| January 15, 2020 Staff Report IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What has quickly become a “must-see” event during Rolex 24 At DAYTONA week, the third annual “IMSA Twenty-Four Premier” at ONE DAYTONA takes place this year on Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 6-8 p.m. ET. The event kicks off fan activities around this year’s 58th running of the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA on Jan. 25-26 at Daytona International Speedway. The Twenty-Four Premier allows fans to see a selection of Rolex 24 At DAYTONA race cars and superstar drivers free of charge. ONE DAYTONA – a lifestyle and entertainment destination located directly across International Speedway Blvd. from Daytona International Speedway, features numerous shops and restaurants, Cobb Luxury Theatres and The DAYTONA, a AAA Four-Diamond Autograph Collection hotel that opened in Spring 2019. “The IMSA Twenty-Four Premier event continues to grow at ONE DAYTONA,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “ONE DAYTONA, with its shops and restaurants, provides a perfect launching pad as we kick off Rolex 24 At DAYTONA weekend festivities. Fans are going to have a great opportunity to get up close with the some of the drivers and cars that will compete in North America’s most prestigious sports car race.” “This event has quickly established itself as one that is on every Rolex 24 fan’s race week calendar,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “It is no secret ONE DAYTONA is a destination for every fan during the week and the IMSA Twenty-Four Premier is the perfect way to see the cars and meet the drivers from the Rolex 24. This year’s Premier promises to be the biggest one yet and one that every fan will want to attend.” Cars from each class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take part in the evening’s festivities, allowing fans an unprecedented view of them before they take to the famed Daytona International Speedway road circuit. Among the current WeatherTech Championship race cars expected are the defending overall race winners – the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R – which will be taking part in a technical and safety inspection demo. Other prototypes include the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing/JDC Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R, a Mazda Team Joest RT24-P DPi car and the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports LMP2 entry. The GT Le Mans (GTLM) class will be represented by the No. 24 BMW Team RLL M8 GTE. The defending GT Daytona (GTD) Rolex 24 winner – the No. 11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 will take part in a pit stop demonstration while other cars from the class include the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, one of the AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3s, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 and the No. 19 GEAR Racing Powered by GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan GT3. A Toyota Supra GT4 Show Car will also be on display. Another highlight of the event will be a Fan Forum hosted by IMSA Radio announcer John Hindhaugh. Drivers expected include Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Kamui Kobayashi, Scott Dixon, Katherine Legge, Christina Nielsen and Jordan Taylor. The list of participating drivers and race cars is subject to change. IMSA Official Merchandise will be available and there also will be a live DJ and opportunities to win Rolex 24 At Daytona tickets. On-track activity for the 58th Rolex 24 At Daytona begins Thursday, Jan. 23, with practice and qualifying. NBC has live network coverage of the start of the race starting at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25, and also will televise the race’s dramatic finish beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 26. That is all part of NBC Sports’ complete coverage of the event that includes windows on NBCSN and the NBC Sports App and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage throughout race weekend on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com, with complete race coverage also airing on SiriusXM Radio (XM 202, Sirius 216 and Online 972). Tickets for the 58th Rolex 24 At DAYTONA are available on DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. |
