2014 Racing Season – Starting Now!

Posted by Motorista on January 25, 2014 in Bucket List, Motorsports, News | Leave a comment

Despite a nasty cough, the lingering reminder of the cold I got almost as soon as I returned from Detroit, I wish I was in Daytona this weekend for the Rolex 24! This 24-hour endurance race is the first of the sports car racing season, and the very first race of the new United SportsCar Championship era (the series formed this year from the combination of American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am). In addition to the sports car racing regulars, some drivers from IndyCar and NASCAR are also participating.

With 67 cars on the track, in four different classes, the Rolex 24 promises lots of excitement. Unfortunately, only a few hours in, there has already been a massive accident between a prototype and a Ferrari that had lost power. Both drivers were taken to the hospital, and the race was red-flagged for awhile. It has just started back up.

If you have TV (unlike me), tune to Fox Sports for live coverage. You can also watch live camera feeds from inside some of the cars here. And the series’ website will take over live coverage from 9 p.m to 7 a.m. EST. Watching racing at night is pretty cool.

See here for my post about the ALMS at Circuit of the Americas last year, and here for photos from pit lane. Many of these same cars/teams are racing at Daytona now. Also, here is a post from earlier this month about the testing period prior to the Rolex 24. You can also follow my Twitter feed (at the bottom of the blog’s main page) for all the latest updates. 🙂

Looking forward to watching the 2014 racing season unfold! Sending the very best to Memo Gidley and Matteo Malucelli, the drivers of the wrecked prototype and Ferrari, respectively. 2013 was a pretty tragic year for racing; hoping for the exact opposite this year!