2023 Rolex 24, Final Hour: Meyer Shank Racing Claims Back-To-Back Daytona Wins

Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian and the #60 Acura ARX-06 LMDh driven by Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Simon Pagenaud, and Helio Castroneves won the 61st annual Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona – the first race in the new era of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

It’s the first win on debut for the new Acura prototype, head of the class in the IMSA GTP category. The second win in a row for Blomqvist and Pagenaud, the first overall win for new recruit Braun, and a third in a row for Castroneves, the record-tying four-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

Here’s how the action unfolded in this final hour.

With 53 minutes left the #87 FastMD Duquiene D08 LMP3 stopped at Speedway turns one and two. The threat of a full course yellow led several teams to pit their cars as a precaution across GTP and both GTD classes. Indeed, two minutes later the FCY was deployed, though the stricken car was able to continue on.

The top four in GTP made their final pit stops, so too did most of the GTD leaders – with the exception of the #70 Inception Racing McLaren, caught out at the end of their stint. And the top four in LMP2 had already pitted.

The green flag waved with 35 minutes to go – but with the goal in sight for so many, some lost their nerve in a split second. Amongst a frantic first-corner scramble, Philip Ellis tried to force his way past Antonio Garcia to the left, but Garcia’s Corvette pushed Ellis into that same concrete wall that bit them earlier in the week – breaking their left-rear suspension, and their hearts, just half an hour from the goal.

As it limped, Trent Hindman in the #77 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R and Miguel Molina in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 collided in the International Horseshoe, and for the 14th time the FCY was deployed with Molina’s car also too damaged to continue.

The race restarted with just under 27 minutes to go. Earl Bamber ripped around the outside of Renger van der Zande to take third in the blue and black #02 Cadillac Racing V-LMDh, while Job van Uitert snuck into second in LMP2 past Nicklas Nielsen. On the following lap, Van der Zande outbraked Bamber to retake third in the yellow and black #01.

Not long after catching fire in the pit lane when fuel splashed on a hot brake, the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 of Mario Farnbacher overtook the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Aaron Telitz.

With 20 minutes to go, Job van Uitert tried to overtake Ben Hanley for the class lead – and spun himself out at turn one! He gave up second place in LMP2 to the #88 AF Corse Oreca of Nicklas Nielsen, and James Allen – who led oh so briefly at the start of the hour – was now third in the #55 Proton Competition Oreca.

Marvin Kirchhöfer’s chances of a GTD class podium looked finished after they were caught out in the second-to-last FCY, but he went on a tear past Farnbacher to take third place.

Late heartache also struck the #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX, who went off at the Le Mans Chicane with ten minutes left and went back to its pit, the lack of urgency around it painting a picture of dejection in itself as they fell out of contention.

Lap 783, the final lap. Blomqvist had clear sailing in front of him as he collected the chequered flag in GTP and Overall for Meyer Shank Racing and Acura.

Marco Sorensen took the chequered flag first among the GTD cars, giving Heart of Racing Team and Aston Martin their first-ever Rolex 24 victories alongside co-drivers Roman de Angelis, Darren Turner, and Ian James – all first-time winners.

The #79 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 converted their pace in the Roar and throughout practice into a GTD Pro class victory for Engel, Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon, and Cooper MacNeil.

In an amazing finish for LMP2 victory, Hanley held Allen off at the exit of turn one, and appeared to drive on to victory – the first for the new CrowdStrike Racing with APR project formed from the assets of CORE Autosport’s last entry – with co-drivers George Kurtz, Matt McMurry, and Esteban Gutierrez!

But in the final few hundred metres, Allen tucked into the slipstream, looked to the outside and got past Hanley to snatch the LMP2 win on the final lap! An incredible victory for Proton Competition, for co-drivers Fred Poordad, Francesco Pizzi, and Gianmaria Bruni after all the hardship and adversity they faced all week from qualifying through practices.

The #17 AWA Duquiene D08 of Wayne Boyd, Nico Varrone, Thomas Merrill, and Anthony Mantella comfortably won the LMP3 class in the Canadian team’s first LMP3 outing. They finished 15th overall and 11 laps ahead of the next car in class.

More to come!