Written by Adrian Beecher
Daytona, FL - Lexus and team 3GT Racing are set to start their second season of competition in the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship Series. Things get rolling officially Saturday afternoon at 2:40 pm EST when the Rolex 24 at Daytona takes the Green Flag.
Lexus Motorsports Manager Mark Egger says the bar of expectations is set high, "Going into this second race, we've got measured expectations and those expectations are we would over to get two cars over the finish line and survive the first 22 hours and then we'll see what happens after that."
In their first year of competition, the manufacturer had two cars in the running of the Rolex 24. Things didn't get started or end on the best of notes. In the No. 14 car, co-driven by five-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Pruett, Gustavo Menezes, Ian James
and Sage Karam, only Pruett saw action at the wheel during the race. The reason, a wreck on lap 54 that saw Pruett get nudged, as he recalls, sending into the outside barrier front first, ending the day for the No. 14 team, with a last-place finish in the GTD Class, after qualifying 6th.
Lexus Motorsports Manager Mark Egger says the bar of expectations is set high, "Going into this second race, we've got measured expectations and those expectations are we would over to get two cars over the finish line and survive the first 22 hours and then we'll see what happens after that."
In their first year of competition, the manufacturer had two cars in the running of the Rolex 24. Things didn't get started or end on the best of notes. In the No. 14 car, co-driven by five-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Pruett, Gustavo Menezes, Ian James
and Sage Karam, only Pruett saw action at the wheel during the race. The reason, a wreck on lap 54 that saw Pruett get nudged, as he recalls, sending into the outside barrier front first, ending the day for the No. 14 team, with a last-place finish in the GTD Class, after qualifying 6th.
Here's what happened to the No. 14 @3GT_Racing machine and @scottpruett01. #Rolex24 https://t.co/VtiwubW5Ge
— SPEED (@SPEED) January 28, 2017
Their second car in competition, the No 15 co-driven by Austin Cindric, Dominik Farnbacher, Robert Alon and Jack Hawksworth, lasted the entire race. However, they finished in 14th place in the GTD class just 53 laps behind the leader. The 24 hours were quite the journey for them as well. Losing a wheel early in the race, spinning in the horseshoe nearly midway through the race, and then losing their hood near the end of the race.
In an interview with Auto Week after the race last year, Austin Cindric still looked at it as a successful outing.
“Definitely a crazy race for the No. 15 Lexus,” Austin Cindric said. “We started out, and we were strong and moved into the top 10 by the end of my triple stint there, and once the rain started coming down, Jack (Hawksworth) and Dominik (Farnbacher) moved us into the lead, which was really cool. Unfortunately, we had a few tire issues but a 24-hour race with a brand-new race car, if that’s the only thing that’s going to relegate us a lap down, I think that’s really impressive and very representative for what this program has in the future.”
The future now brings us to Rolex 2018, with the 15 car starting in 4th position in GTD, and the No. 14 qualifying in the 6th overall place. The driver lineups have changed around as well, with Pruett moving to the No. 15 car alongside Farnbacher and Hawksworth from last year, along with new addition, 2014 Le Manns GTE Am Class winner and founder of BaseCamp, David Heinemeier Hansson joining the team.
In an interview with Auto Week after the race last year, Austin Cindric still looked at it as a successful outing.
“Definitely a crazy race for the No. 15 Lexus,” Austin Cindric said. “We started out, and we were strong and moved into the top 10 by the end of my triple stint there, and once the rain started coming down, Jack (Hawksworth) and Dominik (Farnbacher) moved us into the lead, which was really cool. Unfortunately, we had a few tire issues but a 24-hour race with a brand-new race car, if that’s the only thing that’s going to relegate us a lap down, I think that’s really impressive and very representative for what this program has in the future.”
The future now brings us to Rolex 2018, with the 15 car starting in 4th position in GTD, and the No. 14 qualifying in the 6th overall place. The driver lineups have changed around as well, with Pruett moving to the No. 15 car alongside Farnbacher and Hawksworth from last year, along with new addition, 2014 Le Manns GTE Am Class winner and founder of BaseCamp, David Heinemeier Hansson joining the team.
The Rolex 24 will be 57 year -old Pruett's final race as an end comes to his 50-year career. With a win on Sunday, Pruett will pass Hurley Haywood for the most ever wins at 6.
The No. 14 car see's an entirely different crew of drivers that are new to the Lexus Lineup. New to Lexus, however not strangers to the Rolex 24 is Bruno Junqueira from Brazil and Kyle Marcelli. Two of the drivers are set to make their first-ever Rolex 24 start, Dominik Baumann , and Philipp Frommenwiler.
The No. 14 car see's an entirely different crew of drivers that are new to the Lexus Lineup. New to Lexus, however not strangers to the Rolex 24 is Bruno Junqueira from Brazil and Kyle Marcelli. Two of the drivers are set to make their first-ever Rolex 24 start, Dominik Baumann , and Philipp Frommenwiler.
Frommenwhiler comes into his first ever Rolex 24 with a slew of experience in 24-hour endurance races including the 24 Hours Nürburgring, Total 24 hours of Spa, as well as Dubai.
"I was working on this for quite a while, when I got the call it was really nice," said Frommenwhiler of making his first ever Rolex 24 start. "I am happy to be here, I will try my best to bring the team forward also with my experience i bring from the European program."
His teammate and fellow first-time Rolex driver Baumann comes in fresh off a win in the A6-Am Class in the Hankook 24H Dubai with a 4th place overall finish on January 13th. Baumann feels that having races in a 24-hour race so recently will be a huge advantage.
"It helps for sure. It was a different race up there in Duabi. It was a good preparation for the race here. I am really excited, it's been a long time waiting to see the start of the race, but it's a good feeling. "
Now the stage is set, and the drivers are ready. Only time will tell if Lexus will get back to the success that they saw in a three-year span of Championships in the Rolex 24 At Daytona from 2006 to 2008 in the Prototype Class.
You can watch the 2018 Rolex 24 on TV or on the IMSA Website. Full TV Schedule listed below.
Saturday, January 27
Fox: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Green Flag will drop at 2:40 PM ET)
FS2: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
FSGO: 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM
FS1: 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM (Sunday)
Sunday January 28
FSGO: 1:00 AM - 8:00 AM
FS1: 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM
FSGO: 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
FS1: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Saturday, January 27
Fox: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Green Flag will drop at 2:40 PM ET)
FS2: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
FSGO: 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM
FS1: 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM (Sunday)
Sunday January 28
FSGO: 1:00 AM - 8:00 AM
FS1: 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM
FSGO: 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
FS1: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM