Wikipedia

2024 IMSA VP Challenge Round at Daytona International Speedway

The 2024 IMSA VP Challenge Round at Daytona International Speedway was a sports car racing event held between 19 and 21 January 2024 at the Daytona International Speedway. It was the first race of the 2024 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season and was held during the Roar Before the 24 for the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Map of the Daytona International Speedway road course

The event consisted of two practice sessions, one qualifying session, and two 45 minute races. Both races were won by Steven Aghakhani in the LMP3 class and Luca Mars in the GSX class.[1][2]

Entry List

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LMP3

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Manufacturer Car Team No. Driver
Ligier Ligier JS P320 MLT Motorsports 6   Steven Aghakhani
Performance Tech Motorsports 7   Alex Kirby
38   Scott Locke
Escuderia ABRO 23   Miguel Villagomez
Sean Creech Motorsport 33   Lance Willsey
Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports 51   Cody Ware
Ave Motorsports 61   George Staikos
MISHUMOTORS 70   Mirco Schultis
Forte Racing 77   Brian Thienes
Duqueine Duqueine D-08 Fast MD Racing with Remstar 87   Marco Kacic

GSX

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Manufacturer Car Team No. Driver
Aston Martin Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Archangel Motorsports 22   Robbie McWilliams
Ruckus Racing 45   Scott Blind
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo Rebel Rock Racing 72   Frank DePew
Aston Martin Vantage GT4 van der Steur Racing 82   Brady Behrman
BMW BMW M4 GT4 G82 Team ACP by Random Vandals 9   Nathan Martin
Swish Motorsports 12   Michael Dayton
Stephen Cameron Racing 19   Sean Quinlan
43   Gregory Liefooghe
Auto Technic Racing 25   Mark Brummond
26   Christopher Tasca
Split Decision Motorsports 88   Patrick Wilmot
Turner Motorsports 96   Joe Dalton
Ford Ford Mustang GT4 KOHR MOTORSPORTS 59   Luca Mars
McLaren McLaren Artura GT4 Motorsports in Action 21   Jesse Lazare
Mercedes-AMG Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 Thaze Competition 37   Marc Miller
78   Jonathan Woolridge
Porsche Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering 5   Angus Rogers
BGB MOTORSPORTS 17   Will Wachs
808   Jim Jonsin
Baby Bull Racing 44   Moisey Uretsky
55   Michael Cooper
Czabok-Simpson Motorsport 66   Jackson Lee
Toyota Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO BSI Racing 67   Eric Thompson
Official Entry List

Race 1

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The grid for race 1 was set by the fastest time in a single qualifying session.[3] Car 9 driven by Nathan Martin and Car 72[4] driven by Frank DePew withdrew prior to qualifying, and Car 78 driven by Jonathan Woolridge withdrew prior to Race 1.

Race 1 Starting Grid

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Class pole position is indicated in bold

Pos. Class No. Driver Team Time
1 LMP3 6   Steven Aghakhani MLT Motorsports 1:43.361
2 LMP3 87   Marco Kacic FastMD Racing with Remstar 1:43.417
3 LMP3 7   Alex Kirby Performance Tech Motorsports 1:43.730
4 LMP3 77   Brian Thienes Forte Racing 1:43.982
5 LMP3 51   Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports 1:44.042
6 LMP3 23   Miguel Villagomez Escuderia ABRO 1:44.118
7 LMP3 33   Lance Willsey Sean Creech Motorsport 1:44.888
8 LMP3 70   Mirco Schultis MISHUMOTORS 1:45.645
9 LMP3 61   George Staikos Ave Motorsports 1:48.056
10 LMP3 38   Scott Locke Performance Tech Motorsports 1:50.305
11 GSX 55   Michael Cooper Baby Bull Racing 1:53.814
12 GSX 37   Marc Miller Thaze Competition 1:53.895
13 GSX 43   Gregory Liefooghe Stephen Cameron Racing 1:54.238
14 GSX 66   Jackson Lee Czabok-Simpson Motorsport 1:54.583
15 GSX 67   Eric Thompson BSI Racing 1:54.688
16 GSX 88   Patrick Wilmot Split Decision Motorsports 1:54.776
17 GSX 82   Brady Behrman van der Steur Racing 1:54.804
18 GSX 45   Scott Blind Ruckus Racing 1:55.010
19 GSX 19   Sean Quinlan Stephen Cameron Racing 1:55.270
20 GSX 21   Jesse Lazare Motorsports in Action 1:55.313
21 GSX 25   Mark Brummond Auto Technic Racing 1:56.224
22 GSX 5   Angus Rogers KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering 1:56.983
23 GSX 17   Will Wachs BGB MOTORSPORTS 1:56.992
24 GSX 808   Jim Jonsin BGB MOTORSPORTS 1:57.010
25 GSX 12   Michael Dayton Swish Motorsports 1:57.227
26 GSX 96   Joe Dalton Turner Motorsport 1:57.260
27 GSX 22   Robbie McWilliams Archangel Motorsports 1:57.538
28 GSX 26   Christopher Tasca Auto Technic Racing 1:58.265
29 GSX 44   Moisey Uretsky Baby Bull Racing No Time Set
30 GSX 59   Luca Mars KOHR MOTORSPORTS Time Disallowed[a]
Race 1 Official Starting Grid
  1. ^ Car #59 had all times disallowed due to being found underweight in technical inspection.

Report

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On the first lap of the race, Cody Ware spun heading into turn 1, forcing Miguel Villagomez off the track to avoid him. Ware would recover from the spin to later finish 3rd.

With 28 minutes to go, Christopher Tasca suffered a right-rear puncture and had to retire from the race.

With 19 minutes to go, Robbie McWilliams crashed into the tire wall on the outside of the Le Mans Chicane, causing a full course yellow to be thrown on lap 16.[5]

Under full course yellow, Miguel Villagomez suffered a technical issue that caused his car to stop and become stranded coming out of the pit lane. The recovery of his car prolonged the full course yellow.

The race restarted with six minutes remaining with Alex Kirby leading in LMP3 and Gregory Liefooghe leading in GSX.

With two laps left, Steven Aghakhani took the lead into turn two after Alex Kirby went wide exiting turn one. Aghakhani would hold this lead until the end of the race.

On the last lap, Luca Mars drafted off of and passed Gregory Liefooghe in Speedway Turn 4, taking the GSX class win by 0.051 seconds.[6]

Race Results

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Class winners are indicated in bold.

Pos. Class No. Driver Team Laps Gap
1 LMP3 6   Steven Aghakhani MLT Motorsports 23 -
2 LMP3 7   Alex Kirby Performance Tech Motorsports 23 +1.238
3 LMP3 51   Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports 23 +5.746
4 LMP3 87   Marco Kacic FastMD Racing with Remstar 23 +6.035
5 LMP3 77   Brian Thienes Forte Racing 23 +6.993
6 LMP3 70   Mirco Schultis MISHUMOTORS 23 +10.754
7 LMP3 33   Lance Willsey Sean Creech Motorsport 23 +11.248
8 LMP3 61   George Staikos Ave Motorsports 23 +24.432
9 LMP3 38   Scott Locke Performance Tech Motorsports 23 +41.900
10 GSX 59   Luca Mars KOHR MOTORSPORTS 22 1 Lap
11 GSX 43   Gregory Liefooghe Stephen Cameron Racing 22 1 Lap
12 GSX 37   Marc Miller Thaze Competition 22 1 Lap
13 GSX 55   Michael Cooper Baby Bull Racing 22 1 Lap
14 GSX 88   Patrick Wilmot Split Decision Motorsports 22 1 Lap
15 GSX 67   Eric Thompson BSI Racing 22 1 Lap
16 GSX 66   Jackson Lee Czabok-Simpson Motorsport 22 1 Lap
17 GSX 25   Mark Brummond Auto Technic Racing 22 1 Lap
18 GSX 19   Sean Quinlan Stephen Cameron Racing 22 1 Lap
19 GSX 12   Michael Dayton Swish Motorsports 22 1 Lap
20 GSX 808   Jim Jonsin BGB MOTORSPORTS 22 1 Lap
21 GSX 45   Scott Blind Ruckus Racing 22 1 Lap
22 GSX 21   Jesse Lazare Motorsports in Action 22 1 Lap
23 GSX 82   Brady Behrman van der Steur Racing 22 1 Lap
24 GSX 5   Angus Rogers KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering 22 1 Lap
25 GSX 96   Joe Dalton Turner Motorsport 22 1 Lap
26 GSX 17   Will Wachs BGB MOTORSPORTS 22 1 Lap
27 GSX 44   Moisey Uretsky Baby Bull Racing 22 1 Lap
28 LMP3 23   Miguel Villagomez Escuderia ABRO 15 Not Running
29 GSX 22   Robbie McWilliams Archangel Motorsports 12 Not Running
30 GSX 26   Christopher Tasca Auto Technic Racing 8 Not Running
Race 1 Unofficial Results

Race 2

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The grid for race 2 was set by either the driver's second fastest lap in qualifying, or the driver's fastest lap in race 1. The fastest of the two is used.

Race 2 Starting Grid

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Class pole position is indicated in bold

Pos Class No. Drivers Team Time
1 LMP3 6   Steven Aghakhani MLT Motorsports 1:43.536
2 LMP3 87   Marco Kacic FastMD Racing with Remstar 1:43.784
3 LMP3 7   Alex Kirby Performance Tech Motorsports 1:43.914
4 LMP3 77   Brian Thienes Forte Racing 1:44.018
5 LMP3 51   Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports 1:44.077
6 LMP3 23   Miguel Villagomez Escuderia ABRO 1:44.221
7 LMP3 33   Lance Willsey Sean Creech Motorsport 1:45.218
8 LMP3 70   Mirco Schultis MISHUMOTORS 1:46.259
9 LMP3 61   George Staikos Ave Motorsports 1:48.020
10 LMP3 38   Scott Locke Performance Tech Motorsports 1:50.318
11 GSX 59   Luca Mars KOHR MOTORSPORTS 1:53.740
12 GSX 55   Michael Cooper Baby Bull Racing 1:53.908
13 GSX 37   Marc Miller Thaze Competition 1:54.073
14 GSX 43   Gregory Liefooghe Stephen Cameron Racing 1:54.339
15 GSX 21   Jesse Lazare Motorsports in Action 1:54.679
16 GSX 66   Jackson Lee Czabok-Simpson Motorsport 1:54.828
17 GSX 88   Patrick Wilmot Split Decision Motorsports 1:54.838
18 GSX 45   Scott Blind Ruckus Racing 1:55.509
19 GSX 19   Sean Quinlan Stephen Cameron Racing 1:55.524
20 GSX 67   Eric Thompson BSI Racing 1:55.551
21 GSX 82   Brady Behrman van der Steur Racing 1:55.950
22 GSX 25   Mark Brummond Auto Technic Racing 1:55.950
23 GSX 12   Michael Dayton Swish Motorsports 1:56.178
24 GSX 808   Jim Jonsin BGB MOTORSPORTS 1:56.756
25 GSX 44   Moisey Uretsky Baby Bull Racing 1:56.874
26 GSX 26   Christopher Tasca Auto Technic Racing 1:56.916
27 GSX 5   Angus Rogers KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering 1:56.932
28 GSX 96   Joe Dalton Turner Motorsport 1:57.103
29 GSX 17   Will Wachs BGB MOTORSPORTS 1:57.161
30 GSX 22   Robbie McWilliams Archangel Motorsports 1:57.464
Race 2 Official Starting Grid

Report

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On the first lap of the race, Cody Ware went down the inside of several cars at the west horseshoe and made contact with the 77 car of Brian Thienes, causing him to spin. Ware would receive a 10 second time penalty for incident responsibility and would go on to finish third before the penalty, and drop to eighth after it.[7] Thienes would recover to finish fourth.

An incident in the GSX class occurred when Mark Brummond and Sean Quinlan made contact at the International Horseshoe, causing Brummond to go off the track and Quinlan to spin.

The only full course yellow of the race occurred on lap 21,[8] after Alex Kirby spun heading into the Le Mans chicane, stranding his car in the grass.

The race restarted with one lap remaining with Aghakhani and Mars leading their respective classes, both of them holding onto their leads to win.

Race Results

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Class winners are indicated in bold.

Pos Nr. Class Driver Team Laps Gap
1 6 LMP3   Steven Aghakhani MLT Motorsports 24 -
2 87 LMP3   Marco Kacic FastMD Racing with Remstar 24 +4.036
3 23 LMP3   Miguel Villagomez Escuderia ABRO 24 +4.056
4 77 LMP3   Brian Thienes Forte Racing 24 +4.43
5 70 LMP3   Mirco Schultis MISHUMOTORSPORTS 24 +4.436
6 33 LMP3   Lance Willsey Sean Creech Motorsport 24 +4.874
7 61 LMP3   George Staikos Ave Motorsports 24 +7.818
8 51 LMP3   Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports 24 +10.700[lower-beta 1]
9 38 LMP3   Scott Locke Performance Tech Motorsports 23 1 Lap
10 59 GSX   Luca Mars KOHR MOTORSPORTS 23 1 Lap
11 55 GSX   Michael Cooper Baby Bull Racing 23 1 Lap
12 43 GSX   Gregory Liefooghe Stephen Cameron Racing 23 1 Lap
13 21 GSX   Jesse Lazare Motorsports in Action 23 1 Lap
14 88 GSX   Patrick Wilmot Split Decision Motorsports 23 1 Lap
15 66 GSX   Jackson Lee Czabok-Simpson Motorsport 23 1 Lap
16 67 GSX   Eric Thompson BSI Racing 23 1 Lap
17 45 GSX   Scott Blind Ruckus Racing 23 1 Lap
18 12 GSX   Michael Dayton Swish Motorsports 23 1 Lap
19 82 GSX   Brady Behrman van der Steur Racing 23 1 Lap
20 44 GSX   Moisey Uretsky Baby Bull Racing 23 1 Lap
21 19 GSX   Sean Quinlan Stephen Cameron Racing 23 1 Lap
22 5 GSX   Angus Rogers KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering 23 1 Lap
23 808 GSX   Jim Jonsin BGB MOTORSPORTS 23 1 Lap
24 96 GSX   Joe Dalton Turner Motorsport 23 1 Lap
25 26 GSX   Christopher Tasca Auto Technic Racing 23 1 Lap
26 17 GSX   Will Wachs BGB MOTORSPORTS 23 1 Lap
27 7 LMP3   Alex Kirby Performance Tech Motorsports 19 Not Running
28 25 GSX   Mark Brummond Auto Technic Racing 17 Not Running
29 37 GSX   Marc Miller Thaze Competition 14 Not Running
30 22 GSX   Robbie McWilliams Archangel Motorsports 8 16 Laps
Race 2 Unofficial Results
  1. ^ Car #51 received a 10 second time penalty after the race for incident responsibility
IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
Previous race:
None 		2024 season Next race:
2024 IMSA VP Challenge Round at St. Petersburg

References

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  1. ^ "Aghakhani, Mars take VP Challenge wins in a day of firsts at Daytona". RACER. 2024-01-21. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  2. ^ "Steven Aghakhani & Luca Mars Sweep Daytona Doubleheader". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  3. ^ https://www.imsa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/11/01/2024-IMSA-SPORTING-REGULATIONS-and-SSR-VPRC-Blackline-110123.pdf
  4. ^ https://twitter.com/RebelRockRacing/status/1748733038370922684
  5. ^ "Flags Analysis" (PDF).
  6. ^ Robinson, Mark (January 20, 2024). "Day of Firsts in Opener of Second VP Racing Challenge Season".
  7. ^ "Cody Ware, NASCAR suspension lifted, returns to racing at Daytona; finishes of 3rd, 8th". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  8. ^ http://results.imsa.com/Results/24_2024/01_ROAR%20Before%20the%2024/03_IMSA%20VP%20Racing%20SportsCar%20Challenge/202401211220_Race%202/25_FlagsAnalysis_Race%202.PDF
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