In the 2023 edition of one of the most famous endurance races in the American continent, there were many surprises, joys, and disappointments as usual in those grueling 24-hour events where everything is put to the test, not just cars and drivers.
With the new Acura LMDh, the defending champions of the Meyer Shank Racing team win the 2023 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. They managed to take their second straight Rolex 24 win at Daytona International Speedway, kicking off the era of GTP hybrid racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. The event marked the debut of Acura’s electrified sports concept car, the ARX-06, the second consecutive victory at Daytona for the Meyer Shank Racing team and the third consecutive victory for Honda’s luxury division in the mythical 24 hours of Daytona.
Rolex 24 Results
- 1st. Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaug; Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 Car No. 60
- 2nd. Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz, Brendon Hartley, and Ricky Taylor; Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 Auto 10
- 3rd. E. Bamber, A. Lynn, R. Westbrook in a No. 1 Cadillac V-LMDh Auto
In the 61st edition, several brands presented their vehicles from the LMDh Category (Le Mans Daytona Hypercar), Acura with its ARX06 built by Oreca, BMW debuted with the M Hybrid V8 at the hands of Dallara, Cadillac with its V-LMDh model also from the hand of the manufacturer Dallara and Porsche with the 963 with a Multimatic chassis.
What happened to the rookies?
Porsche 963
The two Porsche 963s of the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team experienced some problems at the 61st edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona. The new hybrid concept car impressed with strong performance on its debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. However, both vehicles were separated from the leading group due to different technical incidents.
BMW M Hybrid V8
A 640-hp LMDh V8 paired with an electric motor, inverter and high-voltage battery was out of luck and lost top positions due to powertrain failures, taking sixth and ninth places.
Cadillac V-LMDh
A developed between: Cadillac Racing, Cadillac Design and Dallara, it carries a 5.5-liter atmospheric V8 engine coupled to an electric motor giving that hybrid mechanics that is the characteristic for all the vehicles participating in the LMDh category. With a combined maximum power of 680 HP they placed in an amazing 3rd place.
