Motorsport Week explored what it was like for Era Motorsport when they were the only team who took on these key back-to-back endurance races.

Determination. Teamwork. Coordination. These fundamental traits run at the heart of every team competing in the illustrious yet gruelling discipline of endurance racing.

IMSA LMP2 and historic racing outfit Era Motorsport are no exception to this as the only team to run this year’s 24 Hours of Dubai, 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi and the 24 Hours of Daytona – all of which took place on consecutive weekends in January.

Take a deep dive into the stresses, heartbreaks and challenges endured during these major sportscar events by Era Motorsport.

Relive the insightful accounts from two of Era Motorsport’s most prominent racing drivers, team owner Kyle Tilley and team regular Ryan Dalziel.

Era Motorsport had three separate cars to race with two sets of crews, including two new engineers, for the Middle Eastern races and the United States-based affair.

They had two distinct racing entries for these events – the #81 Ferrari 296 GT3 and the #18 Oreca 07 LMP2 – with Kyle primarily managing the new Ferrari programme whilst his wife and team co-ordinator Sarah Tilley principally oversees their LMP2 programme.

The first two of seven 24H Series 2025 races run with the Creventic rules and regulations whilst Daytona is part of IMSA and their SportsCar Championship mixing prototype and Grand Touring machinery.

24H Dubai: A rough end to a smooth start for Era’s Ferrari programme

The 20th running of the Dubai 24 Hours was a major anniversary for the race and marked the beginning of Era Motorsport’s racing chapter with their Ferrari 296 GT3 programme, one of the newest GT3 cars customer teams can purchase.

Most notably, it marked the GT racing debut of reigning British Touring Car champion Jake Hill, whose partnership with Era Motorsport pre-existed in racing some of their historic cars in the past year as Tilley made his GT3 comeback.

Another team regular Dwight Merriman and Oliver Bryant joined and Tilley Dalziel as a five-driver line-up in the #81 Ferrari 296 Pro-Am GT3 class entrant for the race on 11-12 January.

“We were bringing in containers from different countries,” said Dalziel on the two separate Ferraris they had.

“We had the two cars were in different places for the Ferraris at one point, with [mechanical] parts in different parts of the world.

“It was definitely madness [in] the first couple of days.

“And you try your best to lend a hand but at the same time, [it’s] probably better the drivers don’t get involved in that stuff.

“At least my part of it, I try to make coffees for everybody and make sure everybody’s happy and I’m usually the class clown that motivates but from my side, it wasn’t overly difficult.

“I actually went to Dubai early, said the Scotsman who lives in Orlando, USA, “I wanted to make sure I got in the time zone.”

Dalziel on how he ‘led’ the drivers

Era Motorsport qualified 24th in a GT3 category mixed with Pro, Pro-Am, and Am entries, of which the #81 Ferrari belonged to the middle classification.

As with the majority of 24-hour races, qualifying played all but a small part in achieving a successful outcome for Era Motorsport.

“There’s a lot of new things, new elements to it, but not new to me.

“So I had done a season of the [Ferrari] 296, I’d also done a little bit of Creventic in the past and I’ve done a lot of GT3 racing.

“Nobody else in the car with me had done any of it.

“Dwight, it was new to him – he’d only done LMP2 racing.

“Jake Hill had never sat in a GT3 car, let alone do an endurance race, so on that programme I felt like I had to lead the drivers a little bit.”

Hill drew the eyes of many following the BTCC as Tilley gave praise to the 31-year-old.

“Jake’s massively talented. In my opinion, he’s slightly wasted just doing British Touring Cars.

“… So to be able to give him the step up into the GT3 car was something that’s been on my mind for a bit and he’s doing a great job.

“He had to learn his biggest hurdle that he’s never had to share a car before… that’s been a bit of a learning curve for him.”

An tough truth to process for Era Motorsport

At the Dubai 24 Hours, GT3 was the fastest class out of five for the ‘multi-class’ sportscar race.

Immediately after the race start, Era Motorsport suffered a leaky tyre which prompted an early pit stop.

Era Motorsport climbed back up and contended for a podium finish up until Merriman incurred a low speed impact with three-and-a-half hours remaining.

They were forced to retire despite the team’s best efforts and work to optimise strategy throughout the race.

No team out of the 65 entries which took on Dubai wants to be amongst the retirements and Era Motorsport unfortunately – though painfully close to the end.

“We like to say it’s the racing gods that decide the outcome of some of these things,” said Dalziel.

“And for me, I never bring my [emotional] baggage home.”

Tilley added his reflection: “The fact that we were there and in podium contention on the first time out shows what a good job both Ferrari and Oreca have done with the car, but also how well our engineering department got their heads around the car as soon as possible.”

The next stop for the Era Motorsport team was on the next weekend’s Abu Dhabi race on Sunday 19 January.

6H Abu Dhabi: Repeating GT3 podium contention

The second half of Creventic’s Middle East Trophy was at the Yas Marina Circuit, home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Dalziel mentioned a late, preferential decision by the team to bring him back to the USA for the Roar Before the 24 pre-event test weekend rather than competing in the Abu Dhabi race on Sunday 19 January.

“Honestly, had it been the European Le Mans Series, I wouldn’t have got back in the car because that’s far more intense than I really want to do right now,” Tilley quipped having driven with Merriman and Hill.

“But certainly with Creventic, it’s a lot of fun.

“It’s a chance to share a car with two good friends and the car’s a joy to drive.

“So it’s been really enjoyable getting back in a modern car again.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve had to, to readapt to is learning a modern tyre versus like an older cross-ply tyre, which a lot of the historic cars run.”

The GT3 field contained some of the most renowned teams in sportscar racing such as IMSA GTD champions Winward Racing, WRT and Garage 59 to name a few.

With Dalziel back on the US soil, Hill, Merriman and Tilley took on the race as a trio.

They repeated podium contention but were unable to translate their potential into a top result, having finished P25 in the GT3 field and P11 in the Pro-Am sub-category.

24H Daytona: A flawless run towards podium denial

The 63rd running of the Daytona 24 Hours marked Dalziel’s 20th consecutive start at the race hosted at the iconic Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Era Motorsport were reigning LMP2 class winners having attained their second ‘Rolex 24’ victory in 2024.

A mostly different line-up for this year underlined many unknowns for their pursuit for victory again, but the team were as determined as ever to not go down without trying.

Alpine Hypercar driver Paul-Loup Chatin joined Dalziel and two prominent technology businessmen, David Heinemeier Hansson and Tobias Lutke.

Lutke is CEO of the Shopify e-commerce outlet which was incidentally built on Hansson’s Ruby on Rails platform.

Hansson has far more experience and success in sportscar racing as Bronze-graded driver Lutke faced the thrills of IMSA multi-class racing at Daytona.

A baptism of fire for Lutke

“I think that we threw him into shark-infested waters and then we dumped a bucket of blood on his head repeatedly,” Dalziel understated.

“He was unable to do the official test in November due to Shopify conflicts.

“So then we tried to get him in some other stuff. We got him in the Historic Sportscar Racing [series].

“It’s just not the same, you don’t have the same pressure, but the first time that he was around 60 other IMSA cars, different speeds, faster [or] slower, was the Roar.

“Up until the Roar, he had actually never done any kind of simulated pit stops or driver changes in anger.

“He had a little bit of LMP3 experience, but in VP Challenge where the rules are not the same as WeatherTech.

“So he had never really understood how to enter and exit a pit box.

“It’s not until you realise how inexperienced he is that you’d appreciate how good of a job he did.

“… I’ve worked with a lot of the tech guys and the tech guys are very data-driven, analytic.

“So he’s one of those guys and he’s constantly looking for more information.

“… he never put a foot wrong and I said to him at the start of the race, we’re going to be just fine if we don’t make mistakes,” which Era Motorsport followed through with their lack of penalties incurred at Daytona.

A different approach between the two 24-hour races

At the 24 Hours of Daytona, hosted by IMSA, a primary focus for all LMP2 teams is to ensure they meet the minimum driver time for their Bronze-graded drivers, which was 4-hours and 30-minutes.

IMSA’s caution periods enabled the top LMP2 runners – including Era Motorsport – to stay on their class-lead lap, as Dalziel described.

“The strategy in Dubai is not driver rotation or drive-time.

“It’s purely the strategic way you can use the fuel pumps… you have to use regular petrol pumps.

“The top teams have people stationed there the whole time and you have a fairly large window of how long you’re allowed to go per the rules and how short you can go without hurting yourself strategically.

“So we were pretty different in how we approached Dubai because in Dubai, there was no benefit to running the bronze heavy in the first half of the race.

“You didn’t gain anything by [that], there’s no way to catch up.

“Whereas in IMSA, you see that everybody tries to go heavy on their bronze drivers and their silver drivers, and then they try and keep their professionals for the end.”

Fighting for the win to the end

Chatin spent the most amount time on the track in comparison to his co-drivers.

During a triple stint to the end, Chatin kept on the lead lap as AO Racing by TF Sport’s #14 Oreca encountered issues at the front.

In the final hour, where the fatigue and tension infused the atmosphere of all the teams, Chatin was hit by Mathias Beche’s #52 PR1 Mathiasen Oreca at Turn 1.

Chatin continued albeit without the victory contention, let alone podium contention, Era Motorsport earned over the 764 laps they completed at the checkered flag.

“From a team stand point, Daytona was a faultless race for us – no penalties, no issues in the pit stops… And, you know, we were there for the win at the end until we got taken off which was hugely disappointing, hugely frustrating.

“But it happens. That would have been a fairy tale debut for Tobi, obviously.

“… We’ve been very fortunate now that we’ve won Daytona twice, but an opportunity to win Daytona doesn’t come up every year.

“So to be in the position to have done an absolutely faultless race from everybody – and then have it taken away with 20 minutes to go – was a very bitter pill to swallow.”

After Tower Motorsports’ post-race penalty, Era Motorsport ended fourth after a tough race concluding the team’s back-to-back triple of endurance racing weekends.

READ MORE: ‘Kaku’ Ohta joins Era Motorsport at 12H Sebring and Road America

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Kakunoshin ‘Kaku’ Ohta will join Era Motorsport at the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring as part of Honda Racing Corporation’s Development Programme.

Era Motorsport and the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) have agreed that Ohta will co-drive the #18 Oreca 07 LMP2 with teammates Tobi Lutke and David Heinemeier-Hansson.

Ohta will take on the 73rd running of the Sebring 12 Hours on 14 March – having made his IMSA SportsCar Championship GTP debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona on 25-26 January last month – in addition to the Sportscar Weekend sprint event at Road America.

Ohta said: “I’m happy to announce that I’m going to race with Era Motorsport at Sebring and Road America.

“Era is a reliable team that has achieved great results every year in the LMP2 class.

“We have been working together since 2024, so our partnership is already strong and I am confident that we can achieve good results.

After the second round with the reigning LMP2-class winners at Sebring, he will take on a six-hour race at Watkins Glen (22 June) in Meyer Shank Racing’s #60 Acura ARX-06 GTP and team-mates Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly.

Road America’s 2-hour and 40-minute race takes place on 3 August before the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) graduate returns to the #60 Acura at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – for the six-hour ‘Battle on the Bricks’ race on 21 September – totalling up six IMSA races in Ohta’s debut season.

Kyle Tilley, Era Motorsport’s team founder, added: “The entire team at Era Motorsport are thrilled to welcome Kaku onboard for Sebring and Road America.

“Both he and HRC have been wonderful to work with, and we are honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate on this project.”

READ MORE: Tower Motorsports penalised, United Autosports inherit maiden LMP2 win at Daytona

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Era Motorsport has revealed Paul-Loup Chatin, Ryan Dalziel, Tobias Lutke, and David Heinemeier Hansson will co-pilot the #18 Oreca 07 at Daytona.

The reigning LMP2 class winners have brought on Lutke who is the CEO and co-founder of the Shopify e-commerce platform.

Era’s defence will commence at the 24 Hours of Daytona next January as part of the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

At least 12 cars will compete for LMP2 class victory with just two sprint races in their 2025 IMSA schedule.

Chatin, an Alpine Hypercar driver, won the IMSA LMP2 title in 2023. He will therefore re-join Ryan Dalziel as they both earned Era’s first Daytona win in 2021.

Lutke will step up from LMP3 machinery, in the HSR Prototype Challenge, and up to LMP2 racing with previous experience in Radicals and TCRs as well.

“I am super happy to join back Era Motorsport for my 4th Rolex 24 at Daytona,” said Chatin.

“Era achieved some amazing success in the past few years and with my teammates, we will give everything to fight for the top.”

“Thanks to Kyle and all the Era Motorsport team for your trust.”

“I’m going to be honest – throwing prototypes around storied tracks with David, Era, and team was not on my 2025 bingo card,” added Lutke.

“But… that’s exactly what we are doing.

“So holy s*** let’s go, can’t wait!”

Hansson reunited with Dalziel for Daytona

“Two worlds are merging for me in 2025,” Hansson added.

“Driving together with Tobi, whom I’ve known and worked with for 20 years through Ruby on Rails, is going to be a delight.”

“Two programmers, one car. This is going to be great.

“Especially with Era running the show and us teaming up with my old teammate Ryan Dalziel for the Rolex 24. Can’t wait to roll out.”

Era Motorsport team owner Kyle Tilley shared his anticipation for the team’s chance at a third Daytona win, second consecutively.

“Next year is shaping up to be a big year for us.

“I’m very excited to see what Tobi can do, we were all blown away by his speed at the test a few weeks ago.

“Considering it was his first time in an LMP2 it certainly bodes well for the season.

“We have done a fair bit of restructuring over the winter to manage our multiple programmes, and I can’t wait to see it all come to fruition.”

The Roar Before the 24 testing will precede the main event with the IMSA opener commencing on 25-26 January 2025.

READ MORE: United Autosports re-signs Ben Hanley and Paul di Resta for IMSA

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Stuart Wiltshire has joined Era Motorsport for the two sprint races of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship which involves the LMP2 category as well as GTD and GTD Pro.

With the departure of Bronze-rated Dwight Merriman, the Indianapolis-based team has announced the Englishman to pair up with Ryan Dalziel in the #18 Oreca 07 LMP2 machine as their efforts begin on assessing and selecting a 2025 Bronze driver.

Wiltshire will make his IMSA debut although he has already driven with Era Motorsport in their historic sportscar racing endeavours, such as in last year’s Historic Sportscar Racing Daytona Classic in an IMSA-spec Era Motorsport Oreca 07 LMP2 with Merriman as his teammate.

Prior to the outing, he has driven other prototypes including a Peugeot 90X LMP1 car and an Acura ARX-05 DPi which is run by Era Motorsport.

Wiltshire and Dalziel will compete at the seventh IMSA round at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on 14 July, followed by the SportsCar Weekend round at Road America on 4 August, both of which are 2-hour and 40-minute races.

“I can’t wait to get my first taste of racing at this level,” said Wiltshire.

“After getting a few years of experience driving prototypes, I’ve gotten quite comfortable behind the wheel, and I can’t wait to see how things stack up once we get on track for FP1.”

“After the test, I feel great in the car, and I’m confident with the pace I have.

“The biggest difference for me will be the longer stints in IMSA as opposed to the 45-minute drive times I’m used to in historic racing.”

“Overall though, I’m extremely thankful to Kyle Tilley and the rest of the team at Era Motorsport.

“They always put together an incredible car and have the crew to back it up, so I feel as strong as ever entering into these next few races.”

Kyle Tilley, founder of Era Motorsport and a regular in historic racing, added: “I’ve known Stuart for a while now, and have every confidence that he will do an excellent job for us.”

“It’s a bit of a power cut compared to what he’s used to, but who wouldn’t want to race a P2 at Mosport?”

After testing at CTMP last week, Wiltshire will gain his first taste of IMSA racing next week with Era Motorsport set to field another Bronze driver after Road America.

Despite retiring at the Six Hours of the Glen due to gearbox and clutch issues, after Merriman’s contact, Era Motorsport look hopeful to chase their third victory this year.

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Motorsport Week spoke with Era Motorsport Team Owner Kyle Tilley about what it was like to bring the fleet of historic Shadow Can-Am cars to the 81st Members’ Meeting at Goodwood.

Era Motorsport was tasked with managing a historic fleet of seven Shadow Can-Am cars at the 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting on 13-14 April.

Before the celebratory demonstrations around the historic circuit, Era Motorsport had been entrusted with the storage, transportation, testing, and trackside support services for the Shadow fleet.

Motorsport Week had the privilege to speak to Era Motorsport’s Tilley at the Members’ Meeting as he described the thrills and excitement of bringing the Shadows to Goodwood for the very first time.

Q: So Kyle, tell us what it is like to manage these cars here at Goodwood?

KT: So here at Era we’re looking after all of the seven Shadows for James Bartell this weekend. They arrived at the workshop, we’ve gone completely through them, rebuilt various bits and bobs with the car and transported them here this weekend and we’re running them here this weekend. Big, big honour for us to be able to look after these here this weekend with the likes of Jackie Oliver, Tom Kristensen, Marino Franchitti, myself driving them. The bit I’m most excited for is when we first fire them up is just seeing the crowd that gather around them because they don’t sound like any other race car you’ve ever heard. The big block is such a noise that it’s going to be impressive when we all fire them up.

Q: Which Shadows have you personally driven so far?

KT: So yeah, I’ve driven the Mark 2, the George Follmer car from Mosport. I drove it at Road America a year ago. I’ve driven all of Jim [Bartell]‘s Shadows at this point. The amount of attention both the Mark 1s get – the prototype and the Mosport car – is remarkable.

Q: We’ve seen you previously drive a modern Oreca 07 LMP2 car which Era currently runs in IMSA, how do these Shadows compare?

KT: It doesn’t! Like there is nothing remotely close with the current LMP2 car to what we have here with this. Obviously the P2 car is a brilliant car to drive and it’s probably mostly what Era is known for. But when I set up Era Motorsport, it was really aimed purely at the historic markets and we kind of diversified into the modern stuff. I love the modern stuff but it’s all the historic cars that really steal my heart. So I’m delighted to be here at any time we get to be in Goodwood. This is my third or fourth Members’ Meeting and I love it. I’m just delighted to be here and look at the crowds, it’s often rare to have all seven Shadow cars like they are here.

Q: How has it been for Jim Bartell to showcase his fleet of seven Shadows?

KT: I’m just super happy for Jim [Bartell] that he has the chance here in Goodwood to showcase his collection. Jim’s a great guy, he’s so passionate about the Shadow brand and the cars he has. Just to have the opportunity for him to showcase them here in Goodwood is absolutely incredible. He was a bit overwhelmed when he saw the public response to them so it’s gonna be fun.

Q: Are there any specific challenges to managing historics compared to other cars? 

KT: Yeah that they are nowhere near as reliable and if we do break something we have to make it, rather than just go to the parts truck and buy a new one. So personally, I quite like that side of it, but it’s kind of one of those things that we’re all very aware if something does go wrong with any of them, it’s a part that we have to make.

Q: And which car will you be driving at this demonstration?

KT: I’m in the orange 1970 Mark 1 Shadow from George Follmer [who] raced it in period at Mosport, it was the only race it ever did and I think I have the dubious title of being the only person to ever finish a race with this car.

Q: Looking at such an aggressive race car, how do you even drive it?

KT: With difficulty! It’s one of those cars like when you’re going along and when you’re rolling, it all makes far more sense than when you’re just sat here stationary.

Q: Why is it important to have these events to keep historic cars going?

KT: Without the historic cars, we wouldn’t have motorsport today as we know it. They’re a key part of history in some of the most iconic brands and drivers, so super important to keep it all going and keep all these old cars on track and you know it’s so much better to see them being used than it is to see them in a museum.

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Era Motorsport are set to field seven different Shadow Can-Am cars in a special demonstration at the upcoming 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting on 13-14 April.

Goodwood is set to celebrate the fascinating era of 1970s Can-Am cars with a 24-grid demonstration featuring the likes of Porsche, McLaren, Lola, and Shadow at the exclusive members’ meeting.

There will be a 15-minute session on Saturday 13 April at 1.40pm local time and a second 15 minute demonstration on Sunday 14 April at 1.50pm, both of which can be followed on the Goodwood Road and Racing YouTube channel live-stream.

Era Motorsport has been entrusted with storage, transportation, testing, and trackside support services for the Shadow Can-Am cars, having had similar responsibilities at various US-based historic events.

One model from each year of Shadow’s Can-Am efforts will be driven, with 1974 champion Jackie Oliver set to be reunited with his Shadow DN4, marking 50 years since his dominant campaign.

Jim Bartell, who owns six of the seven Shadow Can-Ams, said: “In 1970 the Mysterious Don Nichols burst upon the Unlimited Can-Am Racing scene with the most radical car imagined in the minimal rules of the day, the MKI Shadow.”

“It was knee high with a big block racing motor powering it.

“It shocked the racing world, and was as spectacular of a car as it was a spectacular failure.”

“So spectacular that it is still remembered 50 years later.”

Era Motorsport’s team owner, Kyle Tiley, added: “I’m absolutely elated for this weekend.

“I’ve been around these cars a lot, and been given the opportunity to drive quite a few of them in America, but to have them all in the same place at once, taking the track at the same time, that’s something special.

“Especially when it’s somewhere like Goodwood.”

“We’ve had the cars in the UK shop for the past month or so making sure they’re all ready to go, and we also had the opportunity to take a few to Donington a few weeks ago to test and finalise for the event.

“Every single one is completely mental.

“They’re some of the most physically and mentally taxing cars I’ve ever driven, but the experience is incredible.

“I think the Goodwood fans are in for a real treat this weekend, I strongly encourage coming to see the cars on initial start-up; bring ear plugs.”

Tiley himself will join fellow endurance racing names like Tom Kristensen and Marino Franchitti in demonstrating these 1000hp machines, in addition to long-time US historic racers Jason Miller and Kirk Bennett.

Era Motorsport are also running a client’s TVR Griffith in the Graham Hill Trophy amidst a grid of pre-1966 closed-cockpit GT cars.

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An impeccable final pit stop timing was behind Era Motorsport’s leap to LMP2-winning contention at the 12 Hours of Sebring owing to the efforts of race engineers Scott Besst and Nico Brisseau.

Connor Zilisch, Dwight Merriman, and Ryan Dalziel claimed victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring, having won the 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of January.

Most notably, the team jumped into contention for the win in the final hour of the race, as their rivals spent more time at the sharper end of the LMP2 field earlier on.

“It’s an honor for the team to trust me, give me the chance to go out there and show them what I have at the end,” Zilisch said having taken the #18 to the chequered flag.

“Scott [Besst] and Nico [Brisseau] were on it with the strategy calls all day.”

Earlier in the 10th race hour, GTP leader Frederic Makowiecki [#6 Porsche Penske] suffered a left-rear puncture in front of the #18 as it went off-circuit.

Part of the resulting debris blocked off the #18’s radiators which led to Era Motorsport pitting early to clear the blockage after their engine begun overheating, falling from P1 to 10th in the process.

Two of the 12 caution periods took place in the final hour as the latter featured a pass-around procedure to keep the LMP2 protagonists together.

The final pit stop call in LMP2 required decisive timing which resulted in their leap from eighth position to the class lead before Zilisch avidly fended off his lead.

“It was really tough to pass out there,” Zilisch explained.

“It was kind of just whoever could get track position, get to the lead, was going to end up winning.

“At about an hour to go, we were all running in a train. I think I was seventh.

“I knew I wasn’t going to pass them, so I just started saving fuel, was going to wait for the last pit stop.

“I saved enough to get back. I took the lead when I came back out.”

Team-owner Kyle Tilley added: “… The strategy from Scott [Besst] and Nico [Brisseau] was faultless. It was such cool fun to be part of that strategy call, to watch it come to life.”

“But in all seriousness, this is Dwight’s last year for the LMP2 car – at least in the US – so this looks great for us to any prospective bronzes [who] want to go racing to have rocked up and shown that Era Motorsport is one of the best teams in the world for LMP2… “

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By the end of a thrilling 72nd running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 12 Hours of Sebring, Connor Zilisch claimed LMP2 victory for the #18 Era Motorsport crew.

It was an entertaining yet unsurprisingly competitive fight for the win from the beginning, if not separated closely on their respective lead lap for most of the race.

The #18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 which won the opening round at Daytona, earned a consecutive LMP2 victory after an intense fight to the end.

Twelve cautions meant this edition of the historic race was interrupted but nevertheless gripping as several changes for the LMP2 lead were made across the 12-hour duration.

The race began with drama before the green flag, after pole-sitter #99 AO Racing Oreca 07, also known as ‘Spike the Dragon’, was spun on the formation lap by PJ Hyett whilst warming up their tyres.

Instead, Dan Goldburg held the lead in the #22 United Autosports USA Oreca as he fought with the #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Oreca of Nick Boulle, side-by-side in their duel.

Boulle made a move to the lead ahead of the two United Orecas – #2 of Ben Keating and the #22 of Dan Goldburg.

The #52’s efforts, however, were briefly hampered with a drive-through penalty for conducting a pit stop with too many mechanics over the wall, although their pursuit for the lead was far from over.

During the course of the second hour, after his mistake before the race start, PJ Hyett asserted tremendous pace all the way to the LMP2 lead with an opportunistic overtake landing him the top spot past Goldburg.

It was a tense and difficult beginning for the #88 Richard Mille AF Corse when first Luis Perez Companc got away with slipping on the Turn 2 exit curb and suffered rear and side aero damage, and thus went behind the wall.

Later on after three hours of racing, they became the third confirmed retirement after Lilou Wadoux stopped at the Turn 7 run-off.

The single #33 Ligier JS P217 of Sean Creech Motorsport struggled to assert competitive pace, although only encountered a noticeably smoother race in comparison their 24 Hours of Daytona season-opener.

A drive-through penalty from improperly serving a set them back as an outlier compared to the other 12 Oreca 07-Gibson entries.

Another comeback story during the first half of the race was on the #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR car, after George Kurtz suffered a left-rear puncture at the start, then was forced to serve a drive-through after too many pit crew members were over the wall for that pit stop.

After the five hour point, the #04 was amidst the lead fight against the likes of #74 Riley, the #11 TDS Racing, the #81 DragonSpeed and the #52 protagonists.

This emerged after United Autosports seemingly controlled the lead as the only team fielding two Oreca 07s.

MX-5 Cup star Connor Zilisch brought out his speed after the halfway point – as most characterised by Pipo Derani’s incident – as the second-youngest Daytona 24 winner put a move for second place on two fellow veteran competitors, Colin Braun (#04 Crowdstrike Racing) and Felipe Fraga (#74 Riley).

He spun briefly afterwards when he got the slight bump of an exit curb, setting his #18 Oreca into a spin. Fortunately, he sorted it out with his momentum and damage-free status intact, and continued in third position.

As the race headed into the final 2 hours and 45 minutes, Ryan Dalziel was in the #18 Era Oreca as he snatched the lead on a restart, after the ninth caution period of the race.

The Scotsman took the lead off Hunter McElrea in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca, as #2 United driver Nico Pino hung around behind the fighting pair.

Dalziel pitted and Pino took the opportunity to claim the class lead, fighting fiercely with McElrea who was adamantly on the tail of the Chilean’s purple and orange Oreca.

The pair headed into GTD traffic as the sunset painted the sky with a yellow aura, and headlights blared all around indicating nighttime approached the 12 LMP2s running at this point.

Not far afterwards, an intense lead fight broke with #2 Pino at the front and McElrea still behind, now joined by the #04 of Toby Sowery who was being chased by #22 United driver Paul di Resta.

Eventually, di Resta made a move past the #04 Crowdstrike Oreca into third.

This lead fight continued with Pino still tasked to defend from McElrea until no more following a timely manoeuvre by the #11 TDS driver as they went side-by-side into the famed Sunset Bend, the final turn [17].

They did so with a GTD Porsche in-between them and so McElrea found more grip and speed being on the right of the trio, which was the inside line into Turn 17.

McElrea built up a lead gap whilst Pino was caught and subsequently passed by #04 driver Sowery.

Into the final hour, the 10th caution period ended and the #81 DragonSpeed of Malthe Jakobsen was awarded a stop and 3 minute-and-44-second penalty for an improper final wave-by procedure, which harmed DragonSpeed’s chances of staying within the lead group.

The tension was up and high with a 23 minute sprint to the end, and the lead fight tasked Zilisch with defending his lead from Fraga’s #74 Riley Oreca.

He managed the gap at one second and the 17-year-old endurance novice kept Fraga at bay until the end, having gone from P8 to P1 during course of their final pit stop.

Fraga instead dropped the pace from the lead towards the final minutes.

The #18 Era Motorsport Oreca ended up victorious in the hands of Connor Zilisch, Dwight Merriman, and Ryan Dalziel.

Second place was taken by Mikkel Jensen, Hunter McElrea, and Steven Thomas in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca and the podium was rounded off by the #22 United Autosports USA crew of Dan Goldburg, Paul di Resta and Bjoy Garg.

In fourth place was the sole Ligier in the field – the #33 Sean Creech Motorsport entrant – driven by Lance Wilsey, Joao Barbosa and Jonny Edgar.

Fifth place was taken by the #74 Riley Oreca outfit of Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon.

Only two LMP2 cars were part of the 11 retirees: #88 Richard Mille AF Corse and the #8 Tower Motorsports teams.

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After testing with Era Motorsport at Sebring last month, driver and former 12 Hours of Sebring LMP2 class winner Ryan Dalziel has claimed the distinctively bumpy venue is even more so than before.

Ahead of the 12 Hours of Sebring on 16 March, Dalziel said: “We feel pretty strong with our package, we’ve always had good races at Sebring – and good cars too. It’s rare that we turn up and aren’t competitive right off the truck.”

“This year while testing it seemed like the track has gotten even bumpier than in the past which might come into play.

“That and the bigger, more competitive LMP2 field will likely be the biggest things to consider for us this time around.”

The Daytona-winning #18 Oreca 07 claimed LMP2 victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona thus setting them in a 20-point lead into the second IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round.

Era Motorsport finished on the podium for the past three editions of the endurance classic, although have yet to claim victory as this year enlists a total of 13 LMP2s compared to eight from last year.

After having dominated a TransAm race at Sebring in February, Connor Zilisch was excited ahead of his first 12 Hours of Sebring.

“I’ve had a lot of success in the past at Sebring, including my TA2 win there earlier this season,” said the 17-year-old.

“We had a very good test not too long ago and we obviously have a lot of momentum as a team after Daytona. I can’t wait to get on track with Ryan [Dalziel] and Dwight [Merriman], and have a smooth weekend.”

Last year, the team claimed P3 over three seconds behind the class-lead fight between the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca and the #11 TDS Racing Oreca as the former team triumphed.

In the LMP2 standings, the #04 Crowdstrike Racing by Algarve Pro Oreca trail in second position on 350 points ahead of the #74 Riley Motorsports Oreca on 328.

As IMSA traditionally award 10% of the race points – in addition to the race allocation – qualifying will prove valuable not only for an ideal starting position, but for a strong points haulage.

Bronze-rated driver Merriman will attempt beat his Roar Before the 24 qualifying spot of P11, with the 24 Hours of Daytona race conversely offering more track time and space for overtakes.

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Ahead of his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut during last month’s 24 Hours of Daytona, 17-year-old Connor Zilisch spoke to Motorsport Week about his new, exciting endeavour into endurance racing.

As one of the youngest competitors in the history of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the American teenager instantly became the second-youngest Daytona 24 winner in January, having achieved it with the Era Motorsport LMP2 team.

A strong start to his maiden campaign in the endurance racing discipline has made him one of the notable talents in the LMP2 category.

Before his triumphant debut, however, he discussed his thoughts at length including his expectations, impressions and – most significantly – his complete reaction after the Daytona 24 class victory.

The IMSA MX-5 Cup regular first drove with Era Motorsport during a private test at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in December, after the IMSA-sanctioned test.

“I’ve always wanted to run in the [WeatherTech SportsCar] Endurance Championship,” he said.

“You know, if I had an opportunity prior to this to go run [IMSA] Pilot Challenge or something in a GT4 car, I probably might have done that.

“But to be able to jump straight to the endurance championship is really exciting for me.

“I didn’t really expect to get the opportunity.

“It was kind of a last-minute deal… it was basically a shootout with me and three other silver drivers so you know to get the opportunity is really cool but you know it wasn’t really expected even though it’s where I wanted to go.

“It’s a big jump to go from MX-5 Cup to an LMP2 car!”

It will be just one of his many 2024 commitments, with the IMSA MX-5 Cup, Trans-Am, and his recent pursuit in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Truck Series with Trackhouse Racing.

He described the team atmosphere at Era Motorsport, as his teammates for Daytona were Ryan Dalziel, Dwight Merriman, and Christian Rasmussen – and he will contest the remaining four Endurance Cup races with Dalziel and Merriman.

“Era Motorsport has been very family-oriented. I feel like I’ve fit in really well, and got up to speed really fast with everyone.

“All my teammates are really helpful, which is big when you’re a new driver to the series and new driver to the car.

“It helps a lot being a new driver and having those kinds of teammates that are willing to help and help make you better.

“And then the team itself, it’s very positive and we all get along well.

“And that’s one thing that makes endurance racing and even just weekends at the track a lot easier is being around people you enjoy being around.”

The 24 Hours of Daytona was Zilisch’s first race in the Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 car, which has been widely renowned for its usage by customers across the global sportscar scene.

He expanded on why he chose LMP2: “For me, I feel like it’s just a good learning tool.

“I’ve never really driven anything with a lot of downforce.

“I race a bunch of NASCAR stuff as well, and obviously that doesn’t have anywhere near as much downforce or grip that an LMP2 car has.

“Just broadening my skillset and driving different cars is a big thing for me as I’m learning.

“I’m still really young and have a long career ahead of me… I feel like stepping into something that will make me uncomfortable is going to help me in the long run.

“That’s part of the mindset I’m taking into this season – learning as much as I can, trying to be a sponge and soak everything up.”

His motorsport career – since karting from age 5 – has all been about sprint racing, and so he drew comparison to the approach for long-distance racing, such as a 24-hour race.

“[In] sprint racing, you’re a lot less patient. You don’t have as much time to make moves.

“That’s one of the big things for me that I have to focus on, is not overstepping, not overdoing myself and just making sure that I keep the car clean and bring it back how I found it.”

The 2024 IMSA Endurance Cup calendar is comprised of five rounds within the overall 11-race schedule.

The second-longest race, namely the famed 12 Hours of Sebring, follows the Daytona 24 and the Endurance Cup continues with the Six Hours of the Glen, followed by another six-hour event with the Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, and concludes with the traditional Petit Le Mans season finale.

“I think Watkins Glen is one of my favourite tracks,” said Zilisch.

“I’ve had a lot of success there. I’ve been there last year in the NASCAR series and I’ve done well in the MX-5 Cup series there, done well in the TA2 [class] Trans-Am series there.

“It’s one of the places I have a lot of experience at and I’m not going to have a lot of learning to do.

“Obviously I have to learn the track in the [LMP2] car… I feel like Watkins Glen is going to be one of my more successful tracks, even though it’s going to be way different in an LMP2 car [with] all the high-speed corners there.

“And also Road Atlanta. I’ve won Trans Am races there [and] won both MX-5 Cup races there last year.”

Zilisch began his endurance racing chapter on a high note after winning on his debut, although the car in the hands of Merriman struggled to perform in qualifying – in 11th out of 13 LMP2s – and so after a difficult race start in which he spun into the Le Mans chicane, his teammates set about a comeback in the opening few hours of the race.

Most notably during an early morning stint with the teenager at the wheel, as well as during his final double stint before Rasmussen took the car to the finish, he found himself fighting with the team’s closest rivals for the lead.

At first, he duelled with #04 Crowdstrike Racing’s Malthe Jakobsen, a 20-year-old Dane who recently became a Peugeot Hypercar reserve driver.

Zilisch recalled his outgoing experience in the MX-5 Cup championship, an IMSA-run support series, in which he raced across the previous two days.

“We were racing side-by-side, banging doors on the straight.

“That made me feel like I was in a Miata again, so there’s definitely racing skills that I felt I used in the race. Driving-wise, it’s very different.

“… It did help to have that side-by-side experience in the MX-5, and that will help me everywhere I go.”

During the first half of the double-stint outing in the race, he first battled with Crowdstrike’s Toby Sowery, followed by Jakobsen in the second half – and it was a thrilling spectacle between the two race-winning contenders.

“It felt like something that was natural to me,” reflected Zilisch.

“I didn’t have to force anything. I did have to defend from Malthe because he had a stint fresher tyres that I did [because Jakobsen received a fresh set when he got in], so it made it easier on him and he was definitely faster than me.

“I just had to keep him behind me for the last few laps of my stint, and make it easier on my team, hand it over in the lead still [to Rasmussen].

The benefit of saving his tyre life in the first half of his final double stint enabled him to fight with Jakobsen, and made sense to push given his set was going to be changed when he pitted.

Ultimately, Era Motorsport earned their second LMP2 class victory at the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona, and Zilisch stood with his teammates on the podium, each receiving their engraved winners’ Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watches.

“It was surreal! I never really expected to have the chance to even race in that race growing up as a kid, let alone win it on my first try at 17-years-old.

“It made it really special to win it in your first attempt, and make headlines as one of the youngest to win the race…it didn’t even feel real after the race; It felt like a dream.

“That’s what we all strive for when we’re growing up and we all look to win those milestone races: The 24 Hours of Daytona, Le Mans.

“Looking to NASCAR [and] the Daytona 500. There’s a bunch of races that we all grow up wanting to win.

“To check one of those of that early in my career was really cool.”

Besides his humorous story of getting his watch fitted – as the jewellers stood in shock having not believed it was real beforehand – the experience of participating in the race would excite any teenager.

Nevertheless, Zilisch became the second-youngest Daytona 24 winner in history at 17 years and 191 days, with Michael De Quadasa holding the record since 2007 at 17 years and 63 days, and IndyCar star Pato O’Ward in third at 17 years and 239 days.

“Starting out [racing] for me when I was four or five, it was mostly just a hobby.

“I never really expected to make a career out of it, but I quickly built a passion for motorsports and what I was doing.

“The passion I have for it pushes me to be the best that I can, at whatever I do and whatever I race.

“Every car I get the chance to drive, I want to make the most out of it and make the most out of every opportunity!”

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