And now we hit the portion of the class previews where we could be talking about not just class winners, but overall winners. Due to the new hybrid technology and all-new cars found in the GTP class (the class formerly known as DPi, but tastefully renamed to throw things back to the nomenclature of the era when I fell in love with IMSA racing), an LMP2 car could come through a pile of smoking, sparking top class cars to win this thing outright. Which of the LMP2s is most likely to do just that?
The Solid......Pack
#55 Proton Competition ORECA LMP2 07 - Honestly, there are no tail enders in this class, and basically every car looks roughly as capable as any other to make the podium or even win. However, the #55 Proton car is both starting last in class, and only completed three laps in the final Friday practice session. The #55 could be starting behind the 8-ball. Odds - 15 to 1.
#20 High Class Racing ORECA LMP2 07 - There's going to be a lot of similar sounding previews here....but the #20 car has been mid-pack-ish in pace, in both qualifying (when it wound up 7th), and in last practice (when it wound up 5th, but actually set the same lap time as 4th, and was only 0.031 second behind 3rd). There'll be other, more likely cars to win. Odds - 12 to 1.
#51 Rick Ware Racing ORECA LMP2 07 - Like the #20, the #51 Rick Ware Racing car has been down on speed, qualifying 6th in class, and wrapping up the last Friday practice 9th in class. Not a great set of signs, but anything can (and usually does) happen in this class. Odds - 11 to 1.
#04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 - Another car that could easily compete for a podium or even a win, given just a break or two. Odds - 11 to 1.
#8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 - A slight "hot take" here, putting a car with IndyCar superstars Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin this far down the pecking order, but neither has run 1) any race in a prototype car, 2) any race with multiple classes of cars on the track, and 3) a single 24 hour race. While this car might show flashes of extreme pace, I'd frankly be pretty shocked if they can keep it on the track and out of trouble for all 24 hours. Odds - 10 to 1.
#88 AF Corse ORECA LMP2 07 - A ringer team from Europe, I fully expect this car to be up around the top-5 or even top-3 for the majority of the race. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine these guys taking the expensive watches back across the pond when this is all over on Sunday. Odds - 9 to 1.
#35 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 - Another ringer Euro team, with young American Josh Pierson on the driving roster. The TDS cars have been fast all month, and should absolutely compete for the win. Odds - 7 to 1.
#11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 - See above, but this car is loaded with guys who've run Daytona multiple times. A near shoo-in for a podium. Odds - 7 to 1.
#52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 - The class pole sitter. Nicolas Lapierre will likely have driving duties down the stretch as the clock dwindles to the 24 hour mark, and few guys are as quick in an LMP2 car. If they're in the hunt, they'll be hard to beat. Odds - 7 to 1.
#18 Era Motorsport ORECA LMP2 07 - The 2021 LMP2 class winners of the Daytona 24 Hours, they've brought arguably their best ever driver lineup, a roster including platinum Oliver Jarvis, gold Ryan Dalziel, and "sneaky silver" Christian Rasmussen. If I had to give a single car in this class the edge over the others, it'd be this one. Odds - 6 to 1.
And then there was one! Come on back tomorrow for the conclusion of our class previews, followed by our coverage of the actual Daytona 24 Hours!
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