24 Hours of Daytona – Traffic management is essential in 2018 for the Corvette clan

The entry list for the next 24 Hours of Daytona shows a largely reinforced field in the premier prototype category with the arrivals of Acura Team Penske as well as United Autosports and Jackie Chan DC Racing.

In total, including the GTLM and GTD categories, 50 cars are expected at the start of the Florida double clock on January 27. Enough to offer great fights on the track, but also traffic management which will be very important.

« This year the traffic will be different with many more prototypes than we have seen in the past, comments Antonio Garcia, driver of the No. 7 Corvette C3.R alongside Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller.

Staying out of trouble for the first twenty or twenty-two hours will be even more important than usual. If we can do that, stay in contact with the leaders while maintaining a good pace, we will have a very good chance of winning.

The traffic will go crazy, especially with the number of rookies for this event. Many are experienced in other races, but they are still rookies here. It's up to us to repeat what we've done for the last three years here: no mistakes, no contact. »

Always in the running for victory in recent seasons, Corvette Racing, author of the double in GTLM in 2016, however had to leave its crown last year to the No. 66 Ford GT – Chip Ganassi Racing of the trio Hand – Müller – Bourdais.

Jan Magnussen, for his part, believes that the Roar Before the Rolex 24, contested at the beginning of the month, highlighted certain limitations of the new drivers in the event.

« The challenge this year is the number of pilots, specifies the Dane. There are many series like F1 and l'IndyCar. But not all of them have endurance racing experience. It takes a lot of respect for each other to advance in the race without being involved in incidents that end up costing you a trip to the garage or worse.

It will be a difficult year in this regard. After three days of testing in this peloton, we have the impression that the drivers are not as patient as they should be. This can prove costly in the race. »