WeatherTech Racing is currently 12th in the GTD class after 18 hours complete in the 56th IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 At Daytona at the Daytona International Speedway.
Jeff Segal (Miami) was in the No. 63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 at the 12-hour mark and put in a solid, yet uneventful double stint. At that point, the team was 16th in the GTD class.
“It was mostly uneventful, which is a good thing in this race,” Segal said. “The balance of the car was really nice. It was very predictable. We ended up double stinting the tires due to the tire limit, tire allocation. We figured we’d do that at night when it’s a little bit cooler and easier on the tires. That way, we could have fresh tires for every stint to the end. I just tried to keep the tires underneath the car and see if we could be there if there were any yellows or opportunities to make up laps. But, it doesn’t seem like there have been many so it kind of ties your hands a little bit.”
Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Illinois) took the reins from Segal during the early morning hours for his final stints of this year’s Rolex 24. By the time he got out, the No. 63 Ferrari moved up two spots in class to 14th before Gunnar Jeanette (Salt Lake City) got in.
“I had a good double [stint] to finish it off,” MacNeil said. “I secured my minimum drive time for points, which was the objective. I ran the car clean and hard, and I had good pace. We picked up a couple laps with the yellows. We’re clawing our way back. There are seven and a half hours to go. Literally, anything can happen. We’re just going to run hard and clean, and see where we end up come hour 24. Jeff, Gunnar and Alessandro will take it from here. My day is done.”
Jeanette’s double stint included watching the sun come up over the World Center of Racing and picking up two more positions in GTD, even though the car was still seven laps behind the class leader. The No. 63 Ferrari was running 12th with eight hours remaining in the race.
“Moments like that remind you how cool it is to do this,” Jeanette said about being in the car as the sun came up. “I always cherish sunrises, sunsets at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans because the cool factor is way up there.
“The car is running good. It’s just a shame we’re having difficulty getting our laps back. But, we’re still trying.”
Race fans can continue to watch all of the exciting race action Fox Sports 1 from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (ET); Fox Sports GO from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and FS1 from1 p.m. to 3 p.m.