24 Highlights from the Rolex 24 at Daytona Race
January 27-28 marked the 56th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona ? known as the Rolex 24 ever since the Swiss watch brand became official timekeeper and title sponsor in 1992 ? and WatchTime was there among a select group of media guests of Rolex to witness a history-making weekend of racing ? along with several other memorable moments. Here are 24 of them, one for each hour of the legendary endurance race.
1. Grand Marshal’s Dinner with Chip Ganassi
On the eve of the 24 Hours of Daytona race, Rolex hosted the customary Grand Marshal’s dinner in the Daytona 500 Club. This year’s Grand Marshal was racing legend Chip Ganassi, former driver, Motorsports Hall of Famer, and owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, which had several teams represented in the next day’s race, including the one that would eventually take the victory in the GT Le Mans category. The race, considered the first leg of the Triple Crown of endurance racing, along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring, comprises three competition classes ? Prototypes, driven by professionals, purpose-built race cars generally considered the fastest and most advanced vehicles on the track; GT Le Mans, driven by pros and based on manufacturers’ production models; and GT Daytona, the pro-am class in which customer teams are supported by manufacturers such as BMW, Acura, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The rules, which may seem complicated to an auto racing novice, are actually simple: the car ...
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