cars.  While these problems will more than likely be weeded out by raceday, if not by the Roar, anything can happen in a 24 hour race, and we all saw how this affected the outcome in 2003.  A DPi problem could mean that the Rebellion Oreca (which might not even need these problems to be competitive, more on that in our upcoming Rolex 24 race preview) and the Visit Florida Racing Riley may be pushed into contention.

3. GTD is up for anyone.  The times for these cars were spread across the board.  In my opinion, the most impressive performance, while not unexpected, was the Land Motorsport Audi.  Both Connor De Phillippi and Christopher Mies were at the top of the board.  They will be a team to watch, along with the Riley Motorsports teams, specifically the 33 and 50 cars.  The 33 team has been a perennial competitor in the Viper, and the switch to the Mercedes might mean that they could be even more competitive this time around the calendar.  The 50 team will also be strong, with former McLaren driver and V8 Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen and Mercedes GT test driver Thomas Jaeger being added to the normal lineup of Gunnar Jeannette and Cooper MacNeil.  In fact, it may be up to Jeannette and MacNeil to decide this team's fate, as we have all seen how good Gis can be in sportscars, notably at Bathurst earlier this year, and Jaeger's role in Mercedes will be an advantage for him.

Follow this Link to see John Dagys and Brian Cleary's incredible pictures of the action this week at Daytona: Link