| Rolex 24 At Daytona Post-Race Press Conference Transcript An Interview with Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor, Jonathan Diuguid THE MODERATOR: We have our winners of the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona overall and in the GTP class in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. From your left to right, we’ve got Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor, and also managing director Penske motorsports Jonathan Diuguid.Third win for the Penske team in the Rolex. This is Felipe’s 12th career IMSA victory, third win in the Rolex 24, obviously winning last year, and also in the 2022 GTP pro class.Nick, this is his 24th IMSA victory, first overall Rolex 24 win, his second class win in the Rolex 24. He won in 2014 in GTLM.For Laurens, this is his 11th IMSA win, first victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona; 24th overall Rolex 24 victory for Porsche. Q. Laurens, what was the feeling that you’ve finally won your first Rolex 24? Is it jubilation? Relief? What’s the feeling here? LAURENS VANTHOOR: It’s always very difficult to describe your feelings a couple moments after it happened. But I’ve been wanting this very badly for a long time and came close a couple times.But like I just said, if you go back 10 years ago, I would have dreamed to drive in back then it was P1 then hyper cars GTP, whatever you want to call it, to drive in that category.There’s not a better brand to do so than Porsche. When I was in IMSA I always dreamed of being in those chrome trailers with Penske on it, to be part of that team. Now it’s all in one, and then three months we became world champion and today win the Rolex 24. I couldn’t dream of it. I don’t know how to describe it.It’s dreams coming true, and extremely grateful to be sitting here and to be part of this team and these boys. Maybe tomorrow I have some more detailed emotions, but that’s it for today. Q. Nick, I believe you’re the first driver to have won overall Le Mans, Daytona, Spa, and Nürburgring. What does that feel like? NICK TANDY: I mean, to be the first person to do — ever to do something is — I mean, it’s quite unbelievable, really. I think first of all, you’ve got to be proud that you’ve been put in a position to be able to compete in that sort of — those sort of races, and then be in a car that can compete for the win.But yeah, it never really dawned on me about these sort of records and stuff like this until Laurens, when we won at Spa and somebody said, well, you’ve got class wins in all the four majors now.And then you kind of look into it and you see — there’s other people, legendary names on these lists who have won various things but never overall in all four. Class winners, yes.But yeah, it’s something that since that day in probably 2020, it’s something that I’ve definitely wanted to check off the list.Winning Daytona is a massive thing anyway as a standalone event. Don’t get me wrong. I’m very proud to be sat here again. Obviously as an overall winner is special.But yeah, like you say, to get the big four 24-hour wins — one would be just an incredible career, so to be able to get four and a few Sebrings and a few Petits is dream come true stuff. Q. For JD, was there a shake-up in the driver rotation during the race or was that always the plan? JONATHAN DIUGUID: I think the plan evolves throughout the race, but I think at the end if you look back at the data all three of these guys up here were performing at an extremely high level so there wasn’t a wrong choice. Obviously Felipe had a history of success so he probably got the football like they say to carry it across the finish line there and deliver it again for us.To see that happen two years in a row and see the defense he put on for the last 30 minutes of the race is always really exciting.It was really an epic (indiscernible) today through all phases in the middle of the night when all of us were freezing until at the end there when some of us were sweating for different reasons.It’s a really amazing race as these guys have said, and to be able to win it back-to-back is something that none of us on the team could never have dreamed of. Q. 48 hours ago we were talking to you about some concerns with the HV system. It seems like you didn’t have any issues for any cars in the race. Was there a solution or were there any concerns during the race itself over that? JONATHAN DUGUID: All these races, they’re never easy. They may look easy from the outside, but I think it takes a lot of hard work. I think I talked to a couple guys on the timing stand a couple hours into the race when it was looking pretty dire as far as our pace and where we were and how competitive we were and nobody ever really gave up.I don’t think any of our six drivers on either car ran off the asphalt today or hit anything or broke apart. That’s basically what put us in a position to win. We were two of four cars on the lead lap when the (indiscernible) down there at the end. When you have a 50 percent chance to win with driver lineups like this and pit crews like we have, you see the result that we had today. Q. JD and Felipe, how nerve-racking was that final hour where you had all sorts of challenges from the No. 6 car, the No. 24 car, the No. 60 car? How do you keep a cool head in those situations? JONATHAN DUGUID: For me after the first pit stop that’s the easiest part of the day because I just sit back and watching. Leading up to that making all the right decisions I think today was definitely a team effort.You saw, I think — I would love to see the stats of how many laps our cars led today, but we really used our two-car approach to make sure one of the PPM cars controlling the pace of the race and controlling our own destiny, and you even saw that in the last pit stop of different tire strategies and when we stopped and things like that, and I think that put us in a position to win and cover all these bases and attacks from the Acuras and the BMWs and the Cadillacs of the world. Every car had a chance to win today, and we are the ones that came out on top. FELIPE NASR: Yeah, from the driver’s seat for sure it’s a little different. All I was thinking, I wanted to win this for sure and I wanted to win for the team.I think I restarted third. It’s always hard to know what’s going to end up like, but that’s what I love about the IMSA racing. It’s very unexpected. So any restarts, really any car that is running in the top 5 will have a chance to be fighting for victories.I knew the car was capable. I knew we had a great team behind us, and I’ve got to say, working with Laurens for the first time this weekend was very straightforward, trouble free. We all have different personalities as you can see, but very professionals, very — I feel like JD, like no one did a foot wrong all weekend, and we’re all celebrating this victory.On a personal level, doing it back-to-back, it’s incredible. Even if I say anything here, just inside, it’s one for the memory for sure. Q. Felipe, during your battle with Matt, before, during and after your battle with Matt there was about 20 minutes to go. I was just wondering was there any team chatter on the radio? Did Roger get involved or was anything said? After the race it seemed like he was a little nervous about it still after already going to Victory Lane. FELIPE NASR: Well, it’s always going to be drama, right, when you have one trophy for two cars. But I think we did the best. JD said the two cars had different strategy on tires. I took all new tires going into that final run where I think Matt had a split choice between the tire, whichever he took. I felt like I had the pace to go forward, and that’s what I did. Q. I wanted to ask you about BMW’s performance in this case. They put up an amazing fight, didn’t they? LAURENS VANTHOOR: Yeah, it’s quite special, actually, from a personal point of view. There was always — see, you can see how many laps a Vanthoor led.It’s special to see my younger brother up there. He’s obviously doing a tremendous job. Obviously in the end, I was like, Dries, piss off, but then I obviously feel kind of sad when it doesn’t work out for him obviously because I know he dreams of it as much as I do.But it’s quite unique and difficult to put into words, but I don’t want to be in the skin of our dad or mom because I think he sweated a little bit watching TV.I thought they would be honestly — what JD said at the beginning of the race, they were really quick and I always saw them as the main contender, and also, Dries was doing a very good job. That’s for him, but his day will come, that’s for sure. It was a good race. Q. Talk about the trust that is shown in this team. This is a big race and a big championship. FELIPE NASR: For sure. I think anyone that gets in the race car for Porsche Penske, we all get the same opportunity. I think the team comes first, and I didn’t want to create any trouble or drama, but try to make a clean pass, and that was it.I saw the Acura was pretty quick behind us, so we had to move forward somehow, otherwise we’re going to be attacked from behind and maybe lose a spot or maybe lose the chance to win the race. The clock was running, so I had to go for it. Q. Felipe, at the moment we’re going on 15 years now since someone has won the triple crown of endurance races, which is the longest drought of new members since the club was formed. You’ve won the 12 hours of Sebring, now two times you won the 24 Hours of Daytona. Does winning here today double down your resolve to tick off Le Mans? FELIPE NASR: Absolutely, and that’s what Nick just mentioned after we got out of the podium. I asked him, I said you’ve got to help me win Le Mans now because those big races are extremely difficult just to be there at the end. There’s so many things happening during the race. I’ve never seen Daytona that cold and the transition at night, the cold tires. Just surviving and staying at the track was a challenge, honestly. It was a real challenge for the drivers today.But for sure, Le Mans is one — is a dream, dream list of mine for sure. I’m a little jealous of Nick, in a good way, of everything he’s accomplished so far. I think for sure Le Mans is the next goal, and why not do it this year. Q. Larry, a couple years ago you were within a corner or two of winning this race and it was your teammate’s car that ended up getting that win at a team you used to drive for. Is this kind of redemption for all of that? LAURENS VANTHOOR: Well, it’s crazy how things go and how passionate we are about this. I remember sitting in the car and cried the whole in lap, and now — I didn’t cry that bad but I had tears in my eyes, as well, for different reasons.We all do these things because we absolutely love it, and we’d say besides our family, probably the most important thing in the world, and it shows how much it means to us.In a way I think Felipe returned me a bit of favor this year for back then. Yeah, it’s amazing to see how things evolve. One day I will be again on the bad side as well or the unlucky side, and one day you are the winner. That’s how sports go, so I need to appreciate the good moments, as well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports152391-1-1041 2025-01-26 20:12:00 GMTInterviews with Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We are pleased to be joined by our runner-ups in the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTP class in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX 06.From your left to right, Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, and Felix Rosenqvist.For Tom, this is his fourth podium in four Rolex 24 starts. He has two wins and now two second place finishes.For Scott, this is his seventh Rolex 24 podium from 22 starts in the race.Colin, this is his 10th podium at the Rolex 24 in 23 starts.Felix, this is his first Rolex 24 podium; fourth appearance in the Rolex 24. We’ll go straight to questions. Q. Tom, can you talk about those closing laps and getting Matt, and did you think you had anything potentially for Felipe? TOM BLOMQVIST: I mean, somehow in the race we actually struggled a lot more pace. We came into the race relatively confident, but for whatever reason we just struggled a lot to keep our rear tires under us.Even from lap 1 you already knew it was going to be a tough stint. We kind of struggled to be honest the whole race. The Porsches were extremely strong. We were good maybe the first few and then they would just pull away especially on the double stints they had a lot more pace than us, and when the traffic came they had such an advantage. We struggled so much for traction that they would just carve through traffic so much better than us.Yeah, last stint, the car was just better. Not much to say, really. I didn’t think I was going to have anything for them, but you never give up, and I think I gave it all I had, and I think to be honest that was the best we probably could have done today.The guys did a fantastic job to get us in that position strategy-wise. We were always making the right calls generally at the right time, so that was good.But definitely some work to do. A lot of lessons learnt, let’s say, from this race, and I think to be honest, if you asked all of us, we’re super happy with second because at one point we thought it was going to be a real long day. Q. Scott, 22 starts here at this race. How does the competition out there compare to the other 21? SCOTT DIXON: Definitely very different over the years. I think from what we’ve seen from when I first started here in 2004, a lot has changed. A lot has changed. The cars are very different to drive and the racing is sort of different, too.But the competition level I think is very much the same. It’s definitely one of the toughest races you come to just to try to get everything right across the board.There were a few kind of situations that we probably would have normally tried to get out of, or not have happened, but I think for all of us, honestly, it was a fairly smooth race. It’s just what it was today.I think every year it’s a little bit different to who’s going to be strong, who’s not. Yeah, and you hope for a little bit better. Obviously for a win. Q. Colin, stellar stint from you. At one point you were the dominant car on track. Where was the Acura at that stage in performance? COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, that’s a tough question. I think there was definitely stages of the race where people were using tires in different places where it just ebbs and flows. There were times when you were out of sequence, times when you were in sequence.I feel like our car was strong for sure at certain points in the night. It just seemed like we could get in a good rhythm and hit a good fuel number, and I think given the fact, like Tom talked about, our rear tire deg was kind of the biggest thing we were working around, you almost found performance by just using that fuel number to kind of help slow the whole thing down, help your exits.Overall, super happy. Great day. On we go. Q. The other Acura, No. 93, had a suspension issue during the night, and I was just wondering did you guys’ team — were you worried that this might be an issue that would recur in the 60, or did you feel like it was more unique to the wear and tear of the 93? TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, we’d been told — as you guys probably saw, there was a number of suspension failures from other cars and other manufacturers. But yeah, I’m guessing we assumed that it was from the new Bus Stop.The curbs can be quite aggressive through there so we were told to take it a little bit easier through there.But yeah, I didn’t really (indiscernible) the last few stints because we weren’t going to have much chance. That was probably our strongest corner on the track, so we had to make the most of that.But yeah, we were told. Q. Tom, it’s documented the team is a lot bigger this year. Do you think it functions smoothly as well as could be expected in the first weekend in this version? COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, I think to come away with a second, that close to winning the race and executing well as a whole group, obviously the 93 car had good pace. They had that suspension issue, but they did a super good job, too.I think considering all the other GTP teams have been together for a few years here and we’re kind much reassembled and adding people, I think we have a lot of blue sky, a lot of potential to tidy up a few things here and there and continue to be stronger and stronger. A heck of a first race.I think when we all went to the first test in November when we got the cars, I think if you would have said we’d come here and finish second, we’d all have been signing up for that. So great job for sure.TOM BLOMQVIST: To add to Colin’s thoughts, and there are new people who are new to IMSA as well. IMSA is very unique. The rules are very different to Europe.So there’s certainly little areas where I think we can improve. There’s one extra car but it seems like there’s three times more people. I think you can only go up from here. Q. Tom, how close were you to catching Nasr in the final stint? TOM BLOMQVIST: That’s a difficult question. He had a little gap and he knew there was only a few laps to go once I kind of got into second place. So I don’t know how much he was fully pushing. I’m sure he was, to give that gap. It’s always nice to have.Yeah, I think honestly we had really good pace there at the end. I think I had a little bit of extra pace on them. It’s difficult to say. Maybe if there was 10 minutes more, we might, might have got to the back of them, but who knows.I think going into that stint, I didn’t actually expect to be able to fight them, but yeah, when I knew I had a chance, I just kind of gave it everything, and thankfully we managed to get one of them. Yeah, very grateful for that. Q. Felix, just wanted to get some insight into the emotion that was going on around the team and the awning on the pit wall as Tom was obviously fighting to the front because it was a gripping finale. FELIX ROSENQVIST: It was cool. As Tom said before, I think at one point in the race, we didn’t really think we had it, and you never give up. At that point everything was just turned back on and everything was just starting to stand up in the pit box and the engineers were fired up and they were looking at five different scenarios.But in the end, it was just a sprint race, which is pretty cool. It was just a good old who gets first to the flag. I thought it was really cool to see from Tom, like he has found speed out of thin air it seemed like, and everyone just got excited.Yeah, I’m really positively surprised how cool racing in GTP is. I’ve never done it before, and it’s something else for sure. Q. Were you surprised how intense it was throughout? The restarts in particular seemed really aggressive. FELIX ROSENQVIST: Absolutely. It’s like a sprint race. It’s just like INDYCAR every restart. People are going on the high line and going tight. You leave a little gap and someone is there immediately. I feel like every year it just gets a little bit more towards that direction. It was definitely a shock to the system the first stint, managing that.But it’s really cool. Really good racing.FastScripts Transcript by ASAP SportsInterviews with Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We are pleased to be joined by our runner-ups in the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTP class in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX 06.From your left to right, Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, and Felix Rosenqvist.For Tom, this is his fourth podium in four Rolex 24 starts. He has two wins and now two second place finishes.For Scott, this is his seventh Rolex 24 podium from 22 starts in the race.Colin, this is his 10th podium at the Rolex 24 in 23 starts.Felix, this is his first Rolex 24 podium; fourth appearance in the Rolex 24. We’ll go straight to questions. Q. Tom, can you talk about those closing laps and getting Matt, and did you think you had anything potentially for Felipe? TOM BLOMQVIST: I mean, somehow in the race we actually struggled a lot more pace. We came into the race relatively confident, but for whatever reason we just struggled a lot to keep our rear tires under us.Even from lap 1 you already knew it was going to be a tough stint. We kind of struggled to be honest the whole race. The Porsches were extremely strong. We were good maybe the first few and then they would just pull away especially on the double stints they had a lot more pace than us, and when the traffic came they had such an advantage. We struggled so much for traction that they would just carve through traffic so much better than us.Yeah, last stint, the car was just better. Not much to say, really. I didn’t think I was going to have anything for them, but you never give up, and I think I gave it all I had, and I think to be honest that was the best we probably could have done today.The guys did a fantastic job to get us in that position strategy-wise. We were always making the right calls generally at the right time, so that was good.But definitely some work to do. A lot of lessons learnt, let’s say, from this race, and I think to be honest, if you asked all of us, we’re super happy with second because at one point we thought it was going to be a real long day. Q. Scott, 22 starts here at this race. How does the competition out there compare to the other 21? SCOTT DIXON: Definitely very different over the years. I think from what we’ve seen from when I first started here in 2004, a lot has changed. A lot has changed. The cars are very different to drive and the racing is sort of different, too.But the competition level I think is very much the same. It’s definitely one of the toughest races you come to just to try to get everything right across the board.There were a few kind of situations that we probably would have normally tried to get out of, or not have happened, but I think for all of us, honestly, it was a fairly smooth race. It’s just what it was today.I think every year it’s a little bit different to who’s going to be strong, who’s not. Yeah, and you hope for a little bit better. Obviously for a win. Q. Colin, stellar stint from you. At one point you were the dominant car on track. Where was the Acura at that stage in performance? COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, that’s a tough question. I think there was definitely stages of the race where people were using tires in different places where it just ebbs and flows. There were times when you were out of sequence, times when you were in sequence.I feel like our car was strong for sure at certain points in the night. It just seemed like we could get in a good rhythm and hit a good fuel number, and I think given the fact, like Tom talked about, our rear tire deg was kind of the biggest thing we were working around, you almost found performance by just using that fuel number to kind of help slow the whole thing down, help your exits.Overall, super happy. Great day. On we go. Q. The other Acura, No. 93, had a suspension issue during the night, and I was just wondering did you guys’ team — were you worried that this might be an issue that would recur in the 60, or did you feel like it was more unique to the wear and tear of the 93? TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, we’d been told — as you guys probably saw, there was a number of suspension failures from other cars and other manufacturers. But yeah, I’m guessing we assumed that it was from the new Bus Stop.The curbs can be quite aggressive through there so we were told to take it a little bit easier through there.But yeah, I didn’t really (indiscernible) the last few stints because we weren’t going to have much chance. That was probably our strongest corner on the track, so we had to make the most of that.But yeah, we were told. Q. Tom, it’s documented the team is a lot bigger this year. Do you think it functions smoothly as well as could be expected in the first weekend in this version? COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, I think to come away with a second, that close to winning the race and executing well as a whole group, obviously the 93 car had good pace. They had that suspension issue, but they did a super good job, too.I think considering all the other GTP teams have been together for a few years here and we’re kind much reassembled and adding people, I think we have a lot of blue sky, a lot of potential to tidy up a few things here and there and continue to be stronger and stronger. A heck of a first race.I think when we all went to the first test in November when we got the cars, I think if you would have said we’d come here and finish second, we’d all have been signing up for that. So great job for sure.TOM BLOMQVIST: To add to Colin’s thoughts, and there are new people who are new to IMSA as well. IMSA is very unique. The rules are very different to Europe.So there’s certainly little areas where I think we can improve. There’s one extra car but it seems like there’s three times more people. I think you can only go up from here. Q. Tom, how close were you to catching Nasr in the final stint? TOM BLOMQVIST: That’s a difficult question. He had a little gap and he knew there was only a few laps to go once I kind of got into second place. So I don’t know how much he was fully pushing. I’m sure he was, to give that gap. It’s always nice to have.Yeah, I think honestly we had really good pace there at the end. I think I had a little bit of extra pace on them. It’s difficult to say. Maybe if there was 10 minutes more, we might, might have got to the back of them, but who knows.I think going into that stint, I didn’t actually expect to be able to fight them, but yeah, when I knew I had a chance, I just kind of gave it everything, and thankfully we managed to get one of them. Yeah, very grateful for that. Q. Felix, just wanted to get some insight into the emotion that was going on around the team and the awning on the pit wall as Tom was obviously fighting to the front because it was a gripping finale. FELIX ROSENQVIST: It was cool. As Tom said before, I think at one point in the race, we didn’t really think we had it, and you never give up. At that point everything was just turned back on and everything was just starting to stand up in the pit box and the engineers were fired up and they were looking at five different scenarios.But in the end, it was just a sprint race, which is pretty cool. It was just a good old who gets first to the flag. I thought it was really cool to see from Tom, like he has found speed out of thin air it seemed like, and everyone just got excited.Yeah, I’m really positively surprised how cool racing in GTP is. I’ve never done it before, and it’s something else for sure. Q. Were you surprised how intense it was throughout? The restarts in particular seemed really aggressive. FELIX ROSENQVIST: Absolutely. It’s like a sprint race. It’s just like INDYCAR every restart. People are going on the high line and going tight. You leave a little gap and someone is there immediately. I feel like every year it just gets a little bit more towards that direction. It was definitely a shock to the system the first stint, managing that.But it’s really cool. Really good racing.FastScripts Transcript by ASAP SportsInterviews with Dennis Olsen, Frederic Vervisch, Christopher Mies THE MODERATOR: We now have our winners in GTD Pro Class Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3. Again, from your left to right, Dennis Olsen, Frederic Vervisch, and Christopher Mies.20th victory at Daytona for the Mustang; first win globally for the Mustang GT3; Dennis’ second career IMSA victory; the first was at Lime Rock Park in, so this is obviously his first Rolex 24 win.For Frederic, first IMSA victory in his fifth start in the series. Previous best was third in the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona.Christopher, this is his second IMSA victory. His first was at Motul Petit LeMans in 2017. This is also his first Rolex 24 victory.We’ll throw it open to questions. Q. As we’ve seen, this race may be 24 hours long but it’s decided in the very closing minutes. How conscious were you of what was going on directly behind you, and what does this say for this car that you guys were able to return and get this great victory today? DENIS OLSEN: Oh, I have to say I was watching the mirror every single corner about the Chevy coming up the inside, and I just really made sure to cover them up and just played that the car would hold, make sure that — hope that the diffuser and the bumper doesn’t go off and getting a technical flag, but luckily didn’t.Yeah, eventually KO started and I managed to get a gap and from there it was a bit more comfortable luckily. But yeah, I think it was a faultless race by all the team, by all the drivers.It’s incredible having Ford Performance and Multimatic, new structure, new lineups. Incredible. Q. Ford announced this car last year. You’ve been part of the development of GT cars through the years. I don’t remember quite such a remarkable turnaround in one year. CHRISTOPHER MIES: Yeah, it’s simply amazing. When I saw the line for line, I immediately got into contact with Ford and with Multimatic. I said, I want to be part of it. Yeah, I wanted the change, let’s say, after a long stint with another brand. Yeah, we came here exactly a year ago, leading the race back then, which was fantastic for a new car.But like everyone we had some pedal issues. We solved them over the year. Coming back one year later together with Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports is incredible.Obviously we know each other from the season in Europe, which is also a cool thing I think. Frederic and I got to do the first time full season of IMSA, which has been personally a dream of mine since I came here the first time in 2017. Everything just comes together right now. It’s unbelievable. Q. Dennis, you were sitting on the sidelines for another famously physical end to a GT race where it didn’t go your way. How did it feel this time? DENNIS OLSEN: I was very glad that we had a bit more space this time. 2022 it was hard. That was with Porsche. That was Laurens Vanthoor and (indiscernible), so that ended in tears for me.This year also ended in tears but in a good way. Very, very proud, and yeah, no words. Q. It was so physical and intense in GTD Pro throughout this race and particularly towards the end. Give us a sense of what it was like behind the cockpit in some of these battles and trying to avoid contact because there was so much of it? FREDERIC VERVISCH: Yeah, basically the race starts the last four hours, let’s say, and until then you want to have a proper car, car in the best shape possible so you can fight, because like every year it’s a sprint race. It’s the last 15 minutes, 10 minutes of the race which counts, and yeah, you want to be in the best possible shape.It’s difficult because there’s a lot of different categories, different battles in different classes, and then you have the teams where you have to be fast enough but careful and a lot of misunderstandings, as well.Like Dennis said and Chris, we did an amazing job to just keep the car in one piece and then to give him a strong car for the end, and that’s what made us win, I think. Q. Talking about the development of the car, are there any specifics from last year to this year that you’ve noticed that have really stood out in making that big (indiscernible) in just the year? CHRISTOPHER MIES: I think the most obvious one is that the rear deck lid isn’t coming off anymore. We figured out quite quickly where it came from. Obviously from side drafting, but to be honest in development or testing when do you ever side draft, right? It never happens.We had to learn the hard way in the first race, which is one of the toughest races in the world straightaway. So yeah, we had no preparation really to test that.But there have been things in the background and also on the team side. I must say this is probably the biggest improvement compared to last year. Yeah, it just feels like we made another good step in terms of preparation and stuff.This is probably the biggest part, and then obviously little things on the car. There’s for sure still things we need to improve for the future and people are working on that, but time will tell. Q. Question for Frederic: I’m sure you guys are aware that Corvette are no easy team to beat. They’ve got a lot of experience here. Corvette versus Ford has been an interesting rivalry. I wanted to hear, was that something you were aware of in the background, this rivalry, and how does it feel to perhaps win this race? FREDERIC VERVISCH: Yeah, I think it’s quite a struggle, the battle between Ford and Chevrolet. Yesterday we met Jim Farley, and he said whatever you do, you have to be in front of Chevrolet, as a joke, of course.No, of course we were aware of this, and I think they’re extremely strong, and I think they hide their A game because suddenly they were going a lot faster than yesterday.Yeah, super proud that we could stay ahead and maybe out-strategy them. I will not say too much, but we did some very ballsy calls I would say in the team, so big congrats to the team, as well, for that.It was exciting for me and Chris to be on the sidewall for him, of course, but for us it was even worse I have to say.CHRISTOPHER MIES: It was not exciting (chuckling). Q. Chris and Fred, obviously this is the start of the championship full season for you guys. Can you talk about what that means and this new adventure for you guys in the WeatherTech Championship and visiting new tracks for the first time and all the success you’ve had here to jump start your program?CHRISTOPHER MIES: Well, it’s a great start to a new chapter I would say and to full time. I think we know 75, 80 percent of the tracks already so there are just a few we don’t know, but in general I don’t know any racing driver who isn’t a fan of IMSA racing (indiscernible).You go on the back tracks in the world. Like there’s no bullshit about track limits and stuff. It’s the track, the grass and the wall. That’s how it should be. I’ve been a fan of IMSA since I came here the first time. I think Fred has been here before me but in different categories.Anyway, it’s a good start, and obviously we know that we still have some weakness and we need to work on that, so it doesn’t mean that every race goes like that, but to kick things off and especially for the team, I’m very happy. They have worked very hard and obviously had a hard time last year, and to have success like this now in one of the biggest races in the world is a great reward for them.FREDERIC VERVISCH: I think he said everything. Yeah, we are leading the championship probably, so good start of the year I would say, but still very long and that’s clearly our target and the target of the team so that a Ford can win. I’m happy that we are on target. Q. The top three finishers in the GTD Pro class were all comprised of three-man race teams as well as the winners of the GTP class. Is there anything you think that can be said for that or just a coincidence? CHRISTOPHER MIES: I think it’s a coincidence, but in general I think a 24-hour race, especially one like Daytona, it’s always better to do with three drivers. Obviously the prep is quite short, and if you have to share the sessions with another driver, it’s obviously more difficult and complicated, also in terms of drive time and stuff in the race.Strategy-wise, I think it’s always better the less drivers the better. I think next year we try to go with one or two and see how it goes. (Laughter.) Q. I wanted to get a take on how feisty it got with Corvette and Formula towards the end of this race. It was ready to come to blows. I want to get your thoughts on how close it got. DENNIS OLSEN: I think from my side it was my target to make it difficult for them and that they would fight. That was my only chance. They were quicker. Honestly, I had to defend my position and stay inside. That’s the only thing. Once they start to fight, I could try to run away, and that’s what we did.Other than that, I had no idea what happened. I didn’t see it. I just saw I had a gap. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP SportsInterviews with Sebastien Bourdais, John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez, Job Van Uitert THE MODERATOR: We have now our LMP2 winners here at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. In the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07. From left to right, Sebastien Bourdais, John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez, and Job Van Uitert.For Seb, 14th victory in IMSA competition; third win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He won prototype and overall in 2014, GTLM in 2017.John, this is his sixth IMSA win; first Rolex 24 win. Previous best was second in 2021. This was his 10th Rolex 24 start.For Sebastian Alvarez, this is his first IMSA victory; fourth career start in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This is third Rolex 24 appearance.For Job, second IMSA win; previously won Petit Le Mans in 2020; first Rolex 24 win, fourth career start for him. Q. Sebastien, you almost got caught up in the big one, how close was it to completely ending right then and there? SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I was part of the big one, big time. The car over my left fender, a car over my right fender and I don’t think I had trim time to back off because I made contact because I was in the gearbox of the Pratt Miller car and it all came to a stop. It was like Days of Thunder.Yeah, honestly, when it all cleared in front of me and the car still had four wheels on it and the steering wheel was straight, I was like, man, this is just a miracle. That’s about as much as I know because I didn’t see anything coming I had no warning, and all of a sudden it came to a stop in front and it was no chance.For more than one reason we feel very, very fortunate to be sitting here because it could have been over quite a few times actually. Q. This new chapter with Tower Motorsports and IMSA (indiscernible)? SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Yeah, what can we say? The boys did an amazing job. Rick’s team of mechanics, which is the best ESM group that Philippe Dumas put together. Bunch of French actually and a few Americans, and a really, really solid group of mechanics.Ryan did a really, really good strategy for us. We definitely didn’t have the fast he’s car, but we kept our heads down and mostly stayed out of trouble.Yeah, there was a lot of carnage around us, just a lot of really, really aggressive driving which ended up in contacts.I was very surprised, to be honest. I’m not used to that in GTP, and I don’t think I have managed to pass someone without someone just hitting me, plain and simple, which I’m not a big fan of that. Really every time I was super happy that the car was still straight and we kept going forward because it was a pretty solid hit.Yeah, it was very strange, but thanks to John for putting this together and thanks to my teammates who really did a great job. It was a solid effort. We looked really strong at night and then kind of faded a bit when it got hotter, which we were kind of afraid of.But definitely no better way to start the relationship with Tower Motorsports, and we’ll head to Sebring with our heads high and our hopes up. Q. For Sebastien, where would you put this in your list of accomplishments considering moving to this team for this year? SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don’t know, to be honest with you. It’s almost like it was awarded to us in some respect because it seemed for a minute that nobody wanted to win it because, like, I’ve rarely seen someone torpedo another car like Beche did with Palou. It was just one incident like this after another in front of us or behind us or around us.It was a weird race, but we had hopes at times. Sometimes it felt like it was a bit hopeless, and to come out on top no matter how you got there at some point, it’s just one of those races where nobody remembers how you got there, and personally it’s my third, but it never gets old winning. I’m really happy that we could bring the result for John who’s been running after that Rolex for a little while.It’s a lot of financial commitment to put those LMP2 efforts on the privateer side, and I think people forget that a little too often.Really, hats off to John for putting that effort together with Rick, and yeah, we had quite a bit of fun doing it. Can’t complain. Q. Your name has been mentioned for possible Indy 500 ride. Is that likely, or how would you characterize any likelihood of that happening? SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: You’ve got to ask Chip. Q. Job, you continue the tradition of Dutch class victories in the Rolex 24, which is a great thing of course. A lot of emotions for you here at Daytona. Once you didn’t even get to race because your teammate crashed out, then you came really close. It was heartbreak it didn’t happen. Take us through the emotions what winning this one means to you. JOB VAN UITERT: Yeah, I think for all of us it’s a childhood dream that comes true. We all want to win these big races, if it’s Daytona, Le Mans, Spa 24-hour, Nürburgring 24-hour. We all work really hard for it. The amount of hours that go into it, not even on track here but just the preparation over the past months and also the personal involvement that you have with it, the amount of passion that you give towards it, yeah, that makes it even more important.Yeah, to finally make it happen on a big 24-hour race, for me that was an emotional feeling after the race. Definitely some tears here and there. I hope I can feel that more often in the future. Q. You mentioned your grandfather after the race. Did you have the feeling he was with you in that car? JOB VAN UITERT: Yeah, I never knew my grandfather actually but he has the same name as me, so I always feel as if I’m a bit in this world for him. It makes me proud thinking about him every time I jump in the car, and that’s what I… Q. Sebastien, you and I were speaking earlier in the weekend and you said you’re still getting up to grips in the P2 car. Still finding feel. Ultimately you weren’t quite having yet the best time. Has that changed at all? SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: We had quite a few inside jokes for sure with Job and it’s an interesting tread sometimes. But the car was really difficult to drive. Daytona is historically a very tough track because it’s low grip. It’s quite worn out in the infield and it makes tire deg quite high, you’re running low downforce.The P2 has been a little sabotaged to not go too, too fast, as well, so it doesn’t make it the easiest handling car to get around, and the smallest difference in mechanical grip makes a big lap time difference. I think we’re still kind of trying to find the best setup, but for sure it was the best car we had from the November test, the Roar and the 24 weekend all together.We’re still probably missing about a half a second, but it’s the closest we had been, and at night when it got cold, we definitely picked up enough grip that we were in contention. It looked like it was going to be really difficult during the day, and finally it kind of came to us mostly because of indents and unforced errors from others.But yeah, it’s not an easy car to drive. To kind of get 90 percent out of it is easy, but it’s not a car that you can hustle around. You really have to |
