It’s finally here. On Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET, the green flag will fly over a 47-car field in the 57th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It marks both the start of the IMSA 50th Anniversary Celebration and the beginning of an exciting new era for the sanctioning body and its flagship IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The field will include 47 cars spread across four classes of competition: Daytona Prototype international (DPi) — for factory-supported prototype sports cars, teams and drivers; Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) — a prototype class for Pro-Am driver lineups; GT Le Mans (GTLM) — the most competitive form of GT racing in the world with factory teams, drivers and race cars; and GT Daytona (GTD) — ultra-fast GT cars built to international GT3 technical specifications fielded by professional teams with Pro-Am driver lineups. In those cars will be many of the world’s best sports car racers whose names have been etched on everything from the Bishop-France Trophy to the back of Rolex 24 at Daytona winners’ watches, and in record books from Le Mans to Sebring. Joining them will be Formula 1 World Champions, NASCAR race winners, Indy 500 winners, champions from various other forms of motorsport, and uber-successful business people. It will be the first WeatherTech Championship race with the entire field riding on new Michelin tires as part of a new multi-year partnership between IMSA and the global tire brand, which also includes exclusive-supplier status for what now is known as the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge. It also kicks off the four-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, encompassing the four endurance races on the WeatherTech Championship schedule. Live race coverage will be provided for the first time by NBC Sports, which kicks off its multi-year partnership with 18 hours of coverage on NBCSN starting at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 26 and seven more live hours on the NBC Sports App. IMSA Radio continues its longtime coverage throughout race week on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.
Here’s a closer look at the 47-car field on the entry list released Jan. 16: — There are a total of 11 DPi cars, four LMP2 entries, nine GTLM entries and 23 entered in GTD. The field includes cars from 13 different manufacturers led by Cadillac (6 DPi) and Porsche (2 GTLM and 4 GTD) with six entries each. Lamborghini has five GTD entries, Acura (2 DPi, 2 GTD) and Ferrari (1 GTLM, 3 GTD) and Audi (4 GTD) have four entries each, with three BMWs (2 GTLM, 1 GTD) and two each from Mazda (2 DPi), Chevrolet (2 GTLM), Ford (2 GTLM), Lexus (2 GTD) and Mercedes-AMG (2 GTD). Nissan has one DPi entry. — No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 driver Andy Lally has the most Rolex 24 At Daytona wins of any driver in the field with five (all class wins — SRPII 2001; GT — 2009, 2011, 2012; GTD – 2016). He is tied for second on the all-time Daytona winners list with three other drivers: Peter Gregg, Hurley Haywood and Bob Wollek. Scott Pruett, the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona grand marshal, is the winningest driver in the Rolex 24 with 10 class victories. — Three drivers come into this year’s Rolex 24 with three career overall victories in the race: No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Joao Barbosa (2010, 2014, 2018) and Christian Fittipaldi (2004, 2014, 2018) and No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi driver Juan Pablo Montoya (2007, 2008, 2013). As participants in the DPi class, all three have an opportunity to pick up their fourth and move to within one of the record of five overall wins shared by Pruett and Haywood. — There are a total of 51 previous Rolex 24 winners on the entry list. Twenty-seven of the 47 cars have at least one former winner in its driver lineup, including 10 of the 11 DPi entries. Only the No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R does not have a previous winner among co-drivers Will Owen, Rene Binder, Agustin Canapino and Kyle Kaiser. Owen is the team’s only driver with a previous Rolex 24 start, which came in 2018. — Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has the most Rolex 24 wins in the field with eight, including each of the past two years in the GTLM class. The team’s other six – all overall victories – came in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2015. There are a total of 14 teams in the field with at least one Rolex 24 victory. — Porsche is far and away the winningest manufacturer in Rolex 24 history, with a total of 69 victories (22 overall, 47 class) since the race’s inception in 1962. Mazda is second on the list with 22 victories, all of them class victories. A Mazda overall victory in 2019 would be the manufacturer’s first overall win in the race. — The 2019 Rolex 24 field includes 40 drivers with one or more top-level IMSA championships, 33 drivers with at least one victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, five IndyCar/Champ Car Champions, four Indianapolis 500 winners, three drivers with Formula 1 Grand Prix race victories, two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winners and one Formula 1 World Champion.
Previous Rolex 24 at Daytona Winners in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (51)Andy Lally (5) – SRPII – 2001; GT – 2009, 2011, 2012; GTD – 2016Joao Barbosa (4) – P/Overall – 2018, 2014; DP/Overall – 2010; GTS – 2003Christian Fittipaldi (3) – P/Overall – 2018, 2014; DP/Overall – 2004Scott Dixon (3) – DP/Overall – 2006; P/Overall – 2015; GTLM – 2018Juan Pablo Montoya (3) – DP/Overall – 2007, 2008, 2013Bill Auberlen (2) – GTS-3 – 1997; GT3 – 1998Dirk Mueller (2) – GT1 – 1998; GTLM – 2017Timo Bernhard (2) – GT/Overall – 2003; GT – 2002Dominik Farnbacher (2) – GT – 2005; GTD – 2015Spencer Pumpelly (2) – GT – 2006, 2011Antonio Garcia (2) – DP/Overall – 2009; GTLM – 2015Joey Hand (2) – DP/Overall – 2011; GTLM – 2017Filipe Albuquerque (2) – P/Overall – 2018; GT – 2013Rene Rast (2) – GT – 2012; GTD – 2016John Potter (2) – GT – 2012; GTD – 2016Sebastien Bourdais (2) – P/Overall – 2014; GTLM – 2017Ryan Briscoe (2) – GTLM – 2015, 2018Fabio Babini (1) – GTU – 2000Patrick Long (1) – GT – 2009Justin Marks (1) – GT – 2009Mike Rockenfeller (1) – DP/Overall – 2010Ryan Dalziel (1) – DP/Overall – 2010 Jonathan Bomarito (1) – GT – 2010AJ Allmendinger (1) – DP/Overall – 2012Oliver Jarvis (1) – GT – 2013 Jon Bennett (1) – PC – 2014Colin Braun (1) – PC – 2014Patrick Pilet (1) – GTLM – 2014Nick Tandy (1) – GTLM – 2014Alessandro Pier Guidi (1) – GTD – 2014 Townsend Bell (1) – GTD – 2014Jeff Segal (1) – GTD – 2014Jan Magnussen (1) – GTLM – 2015Ben Keating (1) – GTD – 2015Pipo Derani (1) – P/Overall – 2016Stephen Simpson (1) – PC – 2016Chris Miller (1) – PC – 2016 Misha Goikhberg (1) – PC – 2016Oliver Gavin (1) – GTLM – 2016Tommy Milner (1) – GTLM – 2016 Marcel Fassler (1) – GTLM – 2016Marco Seefried (1) – GTD – 2016Ricky Taylor (1) – P/Overall – 2017Jordan Taylor (1) – P/Overall – 2017Kyle Masson (1) – PC – 2017Nicholas Boulle (1) – PC – 2017Daniel Morad (1) – GTD – 2017Richard Westbrook (1) – GTLM – 2018Rolf Ineichen (1) – GTD – 2018Mirko Bortolotti (1) – GTD – 2018Rik Breukers (1) – GTD – 2018
IMSA Champions in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (40)Oliver Gavin (7) – American Le Mans Series GT1 – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; American Le Mans Series GT – 2012; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2016; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2016 Joao Barbosa (6) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Christian Fittipaldi (6) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Jan Magnussen (5) – American Le Mans Series GT1 – 2008; American Le Mans Series GT – 2013; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2015; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2017, 2018 Andy Lally (4) – GRAND-AM SRPII – 2001; GRAND-AM SGS – 2004; GRAND-AM GT – 2006; GRAND-AM North American Endurance Cup GT – 2012 Patrick Long (4) – American Le Mans Series GT2 – 2005, 2009; American Le Mans Series GT – 2010; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2014 Jeroen Bleekemolen (4) – American Le Mans Series GTC – 2010, 2013; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2017, 2018 Antonio Garcia (4) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2013; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2015; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2017, 2018 Bill Auberlen (3) – IMSA GTS-3 – 1997; GRAND-AM GT – 2002, 2004 Dirk Mueller (3) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2000, 2011; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2018 Timo Bernhard (3) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2004; American Le Mans Series P2 – 2007, 2008 Dirk Werner (3) – GRAND-AM GT – 2007, 2009; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2017 Tommy Milner (3) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2012; WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2016; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2016 Jon Bennett (3) – WeatherTech Championship PC – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup PC – 2014 Colin Braun (3) – WeatherTech Championship PC – 2014, 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup PC – 2014 Eric Curran (3) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2016, 2018; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2018 Christina Nielsen (3) – WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2016, 2017; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2016 Romain Dumas (2) – American Le Mans Series P2 – 2007, 2008 Jeff Segal (2) – GRAND-AM GT – 2010, 2012 Timothy Pappas (2) – American Le Mans Series GTC – 2010, 2011 Joey Hand (2) – American Le Mans Series GT – 2011; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2018 Cooper MacNeil (2) – American Le Mans Series GTC – 2012, 2013 Jordan Taylor (2) – GRAND-AM DP – 2013; WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2017 Dane Cameron (2) – WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2014; WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2016 Townsend Bell (2) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2014; WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2015 Patrick Pilet (2) – WeatherTech Championship GTLM – 2015; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTLM – 2017 Ben Keating (2) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2017, 2018 Felipe Nasr (2) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2018; IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2018 Ian James (1) – American Le Mans Series P2 Andrew Davis (1) – GRAND-AM GT – 2011 John Edwards (1) – GRAND-AM North American Endurance Cup GT – 2013Simon Pagenaud (1) – American Le Mans Series LMP – 2010John Potter (1) – GRAND-AM North American Endurance Cup GT – 2012 Renger van der Zande (1) – WeatherTech Championship PC – 2016 Ricky Taylor (1) – WeatherTech Championship Prototype – 2017 Filipe Albuquerque (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Prototype – 2017Kyle Masson (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup PC – 2017Mario Farnbacher (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2017 Bryan Sellers (1) – WeatherTech Championship GTD – 2018 Luca Stolz (1) – IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTD – 2018 Previous 24 Hours of Le Mans Winners in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (33)Oliver Gavin (5) – GTE Pro – 2015; GT1 – 2006, 2005; GTS – 2004, 2002Timo Bernhard (3) – LMP1/Overall – 2017, 2010; GT – 2002 Jan Magnussen (3) – GT1 – 2009, 2005; GTS – 2004Marcel Fassler (3) – LMP1/Overall – 2014, 2012, 2011Nicolas Lapierre (3) LMP2 – 2018, 2016, 2015Dirk Mueller (2) – GTE Pro – 2016; GT – 2000Patrick Long (2) – GT2 – 2007, GT1 – 2004Mike Rockenfeller (2) – LMP1/Overall – 2010; GT2 – 2005Romain Dumas (2) – LMP1/Overall – 2010, 2016Tommy Milner (2) – GTE Pro – 2015, 2011Toni Vilander (2) – GTE Pro – 2014, 2012Earl Bamber (2) – LMP1/Overall – 2017, 2015 Fabio Babini (1) – GT – 2001Jeroen Bleekemolen (1) – LMP2 – 2008Antonio Garcia (1) – GTE Pro – 2011Ryan Dalziel (1) – LMP2 – 2012Pedro Lamy (1) – GTE Am – 2012Loic Duval (1) – LMP1/Overall – 2013Olivier Pla (1) – LMP2 – 2013Harry Tincknell (1) – LMP2 – 2014 Nick Tandy (1) – LMP1/Overall – 2015 Jordan Taylor (1) – GTE Pro – 2015Andrea Bertolini (1) – GTE Am – 2015 Joey Hand (1) – GTE Pro – 2016Sebastien Bourdais (1) – GTE Pro – 2016Townsend Bell (1) – GTE Am – 2016Jeff Segal (1) – GTE Am – 2016 Oliver Jarvis (1) – LMP2 – 2017Daniel Serra (1) – GTE Pro – 2017Dries Vanthoor (1) – GTE Am – 2017Fernando Alonso (1) – LMP1/Overall – 2018Laurens Vanthoor (1) – GTE Pro – 2018Matt Campbell (1) – GTE Am – 2018 IndyCar/Champ Car Champions in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (5)Scott Dixon (5) – 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 Sebastien Bourdais (4) – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007Alex Zanardi (2) – 1997, 1998 Juan Pablo Montoya (1) – 1999Simon Pagenaud (1) 2016 Indianapolis 500 Winners in Rolex 24 Field (4)Helio Castroneves (3) – 2001, 2002, 2009Juan Pablo Montoya (2) – 2000, 2015 Scott Dixon (1) – 2008 Alexander Rossi (1) – 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix Winners in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (3)Fernando Alonso – 32Rubens Barrichello – 11 Juan Pablo Montoya – 7 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race Winners in Rolex 24 Field (2)Juan Pablo Montoya – 2AJ Allmendinger – 1 Formula 1 World Champions in 2019 Rolex 24 Field (1)Fernando Alonso (2) – 2005, 2006
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