The 24 Hours of Daytona facing the problem of demand

The new golden age ofEndurance will begin at the end of January 2023 with the 24 Hours of Daytona. For the first major race of this new era, registrations continue to arrive. Already in 2021, the opening race of the season welcomed 61 cars, a first in eight years. This number could increase further in 2023, but to what extent? The question of reception capacity is already being asked…

"It's a good problem to have, honestly, estimates the president of theIMSA, John Doohan. Our sport is experiencing considerable momentum and I believe 2023 will move in this direction. Even compared to a year ago, we have an uptick in interest from competitors wanting to compete in the Rolex 24 and the WeatherTech Championship season as a whole. New cars aside, this is a truly special time for Endurance. »

Of course, all eyes will be on the new LMDhs which will compete in the GTP category starting at the Florida classic at the end of January, but the 61st edition of the event will also mark the debut of many new GT3s in competition, such as the Ferrari 296, the Porsche 911 GT3 R ou la nouvelle évolution de la Lamborghini Huracán (Evo 2). “The interest around the GT classes is significant, confirms the president of IMSA. The Ford Mustang program is coming in 2024 along with the availability of a customer Corvette. We are really happy with how GTD Pro has been received in its first season and we should have a similar number of registrations to what you saw in 2022. We are very lucky to be in this situation. »

Same problem for the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Add to this that the LM P2 and LM P3 will still be there. “The good news is that we see that no category is forgotten in this process of dynamism and growth that we are seeing, continues John Doohan. LM P2 has attracted a lot of interest over the past two seasons, particularly from some teams that have traditionally competed in Europe who are interested in coming to the North American market for corporate partnership reasons. It's the same thing for the LM P3. You add it all up and those two classes probably make up half of our grid for Daytona 2023.”

The problem of the rich following this flourishing success will quickly rest on that of reception capacity. Both on the starting grid and in the Florida Speedway facilities. “One of the things we have to look at in the case of Daytona entries is the number of garages, the space in the paddock and, of course, in the pit lane, explains Doohan. There are only a limited number of boxes. Last year we had 61 cars and it was already tight. With the new GTPs, there are certain elements surrounding these cars and their hybrid technology that could force us to give them more space. »

This does not seem to worry John Doohan too much, however. “This is a good problem to come.”, he philosophizes. A problem that Daytona and IMSA will not be the only ones to face, since the 24 Hours of Le Mans also risk finding themselves cramped. The promoters thus find themselves confronted with the success of their new regulation and their famous convergence between the two sides of the Atlantic. Since the starting grids are not infinitely expandable, it is up to them to limit the number of participants by carefully distributing entry tickets and changing some of them if necessary. Endurance is definitely becoming a trendy place for 2023 and there will no longer be room for everyone.

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