Getting ready for the 2015 Rolex 24-Hours at Daytona

It’s finally that time of year when we begin to shake off the winter doldrums and high performance engines roar to life once again. Today sees the start of the legendary 24-hour sports car marathon at Daytona International Speedway that serves as the unofficial start to the new year’s motorsport seasons in the Western world. This year’s Rolex 24 is the second that will be run under the banner of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship, which last year merged the two predominant US sports car series, American Le Mans and Rolex Grand-Am, into one competitive body. It features four distinct classes of race car in order of power and performance: Prototype (P); Prototype Challenge (PC); GT Le Mans (GTLM); and GT Daytona (GTD).

rolex 24-roar2015

It should be interesting to see if the balance of performance within the top Prototype class has been evened out after the old Grand Am coupes, technically “Daytona Prototypes”, essentially blew away the Le Mans-style “P2” chassis last season.  But as the LeMans-style prototypes began shifting to enclosed cockpit bodies as the year wore on they gained competitiveness and in fact it was the Honda-powered Ligier P2 of Ozz Negri driving for Mike Shank racing that claimed pole for today’s race ahead of the big Daytona Prototypes. So perhaps that bodes well for overall competitiveness on this demanding hybrid road/banked oval course and the series as a whole going forward. One thing’s for certain: whoever wins tomorrow afternoon after 24-hours of grueling, flat out racing in a crowded, multi-class field will have earned a place in motorsport history. They will also have earned our gratitude for at last kicking off the 2015 racing season in earnest. Wishing everyone a safe race and may the best car and driver team win!

Here is the complete 53-car entry list for the Rolex 24

And here is the broadcast and streaming schedule — with a little work and a lot of coffee you can watch the every minute of the Rolex 24-Hours of Daytona from the drop of the Green to the Checkered flag:

Saturday, Jan. 24 (All Times ET)

– 2-4 p.m. (FOX Network)

– 4-8 p.m. (FOX Sports 2)

– 8-10 p.m. (FOX Sports 1) 

Overnight (Jan. 24-25)

– 10 p.m. – 7 a.m. (IMSA TV on IMSA.com – live video streaming and commentary)

Sunday, Jan. 25

– 7 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)