IMSA: Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona Preview, How to Watch & Predictions

Rolex 24 At Daytona IMSA WeatherTech 2023 61-car starting field for the 2023 Rolex 24 hours of Daytona

This weekend kicks off the 2023 IMSA season, as well as the North American racing season as a whole, with the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

The American endurance classic will run its 61st race at the World Center of Racing in Daytona Beach, Florida this Saturday. The race will commence at 2 pm EST Saturday and run until 2 pm EST on Sunday.

How to Watch IMSA

The Rolex 24, as well as every IMSA race this season, will be broadcast in full on Peacock with flag-to-flag coverage for all 24 hours. On network TV the broadcast will be broken up between the USA Network and NBC. However, a few portions of the race will not be broadcast on either network.

The coverage will kick off at 1:30 pm EST on NBC and run through the start of the race until 2:30 pm. Then it will move to the USA Network from 2:30 – 8 pm & 10 pm to midnight. USA picks it back up at 6 am until noon Sunday and then passes the touch to NBC for the final two hours of the race. 

Roar Before The 24 Qualifying

This year’s Rolex 24 Hours are shaping up to be must-watch television. After last weekend’s Roar Before The 24 test concluded with a thrilling qualifying session, the reigning champion #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura will lead the field to green on Saturday. 

Tom Blomqvist put his #60 on pole in dramatic fashion last Sunday. After a mid-session crash from the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport, with Nick Tandy behind the wheel, the #60 only had one out lap and a flyer to bring itself from P7 to pole. When the session restarted, the British pilot got going off of pit lane with a mission and threw down one of the most exciting laps in recent memory to put himself on the top of the tower and claim the first pole of the LMDh era.

Predictions

  • GTP/Overall:
    • #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06
    • Drivers: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
  • LMP2:
    • #35 TDS Racing ORECA 07 Gibson
    • Drivers: Francois Heriau, Gedio van Der Garde, Josh Pierson, Job van Uilert
  • LMP3:
    • #36 Andretti Autosport Legier JS P320 VK
    • Drivers: Jarrett Andretti, Gabby Chaves, Dakota Dickenson, Rasmus Lindh
  • GTD PRO:
    • #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus
    • Drivers: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, Mike Conway
  • GTD:
    • #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin
    • Drivers: Roman de Angelis, Marco Sorensen, Ian James, Darren Turner 
Featured Image Credit: Courtesy of IMSA

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