We just wrapped up the Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona. As I had mentioned last week, the team worked an incredible amount of hours to get our two Mazda RT24-Ps ready for the test, and that hard work continued throughout the Roar.
The first day we had beautiful weather, and although the second day started off raining, we are able to maximize the afternoon sessions and all of night practice to start really logging some miles.
On Sunday we were greeted with cold and windy conditions – temperatures were in the 30s in the morning – but that didn’t stop our team from continuing to further develop the platform as we ran all the way through the seventh and final session.
The track stayed very busy during the test with 55 entries, and it was fun being in our Mazda Prototype. Slicing through GT traffic takes a lot of mental focus as you’re talking with the team on the radio, thinking about setup changes and also managing all the cars on track! The closing speeds on GT cars can be really quick, so you have to think far in advance and be ready for any sudden surprises, too.
We were really encouraged by the pace we were able to achieve with different setup configurations. It will be very interesting to see what IMSA does with the balance of performance. We’re excited to have 12 Prototypes in the class. Some are a proven P2 spec, while the DPi is brand new, so its performance potential is still to be determined.
In total, the team was able to log 250 laps between the two Mazdas. Just like with any new car, the goal was to log a lot of miles to see what works and what doesn’t. We were able to better understand what items we’ll need to focus on as we prepare now for the Rolex 24 at the end of the month.
The team did an incredible amount of work from when the garages opened to when they closed every day, and we left the Roar knowing what we need to accomplish both on the cars and with our team strategy for this new platform. It will be a short couple of weeks until we are back for the season opener. It’s going to be a flat-out sprint to get prepared for the Rolex 24 of Daytona!