Inter Europol Competition has confirmed their own #43 Oreca 07 LMP2 entry in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as part of the Endurance Cup schedule.

The Polish bakery chain currently run an ongoing partnership with reigning LMP2 champions and current championship leaders PR1 Mathiasen on their #52 Oreca 07.

Having run the #43 in their appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series, Inter Europol will set up their own base in the US for next year’s season for the IMSA #43 entrant.

They will recall their joint experience with PR1 during the course of the 2024 season, which is set to take on its penultimate round at Indianapolis for a six-hour race on 22 September.

At a narrow margin, their #52 Oreca joint-entry narrowly leads the IMSA LMP2 standings by 27 points over the #74 Riley Oreca, who themselves made the step into LMP2 after the LMP3 category was removed from the SportsCar Championship multiple selection of racing car categories.

In addition to declaring their LMP2 and LMP3 intentions for the Asian Le Mans Series, Team Manager Sascha Fassbender added: “Additionally, we’re thrilled to be participating in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2025.

“This will be under ‘Inter Europol Competition’, and we will set up our base in the United States for this programme.

“We’re all looking forward to this new challenge for our team.

“The driver announcements will come later in the year, and yes, we could not be more excited for this new chapter as we continue to perform at such a high level and grow our team.”

Having won the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category, they will seek out the 24 Hours of Daytona which will begin next year’s single-handed campaign.

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LMP2-championship leader Gar Robinson is eyeing out the 2024 IMSA Trueman Award after formerly passing off a Le Mans 24 Hours invitation from his Riley LMP3 title in 2021.

The #74 Riley Oreca 07 driver leads the LMP2 standings with co-driver Felipe Nasr ahead of the Sportscar Weekend at Road America on 4 August.

IMSA offers the Jim Trueman Award to the highest scoring FIA Bronze-graded driver in the LMP2 category of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Bob Akin award to the equivalent in GTD, both of which invites the recipients to the following Le Mans 24 Hours.

After narrowly missing out on their first win of the season at the Chevrolet Grand Prix, the #74 Riley team are keen to win not only the championship but also the Jim Trueman Award for Robinson.

Speaking to selected media ahead of the eighth IMSA round, Robinson said: “I think it’s one of those things that we’re looking at.

“It’s one of those things like you don’t put too much faith in … It’s too early to get too excited about it right now.

“… It’s a really big bonus to us if we were to get it … It would definitely be a really spectacular thing for us, the entry to Le Mans.

“[It’s] something I really have kicked myself for not taking in 2021 when I had it.

“And I don’t think I’ll pass up on it if I get it again this year.”

After winning the 2021 IMSA SportsCar LMP3 championship for Riley, Robinson received an invitation to the following 2022 edition of the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours.

Riley was preparing to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro category with a Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, owing to their partnership from running in Ferrari Challenge North America.

Whilst the decision was eventually cancelled, Robinson’s Bronze status would have effortlessly suited either the LMP2 or GTE-Am category.

Since this year, the FIA WEC has replaced the GTE formula with the LMGT3 class, utilising GT3 machinery and Pro-Am driver lineups which competed in their first Le Mans earlier this summer.

After the #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathisen Oreca 07 sought victory at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, their Bronze driver – Nick Boulle – is only 20 points behind Robinson’s lead on 1200.

The Sportscar Weekend will be the final sprint for LMP2 – and GTP – machinery, before a six-hour event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and the annual 10-hour Petit Le Mans concludes the season and ultimately, the fight for the coveted Jim Trueman Award.

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Jakub ‘Kuba’ Smiechowski, Clement Novalak and Vlad Lomko will compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 as the team act as reigning LMP2 winners from last year.

After claiming their first Le Mans victory in last year’s Centenary Edition, the Polish-run team will run a mostly different driver lineup for the race this time round with just one Oreca on 15-16 June.

For the 92nd running of the historic French endurance classic, Smiechowski will return to La Sarthe having done two race starts in his first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign for 2024.

European Le Mans Series drivers Novalak and Lomko expect to bring the competition against a thoroughly competitive LMP2 field, with the former driver marking his Le Mans debut.

Smiechowski said: “It seems that Le Mans actually chooses its winner, so all we can really do is to go there and maximise our chances. We’re in a good position to do it, it’s our goal, and the result will then come to us.

“As the defending winner, there is no real pressure; in fact, the opposite is true, as we have achieved what we wanted to achieve. For me personally, whatever comes after—I feel good with what we have already done—but obviously, I want to go for another win.”

Novalak added: “It’s my second take of a 24 Hours race this year, and hopefully, this will be smoother for me, having eventually missed out on the Rolex 24 at Daytona. I’m really looking forward to it; it’s a driver’s favourite and one that we all look forward to immensely.

“Being with such a strong team, one that won last year, gives me so much confidence.

“There will be a lot of preparation ahead, but running at night at such a great circuit and dealing with the challenges as they come along will be fun.”

“It’s an honour to be joining Inter Europol Competition for Le Mans,” concluded Lomko.

“I am confident ahead of the race; Kuba has already won this race and has the experience to do it again, while we know Clem is quick.

“Last year, I took part but didn’t finish, so this year, I hope to go the distance with the #34. The team is really experienced and has already done one 24-hour race this year, and we were rather unlucky not to get a podium at Daytona.

“In the run-up to the event, I am racing with the team in European Le Mans this weekend at Paul Ricard; then I will do a lot of simulator work. Maybe I will see if the other two drivers wish to do a 24-hour sim.

“This is useful in helping me to prepare. I can’t wait.”

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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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Speaking in a media pre-season call with selected LMGT3 drivers, D’station Racing’s Marco Sorensen welcomed the FIA World Endurance Championship’s removal of the LMP2 class which he feels intruded on the former GTE class’ racing spectacle.

The three-time WEC champion said: “It’s nice not to have so much traffic because they had to slow down the LMP2 so much in the past for the Hypercars,” Sorensen told media including Motorsport Week.

“It was a whole mess where the slower the LMP2s actually got, the more annoying it got for the GT[E] cars. There’s so many different variables this year that it’s not only that we’re losing the LMP2s in some races, but it’s actually also going to be because you have the ABS now [with GT3 cars], the racing is going to be a little bit more contact everywhere.

“Everyone is going to be able to brake late. All this kind of stuff also puts a different twist to it.”

With the arrival of Hypercar, LMP2 faced a power reduction all in order to distance its race pace from the new Hypercars.

However, in doing so, it brought them closer to the GTE classes, and so without LMP2 except at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, LMGT3’s 18 entries are expected to race closer and harder.

Team WRT’s Augusto Farfus, who is also a GTP driver since last year, drew upon the arrangement in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where at certain rounds they pair up a prototype and a GTD category – or two.

He spoke on how having two categories could benefit the television broadcasting of the WEC for the future seasons to come.

“In IMSA most of the time they are only two classes, and you see how much attention and how close the GT3 racing is,” Farfus said.

“The Hypercar is a class which is a lot more sophisticated, a lot faster.

“But I’ve seen in America that [during] many times the GT class gives better racing, because the cars – to a certain extent – allow more contact, more close racing.

“And if you see in IMSA especially, there is as much attention on the GTD class, there as much as on the LMDh.

“So I think it’s a matter of time that people will understand.

“Of course, [with] the WEC in the past having these three classes, it was not so easy also to broadcast the races, because there was always something going on in the classes.

“And now we’re gonna have pretty much two distinct classes running together. So I can’t wait to see the first time that we’re going to have the same manufacturer winning both classes.”

Except for Le Mans on 15-16 June, the WEC will work with solely two classes for the first time, albeit each at high capacity numbers with nine LMGT3 manufacturers and 18 entries, whilst there are 19 entries in the Hypercar category.

The two classes differ greatly in terms of their race pace, and so the absence of LMP2 – like the removal of LMP3 from the IMSA WeatherTech Championship – will enable more broadcasting recognition on the LMGT3 class, whilst distancing themselves from Hypercar until they meet as lapped traffic.

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For the first time in three years, there were multiple chassis manufacturers competing against each other in the LMP2 class at the recent Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

Most of the field continued to run the proven Oreca chassis, but one team reintroduced the Ligier JS P217 to competition and attempted to make a statement on track. Manufacturer diversity has returned to LMP2.

Behind the Ligier decision

The 2024 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona hosted a bumper crop of sports cars and prototypes at the famous Daytona International Speedway, with 59 entries and well over 200 drivers competing against one another for the victory. The event was the attracted a record-setting crowd, and delivered on exciting racing for the duration of the endurance event.

For the first time since 2021, each of the four classes of cars contained chassis built by multiple manufacturers. The factory-led efforts were at the head of the field in the speed-topping GTP class, and LMP2 saw a lone Ligier JS P217 chassis fighting against the established Oreca 07 courtesy of Sean Creech Motorsport.

The privateer team had been competing in the LMP3 class since 2018, choosing to run the Ligier chassis in the budget-oriented category. When it was announced last year that LMP3 was going to be removed from IMSA’s top-tier line-up, SCM had to make an important decision for the future of the team. Several options were considered, but making the jump up to LMP2 quickly became the obvious choice.

“The genesis on the decision started well over a year ago, when it became clear LMP3 was moving out of WeatherTech,” Lance Willsey told MotorsportWeek.com, who has been driving for Sean Creech Motorsport since 2018 and is heavily involved in the direction of the Florida-based squad.

“We had to make a decision as a team, ‘Do we want to stay in WeatherTech, or do something else? And if we stay in WeatherTech, do we want to stay in prototypes or go to GT cars?’

“I had raced in the GT field years ago for many, many years. But I enjoy the prototype class a little more. Making that decision, it became fairly easy that LMP2 was the option for us.”

When looking at the existing LMP2 landscape, it would be easy to assume the only option was to pick up an Oreca chassis and get to work matching the teams that have had years of practice with the platform. But there are still four different chassis approved for use, and due diligence was done before a final chassis choice was made.

Among the obvious factors of availability and outright pace were more personal factors that influenced the decision. Prior experiences the team had with Oreca, which builds and services the engines used in LMP3, played heavily into the decision to strike a deal with Ligier instead.

“The easy thing to do is to be like every other team in the world, grab an Oreca chassis, and go racing,” continued Willsey. “But I wasn’t entirely pleased with the support we received from Oreca with the LMP3 engines.

“Exactly a year ago, when we were running the LMP3 cars here, we had a significant problem with the engines. There was a bad batch of pistons and stuff. I was not pleased the way that was managed by Oreca, so it made it a pretty easy decision for me to speak to the folks at Ligier, who we had a multi-year, long-term relationship with running the LMP3 car.

“So I spoke to them about the P217, then set out to talk to as many teams and individuals I could find who had experience with the car back in the 2017-2018 era. Trying to understand if it was a fundamental engineering problem, or if it was something else.

“I came to the conclusion as best I could, triangulating input from drivers, engineers, and mechanics, that it was a combination of bad timing with regards to the joker updates, not getting those updates done as quickly as the teams were hoping for, and developing the car on Michelin tires when Michelin tires were not being used in Europe. I believe Dunlops were [being used there].

“All the development had been done on a different tire manufacturer, different compound, and quite frankly the drivers were disappointed and frustrated with the car. We spoke a lot to the folks at Ligier, decided we thought this was manageable challenge, and here we are today.”

Though the challenge may be manageable, it certainly was not an easy program to get off the ground. Any time a team steps up to a higher category in racing competition, there are numerous factors to take into account. But this step up had many unique challenges to navigate.

One of the most notable hurdles was acquiring enough parts to be ready to race in this year’s Rolex 24. Funding was not as much of an issue as finding the parts to purchase in the first place. The Ligier JS P217 chassis had not been run in IMSA since 2021, and options were limited.

“It’s a challenge for sure,” said Joao Barbosa, who has also been driving for SCM for multiple years. “We have to look for the parts. Ligier doesn’t have some of the parts, but they are making a big effort. At least as this point we have everything we need. Ligier is making a big effort to get us everything we need as well.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of cars stopped across the world in case we really need to get another set of parts. I think the parts are available, we just need to look for them. At least at this point, we have an excellent head start and have everything you need.”

Ligier had not needed to supply a team with all the parts needed to run its P217 chassis for a single race in the United States in multiple years, and a full season effort had not been attempted with the chassis since 2018. Spare parts were not necessarily available on short notice, and that resulted in a scavenger hunt that spanned oceans.

“You have to realize, we’re the only team in the world running this car,” said Willsey. “We got the car, we got the spares that came with it. Because nobody has run these cars in anger in years, Ligier did not have a parts inventory available.

“Once we started going through the car and figuring out what we need to be able to run 10/10 in testing, we had to have [some parts] manufactured, we had to have things shipped from Europe. We were scouring the world for parts.

“Having said that, we have the benefit that Ligier has been an outstanding partner in this process and has embedded a number of engineers with us. We couldn’t do this without their all-in participation to make this happen.”

Six months of intense preparation

The current LMP2 regulations were created in 2017, with designs from four different manufacturers being selected as options for teams that wished to participate in the class. Chassis from Dallara, Riley, Ligier, and Oreca were all approved for use and summarily balanced against each other to create fair competition.

In recent years, through various factors, the Oreca 07 has become the chassis of choice among teams competing in IMSA’s LMP2 class. Once it was being fielded by a large share of the paddock, the chassis became a self-perpetuating dominator in the field.

More teams were running the chassis, which meant there were more data points to develop from, which meant more gains were being made and more wins being logged. The scale of the operation also meant that Oreca had a large number of technicians and suppliers supporting the events, meaning it was easier than ever to add one more when a new team wanted to join the ranks.

None of these advantages are available for Sean Creech Motorsport in their latest venture. It is having to rebuild the program up again nearly from scratch, and is largely doing so on its own. That meant it needed to get as much testing under its belt as possible.

SCM took delivery of its used Ligier P217 chassis on the 24th of July, just six months before the green flag was scheduled to wave at the Rolex 24. 72 days of intense work followed, stripping the chassis down and evaluating the condition of every single nut, bolt, and custom carbon fiber component. On the 4th of October, the team took the car out on track for the very first time.

The crew leaned on their strong relationship with Ligier, and learned as much as they could from the expertise the French company provided. A couple test sessions followed over the next couple months, but it was barely enough.

“We had a very aggressive, but manageable testing schedule,” related Willsey. “Between a series of circumstances, the repaving of the track here [at Daytona] we lost two days, then bad storms we lost a couple more days of testing.

“Quite literally, the first time I drove the car on sticker tires was in qualifying. Some of that was by design, considering the testing we had. We as a team have had very, very little time to develop the car. Which in some ways is unfortunate, but it’s also encouraging that we find ourselves competitive.

“We’re nowhere close, nor will be the fastest car in LMP2 with what we know today, but we’re competitive and making improvement.

“Everybody knows where the ceiling for the Oreca is. After being here for five or six years, people have a pretty good handle where the ceiling is for the Oreca. We have no idea in the world where we can get to because we’ve done so few laps.

“I’m pretty confident we were the only team this week doing big swings with spring changes and bar changes. We’re still generating data to help us in our simulations to help us get to where we want to be.

“The synopsis is that the team has done a heroic job to get us where we are. We’re really in the first inning of learning this car and figuring out what it likes, what it responds to, et cetera. I’m extremely optimistic that it’s going to be a very competitive package in the field.”

Evaluating the differences of the Ligier P217

Only when Sean Creech Motorsport began testing its car out on track did it begin to truly understand the nuances of the Ligier chassis. Far from just a differently-shaped nose and more angled wheel wells, the car drove completely differently to the Oreca cars it would be competing against.

And there was an even bigger difference compared to the LMP3, which is what the team’s crew and two veteran drivers were used to. There was more power, more onboard tools, and a faster pace that demanded more from those behind the wheel.

From what Lance Willsey gleaned from his research, however, the Ligier is less demanding than the comparable Oreca chassis. Which will provide a distinct advantage during this season’s five endurance rounds.

“There are vast differences between the Oreca and Ligier,” said the 61-year-old Willsey. “There are some people on the gentleman driver side [who have told me] the Oreca is quite a small cockpit for the driver.

“The Ligier was designed slightly larger. It’s certainly not spacious or roomy, but it’s slightly larger than the Oreca. I’m told, because I’ve never driven the Oreca, that the ergonomics in the Ligier, the seating position and the layout of the cockpit, is more user-friendly.

“I find it to be very, very user-friendly. It’s a quite comfortable car to drive, which will play out to our advantage in the long runs. I hear a lot from the gentleman drivers in the Orecas that it’s an abusive car to run on double and triple stints. It really takes its toll on you physically.”

One driver in Sean Creech’s stable is well versed in the Oreca 07 chassis, however, as the team’s up-and-coming driver Nolan Siegel competed with the car last season. The talented 19-year-old, who is also rising through the ranks on the open wheel side in the IndyNXT series, confirmed much of what Willsey described. He also related that the Ligier LMP2 chassis is actually quite different to drive from the Oreca 07, and it reminds him of the feel of a GT car.

“It’s hard to compare,” said Siegel. “I didn’t know what to expect, but they are completely different cars to drive. Really, really different, which was unexpected for me. I wouldn’t say one is inherently better than the other, they just have different characteristics that will suit each one better in different places.

“If I could sum it up, the Oreca is a bit more reactive and feels a bit more like an open wheel car, while the Ligier, in a way, feels more GT-like. It’s a bit bigger, a little heavier, and seems to roll around a bit more. It’s smoother and in a lot of ways easier to drive.

“I think that will suit it in a lot of places. There are some places, like here, where we have been struggling with straight line speed. That doesn’t necessarily suit the car here at Daytona, but I think when they get to high speed places like Watkins Glen, the car’s going to be really strong”

These viewpoints have helped the team understand where its car fits in among the existing entries in the LMP2 class. When the differences, both relative weaknesses and relative strengths, are a known quantity, then those can be exploited to help gain race wins. Which, of course, is the ultimate goal.

Breaking open the single-make lockout of LMP2

One thing that was plain to see during the opening round of the 2024 season was that the decision to run a Ligier chassis has garnered a lot of extra attention. Not just from media looking for an underdog story, but also from SCM’s rivals in the paddock.

Many of the competitors watched on intently to see how the Ligier would fare against their own proven Oreca chassis. Had this team, which was moving up to LMP2 for the first time in its history, found some new bit of knowledge that would give them an advantage? Surely the Ligier was all but abandoned years ago because it wasn’t capable of the same pace. Right?

Joao Barbosa had a laugh recalling how many visitors his team’s garage area had gotten in the week leading up to the Rolex 24. Some were looking to simply check out the competition, including sending their own photographers over to get sneaky looks at the car as it sat in the garage bay. Others, such as the owner of United Autosports, which ran the Ligier JS P217 in 2018, expressed gratitude for attempting to bring Ligier back to LMP2.

“It’s funny,” recalled Barbosa. “One of the owners of United came over, because they still have two cars in their shop, and said ‘Thanks for increasing the value of our cars.’

“There’s more people interested and more people considering [running the Ligier chassis] because the car is not as bad as they were saying. Unfortunately, the car stopped running early on [in the current rules package]. They had the updates that nobody really tried. It’s proven the car is actually race-able and it’s a good car.”

It is possible that what the paddock needed was someone to take chance on the abandoned chassis and look at it from a fresh perspective. If there were new tricks that could be exploited, there is a chance it could become a viable option against the de facto standard.

For the past five years, outside of a single race at Daytona in 2021, LMP2 has been effectively a single-make series. Despite four chassis designs outlined in the rulebook, the competition has been racing for the class win against drivers with the exact same machinery.

A veteran of over a dozen 24 hour races on the famous Daytona course, Willsey feels like he is helping to ensure LMP2 continues to be a competition between manufacturers as well as drivers.

“This is my 15th Rolex 24, 14th year,” said the accomplished surgeon turned racer. “There’s nothing overwhelming about this at all. This is in no way shape or form about me. I hope that it’s about the LMP2 class, and about the Ligier chassis. That it’s not the car it was portrayed to be through a variety of circumstances.

“It’s important. The LMP2 class was never meant to be a single make series. It wasn’t meant to be spec Miata. Now, we have to be spec on the tires, we have to spec on the Gibson motor. The least somebody could do is bring some diversity to the grid to see if it works.

“Thus far, it’s working. We’re not where we want to be, and we’re not where we will be, but we’re getting closer every session. We have no idea where our ceiling is. We’re just scratching the surface.”

The ultimate goal: Victory

Turning back to what this entire endeavour is about, can a bet on the Ligier P217 chassis land Sean Creech in victory lane? That level of success is not likely for at least the first portion of this season, considering the lack of data the team is currently working with. But more data points are gathered with every outing, and the team certainly believes the potential is there.

Once SCM made the decision to run the Ligier for the 2024 season, people began to warn them not to expect immediate success. In fact, they said the chassis would not be much faster than the LMP3 they had been running for the past few years, placing them solidly behind the competition.

“People much smarter than me had prepared me for the fact that Daytona would be the toughest challenge for the 217 chassis for a variety of reasons,” said Willsey with a hint of smugness.

“Right now, we’re a mid-pack car. We’re not on the sharp end, but there were people that were telling me we would be two seconds off the pace. People much more experienced than me were saying ‘If you guys get within two seconds, that’s your victory.’ I was like ‘Oh man, that’s tough.’

“But we’re not. We’re there. Not where we want to be yet, but we’re chipping away.”

While qualifying for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the #33 turned a lap comparable to the teams that were running the vaunted Oreca chassis. SCM qualified 12th out of 13 LMP2 entries, and its lap time was within a second of two other established teams. Considering all the disadvantages the team was fighting against, that alone meant the effort is not as hopeless as some had made it seem.

During the race, the car developed an electrical issue just after sunset, but the crew was able to diagnose and fix the problem with approximately one hour of track time lost. Unfortunately, the car had to be retired with just five hours remaining in the 24 hour race after the engine cover blew off while at speed.

Despite the disappointing retirement, the team still finished ninth in class and completed 510 laps of the 3.56 mile course. Considering the longest single run the team completed during testing was approximately 45 minutes in length, the reliability shown during the race is fairly remarkable.

Running better than others predicted is not the ultimate goal, however. Neither is finishing the race. Victory is the ultimate goal. Willsey made it clear that he believes in the Ligier chassis, and he is putting all his effort into taking it all the way to the winner’s circle.

“There is a single solitary goal, and that is to win this race. At my age, I’m not here for participation prizes any more. I’ve done this 14 times, and I don’t need another participation prize. We’re here to win this race.

“Anything less than that will be a disappointment, and we’ll need to understand why that didn’t happen. It may be entirely factually correct that we do everything perfect, and we still can’t win. That’s okay, I accept that. But it doesn’t make me happy. That just means we got to figure out what we need to do better next time.”

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Era Motorsport’s Ryan Dalziel reflected on his ’emotional’ third 24 Hours of Daytona victory last weekend as part of the LMP2 class-winning #18 Oreca 07 Gibson entrant.

The LMP2 Daytona 24 winners claimed their first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory since the 2022 Sportscar Weekend sprint race at Road America.

“I think each win gets a little more emotional,” said Dalziel. “I think our disappointment in the last two seasons with Era, and especially 2023 was a rough year for us. We finished Petit and we were just thirsty to come back and perform this weekend.”

It was a challenging LMP2 campaign for the team last year, with a best season finish of P2 at the Watkins Glen six-hour race, and a conclusive P5 at the Road Atlanta-based Petit Le Mans finale.

As the LMP2 field has increased to 12 full-season entries, with the exception of AF Corse’s Endurance Cup entrant, nevertheless marking a more competitive time for the category.

“You can’t afford to have mistakes at this level, of the 13 cars this year I’d say 10 of them were contenders from the green flag, but it narrowed down to a four car race at the end.”

“I think Christian was the man for the job there at the end, I don’t think you want anyone else other than him.

“He’s a beast in this car, and Connor, at 17-years-old you just can’t say enough about him.”

Zilisch became the second-youngest winner of the race, taking on his debut at it’s 62nd running, and will continue to race for the outfit in the remaining four Endurance Cup rounds.

Era found themselves fighting for the win against the likes of Crowdstrike Racing by Algarve Pro Racing and PR1 Mathisen by Inter Europol.

The team claimed their second Daytona win since the 2021 race, where they partnered with former European Le Mans Series LMP2 champions IDEC Sport, as it was Dalziel’s second, having claimed his maiden overall win in 2010.

Conclusively, after the work of the other drivers, Christian Rasmussen’s final stint maintained the gap in front of the #04’s Malthe Jakobsen, which secured victory for Rasmussen, Dalziel and their fellow teammates Dwight Merriman and Zilisch.

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After a thrilling 18 hours of racing at the 62nd 24 Hours of Daytona, Porsche made a late pitstop jump on the dominant #31 Cadillac — but the German manufacturer has a penalty for its leading car, putting the Cadillac’s Jack Aitken back into the lead.

The night-time phase of the Daytona 24 saw cars run quicker, as drivers acclimated with cooler temperatures whilst still facing the ‘sticky’ sensation of humidity.

Approaching the 75% race completion, and 566 laps completed, the race has did not welcome any rain despite a close chance, and so the circuit remained dry.

As the 16th hour opened, pole-sitter Pipo Derani led the race at 516 laps ahead of the #6 Porsche of Nick Tandy.

Derani showcased the undoubtedly strong pace of the #31 Cadillac V Series.R, having jumped away and opened up a substantial gap at the restart on both Porsche Penske GTPs, Felipe Nasr (#6) followed by Nick Tandy (#7).

Derani continued his lead, although all Porsche 963s were ready to pounce on any issues for the #31 Cadillac, with Jaminet (#6) ahead of Campbell (#7), the #5 Proton Competition 963 and the #85 JDC Miller MotorSports GTP of Phil Hanson, who is making his first ever appearance in an LMDh car having built a successful sportscar career primarily with United Autosports.

Sooner rather than later, Derani was caught up by Jaminet as the duo fought for the lead, which intensified as they negotiated lapped traffic.

At the front, it was Derani who led, ahead of Jaminet and Campbell, who had caught the two leaders, putting all three with 1.5 seconds of each other.

Before the 18-hour point, Derani and Jaminet pitted, and it was Jaminet’s #6 Porsche who emerged ahead of the Cadillac which was taken over by Jack Aitken.

Jaminet emerged ahead of Campbell who pitted afterwards, although a major blow hit for the #6 of Jaminet as they exceeded the power output limit and received their third stop and 10 second penalty.

The 13th caution period was deployed when Matthew Brabham of the #99 ‘Spike’ Oreca 07 outbraked himself into the International Horseshoe (Turn 3), moving from fifth to last in the LMP2 category; track work took place during the caution.

Naturally, this narrowed many of the gaps including Paul Miller Racing’s predominant lead, as the #62 Risi Competizione with Davide Rigon sat briefly, before being hit by a 10 second stop/go penalty for improperly manning their fire extinguisher.

Meanwhile, GTD Pro saw Paul Miller Racing’s Sheldon van der Linde lead dominantly over Corvette Racing.

Further down in the GTD category, the lead fight was closer as the Philip Ellis of the #57 Winward Racing enthusiastically fended off Turner Motorsport regular, Robby Foley.

Two youngsters were continuing a gripping fight between two Oreca 07 LMP2s, the #18 of Connor Zilisch ahead of the #04 of Toby Stowery, both making their Daytona debut.

Inter Europol Competition’s Tom Dillmann – who was running in fourth place – was being chased by the #2 United Autosports Oreca of Pato O’Ward who begun turning up the pace.

A concerning issue rose for the GTD Pro #3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R with Antonio Garcia at the wheel, when dust and flame became a slight worry although unclear about the cause.

Into the 17th hour, the sky turned from pure darkness to a purple haze as the sun began to rise again over the Daytona International Speedway.

In the LMP2 class, Zilisch gave another youngster in the form of Malthe Jakobsen in the #04, with the former defending hard from the latter, as the MX-5 Cup star used the GTD #83 Iron Dames Lamborghini to box Jakobsen.

The pair fought sensationally right to their pit stops, in which both cars were nose to tail as they completed them.

After a double-stint – as Zilisch fought two fellow youngsters on his Daytona debut – Ryan Dalziel took over the #18, as Jakobsen continued in the #04.

LMP2 saw Jakobsen continue in the lead with Dalziel behind, as Pietro Fittipaldi held third in the #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Oreca 07.

GTD Pro was being led in dominant fashion by Paul Miller Racing’s Niel Verhagen ahead of Nicky Catsburg’s #4 Corvette, and the #62 Ferrari 296 of Davide Rigon.

Daniel Morad led in GTD for Winward Racing, ahead of the #023 Ferrari of Alessio Rovera for Triarsi Competizione.

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Co-owner of United Autosports Richard Dean has described having two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Oreca 07s as both an advantage and a disadvantage for their race preparations.

The Yorkshireman told MotorsportWeek.com: “We’re the only team here in P2 with two cars – both an advantage and a disadvantage.

“So an advantage – all week we get through a lot more work and data and stuff –but during the race you know we’ve got to make sure we don’t fall over each other.

“[There is] absolutely there is no preference and no priority [between the two cars]. But clearly for 22 hours here, we don’t want to be falling over ourselves.”

Bijoy Garg of the #22 Oreca 07 starting fifth, added his thoughts on his potential rivals for the main race.

“Obviously the other [#2] car is really good. We think the CrowdStrike [by Algarve Pro Racing] is going to be pretty fast and then I feel like the Inter Europol will be pretty fast.

“At the end of 24 hours, you never know who’s going to be there.”

The United Autosports USA team are the only competitors running two LMP2 entries in the category of 13 ahead of the 24 Hours of Daytona. However, the team has run two cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship for multiple years now, so even if they are the only team running two in IMSA this year — the quality of the team should negate that.

With both the #2 and #22 Oreca 07-Gibsons, they are in the unique position of having double the chances of victory compared to their rival teams. The former will have Ben Hanley, Ben Keating, Pato O’Ward and Nico Pino in the car at various points during the race, while Bijoy will be joined by Felix Rosenqvist, Dan Goldburg, and Peugeot factory driver Paul di Resta in the latter.

After the WEC bade farewell to the LMP2 category on its full-season appearance, United Autosports decided to commit to a North-American LMP2 campaign, with their US base of operations in the Jr III Racing base, in Florida.

With the #2 in pole position — Ben Keating’s fifth consecutive Daytona 24 Hours pole position — and the #22 starting the 62nd edition of the Daytona 24 Hours in P5, their aims will be set on pursuing a double-podium finish, and ultimately their first Daytona 24 victory.

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Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen has announced Pietro Fittipaldi to replace Clement Novalak for the 24 Hours of Daytona on 27-28 January, after the Frenchman suffered an injury from a pit lane incident during FP4.

Fittipaldi will join Nick Boulle, Jakub Smiechowski and Tom Dillmann for the 62nd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the season-opener of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship tomorrow.

Fittipaldi said: “It’s an unfortunate situation for the team and Clement; they have been doing a great job preparing for the Daytona 24 Hours.

“I got the call from the team asking me to jump in at the last minute at Daytona, and I’ll be straight into green flag racing.

“Fortunately, I have experience with this car, and I did the 24-hours last year.

“It’s not going to be an easy task, but I am looking forward to the challenge, and I’ll do the best job possible for the team.”

The grandson of the famous Formula 1 and Indianapolis 500 champion Emerson Fittipaldi drove previously with Inter Europol in the 2022 European Le Mans Series.

In point of fact, he was part of the effort at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps which saw the team finish second after starting last.

After the Roar qualifying, the team line up on the front row of the LMP2 class in second place to the pole-sitting #2 United Autosports Oreca 07.

With Nick Boulle having showcased an impressive LMP2 debut qualifying performance, he will start the race in the #51 Oreca against 12 class rivals.

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