Era Motorsport Claims LMP2 Class Win at Daytona
Words by Matthew Boyce. Cover image by ShutterSpeed Action Photography
The Era Motorsport No. 18 Oreca 07 Gibson of Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch and Christian Rasmussen has claimed the LMP2 class win at the 62nd IMSA Rolex 24 at Dayonta. Rasmussen controlled the race during the final stages, holding off the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca of Malthe Jakobsen. The No. 04, for the second year in a row, had to settle for the second position in class. Jakobsen was joined by George Kurtz, Colin Braun and Toby Sowery on the podium.
For much of the morning and afternoon hours, the No. 18 and No. 04 dueled back and forth for the class victory. Over the closing hours of the race, the No. 18 of Rasmussen proved to be too much for the No. 04 of Jakobsen. The final race restart proved to be the final chance for the No. 04 team, but Jakobsen on the restart made contact with a GTP car, sending them spinning. Jakobsen rallied late, but was not able to get close enough to make a move around the No. 18.
Jake Galstad/LAT Images
After making a jump from the LMP3 class to the LMP2 class this season, the No. 74 Riley Oreca of Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon and Felipe Massa finished on the podium in third. Fourth in class was the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca driven by Kuba Smiechowski, Nick Boulle, Tom Dillmann and Pietro Fittipaldi. Rounding out the top five was the No. 8 Tower Motorsports Oreca of John Farano, Ferdinand Habsburg, Michael Dinan and Scott McLaughlin. A early race favorite, the No. 2 United Autosport Oreca, finished in sixth with Ben Keating, Nico Pino, Ben Hanley and Pato O'Ward.
The LMP2 class, which is usually known for having reliable machinery, suffered a large amount of attrition during this version of the Rolex 24. Cars from MDK by High Class Racing, TDS Racing, United Autosports, Sean Creech Motorsport, AO Racing and AF Corse all had machines that retired from competition throughout the contest with varying issues.
