You’ve got previous Rolex 24 winners. You’ve got previous IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship champions. You’ve got a two-time Formula 1 World Champion. You’ve got Indianapolis 500 winners. You’ve got 24 Hours of Le Mans winners.
The prototype fields for the 57th Rolex 24 at Daytona have all of that. It’s become one of the biggest races in the world, and it’s this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
The WeatherTech Championship will have two prototype classes in 2019. The Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class includes professional teams and drivers with manufacturer-backed programs from Acura, Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan. After running in a combined Prototype class each of the past two seasons, LMP2 teams now will shift to its own class with Pro-Am driver lineups.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s Rolex 24 prototype field:
No. 84 JDC-Miller Motorsports
Cadillac DPi-V.R
Simon Trummer/Stephen Simpson/Chris Miller/Juan Piedrahita
Fans of JDC-Miller Motorsports’ “Banana Boat” look will be seeing double this year, with both of the team’s new Cadillac DPi entries sporting the bright yellow color scheme. In the No. 84 Cadillac DPi, Trummer, one of the drivers of the team’s No. 85 entry in 2018, will team with Simpson for the full season. Simpson shared the No. 99 ORECA last year with Misha Goikhberg for the full season and with Miller for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. That trio scored a popular victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Simpson and Goikhberg combined to finish inside the top five in the Prototype driver standings in both 2017 and 2018. Trummer, meanwhile, competed in the full 2018 season with co-driver Robert Alon, scoring a season-best result of sixth in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Piedrahita, from Colombia, is a four-year veteran of Indy Lights with a pole last year at Gateway Motorsports Park and two career podium results.
No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports
Cadillac DPi-V.R
Misha Goikhberg/Tristan Vautier/Devlin DeFrancesco/Rubens Barrichello
Goikhberg, the 2017 and 2018 Jim Trueman Award winner for the top-performing Prototype sportsman driver, continues his longstanding relationship with JDC-Miller Motorsports with Vautier as his new-for-2019 full-season co-driver. Frenchman Vautier is embarking on his first full WeatherTech Championship season since running the full 2017 campaign in the GTD class with SunEnergy1 Racing and was the 2012 Indy Lights champion. DeFrancesco, the 19-year-old Canadian is back for his second straight Rolex 24 with JDC-Miller Motorsports after racing GP3 and Formula 3 last year. Brazilian fan favorite Barrichello – and 11-time F1 Grand Prix winner – is back for his first Rolex 24 since finishing second in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP in 2016.
LMP2 Class
No. 18 DragonSpeed
ORECA/Gibson LMP2
Roberto Gonzalez/Pastor Maldonado/Sebastian Saavedra/Ryan Cullen
As part of a two-car DragonSpeed LMP2 lineup for the 2019 Rolex 24, the No. 18 squad brings an intriguing mix of experience. Gonzalez has raced in Champ Car, the American Le Mans Series and each of the past two 24 Hours of Le Mans. Last year, the Mexican driver finished 12th in the Prototype class in the Rolex 24 alongside Saavedra in the No. 52 entry. Colombian Saavedra ran the full WeatherTech Championship season last year, scoring a best result of fifth at Mid-Ohio. He too has raced IndyCar and was a four-time Indy Lights race winner. Maldonado, another Colombian, is making his Rolex 24 debut in 2019, but owns 95 career Formula 1 starts and took a victory in the 2012 Grand Prix of Spain at the Catalunya circuit. Irish racer Cullen brings experience from GP3, Porsche Supercup and European Le Mans Series experience.
No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports
ORECA/Gibson LMP2
Kyle Masson/Robert Masson/Cameron Cassels/Kris Wright
If your last name is Masson and you’re a part of this driver lineup, you’re already a Daytona winner. Kyle Masson took a PC class victory in the 2017 Rolex 24 at the age of 19. Last year, his father, Dr. Robert Masson, won the IMSA Prototype Challenge MPC class in the series’ inaugural race at Daytona. Cassels also is a Daytona winner, taking the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) victory in 2017. Wright is the 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge LMP3 champion. He finished second in class at Daytona last year.
No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
ORECA/Gibson LMP2
Matthew McMurry/Gabriel Aubry/Mark Kvamme/Enzo Guibbert
Although he’s just 21 years old, McMurry is already competing in his fifth Rolex 24 At Daytona. His best result of fifth came in his debut in a Michael Shank Racing Prototype back in 2015. It will be Kvamme’s sixth consecutive Rolex 24 with a best result of third in the PC class in 2017. French racers Aubry and Guibbert each will make their Rolex 24 debut this weekend, but both have previous 24 Hours of Le Mans experience.
No. 81 DragonSpeed
ORECA/Gibson LMP2
Henrik Hedman/Ben Hanley/Nicolas Lapierre/James Allen
You could say Lapierre had a pretty decent 2018. He won both the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He still needs a Rolex 24 win to complete the trifecta, though. He’ll be joined by Hanley, who previously raced in the Rolex 24 with DragonSpeed back in 2017 and also will drive DragonSpeed’s new IndyCar in five races later this year. Hedman raced for DragonSpeed at Sebring in 2016 and at Daytona in 2017 as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans each of the past two years. Australian driver Allen finished sixth overall and fifth in the LMP2 class in his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 2017. This will be his first Rolex 24 At Daytona attempt.
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