DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2016) – A former championship team established itself Friday as one of early favorites in the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The No. 60 HONDA HPD Ligier JS P2 entry of Michael Shank Racing With Curb/Agajanian led both practice sessions on the opening day of the “Roar Before the Rolex 24” preseason test at Daytona International Speedway. The Roar is the first action of the year for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, enabling preparation for the season-opening Rolex 24 on Jan. 30-31.

In 2012, Shank fielded a Rolex 24-winning foursome; this year he has Ozz Negri Jr., Olivier Pla, John Pew and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular AJ Allmendinger in the No. 60. On Friday, Negri and Pla had the Prototype entry atop the two practices’ speed charts. In the morning session, Negri tuned a fast lap of 1 minute, 39.655 seconds (128.604 mph) on the 3.56-mile road course. Pla, who joined the Shank lineup officially on Thursday, led the afternoon session – and the first day overall – at 1:39.445 (128.875).

There also were two practice sessions for the BMW Performance 200, the Jan. 29 season-opener for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. The fastest laps of both sessions were posted by the No. 15 Ford Shelby co-driven by Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson of Multimatic Motorsports.

In addition to the on-track action, many drivers and teams were treated to their first look at the nearly completed $400 million DAYTONA Rising redevelopment project that has transformed the facility into the world’s first true motorsports stadium.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said NASCAR star Jamie McMurray who last year joined Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win both the Rolex 24 and the DAYTONA 500.

“The first thing I noticed … when you immediately look over [from the infield] you realize how big the grandstands are on the frontstretch and how long that is from Turn 4 all the way to Turn 1. The view on the outside of the track I think is the biggest change … it looks more like a stadium. So it’s really, really cool.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2016) – Saturday was a day for emerging storylines at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test sessions at Daytona International Speedway, starting with the surprising sprint to the top of speed charts by the revolutionary DeltaWing Prototype, driven by former IndyCar Series regular Katherine Legge.

The exotic-looking DeltaWing has been in competition since 2012, with limited success. But Saturday was a day for optimism after Legge led the first of three Rolex 24 At Daytona practice sessions on the 3.56-mile road course with a fast lap of 1 minute, 40.137 seconds (127.985 mph) in the No. 0 DeltaWing DWC13. It marked the first time a DeltaWing has topped a practice chart. In the process, it edged Friday’s fastest entry, the No. 60 Honda HPD Ligier JS P2, which ended the first session with a second-best 1:40.182 (127.927) lap.

It’s exciting to be back at Daytona and be fast,” said Legge, who is co-driving with Andrew Meyrick, Sean Rayhall and Andreas Wirth. “Being on pace and up with the leaders shows just how much we’re improving. And the great news is that I still feel we have more to give.”

The three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24, which wraps up today – sessions run from 9 a.m. until 3:40 p.m. – is the first action of the year for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, enabling preparation for the season-opening Rolex 24 on Jan. 30-31.

Scott Pruett was already in the storyline queue, before the first car hit the track this weekend. He’s a five-time Rolex 24 champion, an all-time record he shares with Hurley Haywood. In the quest for a new record, Pruett has changed teams for this year’s race, leaving Chip Ganassi Racing to join Action Express Racing; he’s co-driving a Corvette DP with reigning WeatherTech Championship Prototype class champions Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa, plus Filipe Albuquerque.

“The good Lord has blessed me with this incredible career,” Pruett said. “Winning this race as many times as I have … there are those tracks and those races that are truly magical. For me, one has been Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and most certainly and more so, Daytona [International Speedway]. I love coming here and being a part of [the Rolex 24].

“It’s exciting to be with Action Express and the whole group. It’s new, having been with my last team for 12 years. A championship-winning team is incredible to drive for … it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Scottish driver Jonny Adam is having fun, after landing a spot on Action Express’ second Corvette DP ride, thanks to winning the 2016 Sunoco Whelen Challenge. Adam has joined a first-rate lineup, co-driving with IndyCar Series regular Simon Pagenaud, Dane Cameron and Eric Curran.

Day 3

When on-track action was complete, the test’s fastest lap on the 3.56-mile road course belonged to the No. 2 Prototype class entry of Tequila Patrón ESM, a Honda HPD Ligier JS P2. Driver Luis Felipe Derani posted a 1 minute, 39.249 seconds (129.130 mph) lap Sunday afternoon, in the last of seven sessions.

The weekend’s Rolex 24 preparation came with a spectacular backdrop – the nearly complete DAYTONA Rising renovation that has transformed the “World Center of Racing” into the world’s first true motorsports stadium. Teams were treated to a preview of what they – and race fans – will experience when they return for the season-opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Impromptu reviews were over-the-top, starting with a competitor very familiar with the Speedway – five-time Rolex 24 At Daytona champion Scott Pruett, co-driver of the 5 Corvette DP Prototype of Action Express Racing.

“It’s fantastic,” Pruett said. “We saw a lot of it worked on last year – everything that was taking place, and [having] the anticipation of it getting done. At the Rolex 24 here in 2016, [they’re] getting everything prepared to be absolutely top-drawer. I can tell you for all the races we’ve been here and seeing all the work that’s been done continuously, it is a monumental task and I just applaud everybody at Daytona for getting it all done, having a vision to do it.

“You just don’t drive down a city street and all of a sudden see this massive racing facility. That is pretty spectacular and for all the people out there who don’t know much about Daytona or haven’t even thought about coming, it’s just truly magical being here. The energy … the excitement … everything that’s going to take place.”

Following are the top times posted during the Roar in the other three WeatherTech Championship classes – Prototype Challenge, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona.

• Prototype Challenge: 1:42.118/125.502 mph, Jack Hawksworth, No. 8 ORECA FLM09
• GT Le Mans: 1:45.088/121.955, Lucas Luhr, No. 100 BMW F13 M6
• GT Daytona: 1:47.852/118.830, Leh Keen, No. 22 Porsche GT3 R

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Words by Daytona International Speedway PR