RNW Staff

Aston Martin’s multiple championship-winning Vantage begins the defence of its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class title this weekend, as three teams (including the 2022 IMSA GTD class champions Heart of Racing) field four Vantage GT3s in North America’s most famous endurance race – the season-opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (FL).

Harry King secured his first silverware of the 2023 season with a battling drive to victory in the 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi.

The ‘Roar before the 24’, the traditional three-day test event one week before the Rolex 24 at Daytona (USA) ended on Sunday with the qualifying sessions determining the starting grid for the 24-hour race. The two BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes finished the GTP class session in seventh and eighth places and will start the season-opener of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the fourth row of the grid next Saturday. BMW M works drivers Philipp Eng (AUT) and Nick Yelloly (GBR) were at the wheels of the #24 and #25 cars. BMW M Team RLL used the test sessions to get mileage on the newly developed cars and gain valuable experience with regards to the big challenge ahead.

JMF Motorsports is excited to announce that Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb will be teaming up to drive the #34 JMF Motorsports / Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 for the 2023 SRO America GT4 Championship.

Reigning Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Champion, Harri Jones, will join the championship-winning BWT Lechner Racing Team for the upcoming Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season.

After a productive week of testing and qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, the Paul Miller Racing team is set to roll off 11th for the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona. 

The two Porsche 963 fielded by the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory squad have wrapped up their first qualifying session in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with varying degrees of success. Felipe Nasr from Brazil planted Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 7 car on P2 – a mere 0.083 seconds off pole position. His brand colleague Nick Tandy, however, was hampered by bad luck in the No. 6 car. On the way to setting pole, the UK driver lost the rear of his 963 while braking for the Bus Stop chicane and hit the tyre wall. In the GTD classes, the seven Porsche 911 GT3 R secured only mediocre grid positions.

WeatherTech Racing will start from the pole position in GTD Pro for the next weekend’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, Jan. 28-29.

Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) with Curb-Agajanian driver Tom Blomqvist captured the pole position for the 61st Rolex 24 in dramatic fashion on Sunday, with Blomqvist topping the charts with an all-or-nothing final lap of 1:34.031-seconds in the No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-06 LMDh.

The 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series opened the 2023 season on Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway with the Roar Before the 24, the annual preseason test session at the world famous racetrack. With a total of 61 cars on hand, including nine cars in the newly formed GTP class for LMDh cars, both Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s put their cars through the paces, showing good speed throughout the first day of testing.

The new Ferrari 296 GT3 steps onto the international racing stage, making its appearance at the Daytona International Speedway during the Roar Before the Daytona 24. The event is a three-day test session which includes the qualifying session set for the weekend of 22 January, the prologue to the famous endurance race that opens the American IMSA SportsCar Championship season: this will open on 28–29 January with four teams and eight official Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers taking part, who will christen the new 296 GT3.

For the twelfth time already, the Audi R8 LMS will face the biggest endurance competition in Australia. The tradition-steeped hill-and-dale track at Bathurst, 200 kilometers west of Sydney, will be the venue of the 12-hour race from February 3 to 5. Together with the Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC), Audi Sport customer racing is involved in the Pro and Pro-Am classes of the competition. In addition, customers will also compete in the Silver class. A total of seven Audi R8 LMS cars are expected at Mount Panorama on the first weekend in February.

Multiple race and championship winning Porsche outfit Team Parker Racing is delighted to confirm that it will be entering five cars into the brand-new Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe championship, taking place in Spain and Portugal this winter.

After almost twelve months of preparation with the new hybrid 963 prototype, things are about to get serious for Porsche Penske Motorsport: On 20 January, the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season kicks off with the so-called “ROAR Before the 24”. This three-day test at the Daytona International Speedway in the US state of Florida is used to set up the cars and to qualify for the 24-hour race. The endurance classic will be held from 28 to 29 January at the same venue. The new Porsche 911 GT3 R will also be showcased on an international stage at this event. Seven of the GT3 vehicles, based on the 992 generation of the 911, will tackle the American endurance classic.

Cetilar Racing is set for the new season as it confirmed the effort in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, Michelin Endurance Cup. The all-Italian team – car, drivers and the AF Corse technical support- returns to the GTD, fielding the brand-new #47 Ferrari 296 GT3 that replaces the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 succesfully used in 2022.

Team Parker Racing is delighted to announce that current Porsche GB Junior Driver Adam Smalley will join its line-up for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB and Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe.

As AO Racing makes their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut this month at the Roar Before the 24 and Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team will pay special tribute to a previous race winner highlighting the livery of the No. 80 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The new GTD class team will begin the season racing the livery of the 1983 race-winning Porsche, the No. 6 Swap Shop ANDIAL Porsche 935, driven by Preston Henn, AJ Foyt, Bob Wollek and Claude Ballot-Lena. The livery has a personal connection to not one, but two of the 2023 drivers. PJ Hyett currently owns the historic 935 on which Gunnar Jeannette’s father, Kevin, was the crew chief. The car was built by motorsport legend Alwin Springer, former president of and now consultant to Porsche Motorsport North America.

FIST – Team AAI will make its Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS comeback this year after confirming a two-car full-season programme.

This summer’s spectacular ‘Silverstone Festival’ (25-27 August) will celebrate the world famous circuit’s 75thanniversary in high octane style with special birthday races, parades and displays to mark this major milestone in British motorsport history.

Paul Miller Racing rounds out their 2023 endurance driver lineup with the strong additions of Corey Lewis and Maxime Martin aboard the No. 1 Quartz Engine Oil-backed BMW M4 GT3.