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31 January, 2021
The tight contest for the overall lead of the 2021 Rolex 24 At Daytona was as spirited as predicted 12 hours into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener as it was at the drop of the green flag.
And at the midpoint of the race, a familiar name was showing the way.
Filipe Albuquerque had the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing/Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi out front, holding the No. 48 Action Express/Ally Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R and Mike Rockenfeller off by less than a second with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kevin Magnussen and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, in the pole-winning No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac, giving chase.
By IMSA Wire Service
Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani won Sunday s Motul Pole Award 100 at Daytona International Speedway, and will start on the pole for next weekend s Rolex 24 along with co-drivers Chase Elliott and Mike Conway. Photo: IMSA Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Rain and a penalty didn’t create any problems Sunday for Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani.
Relegated to a sixth-place starting position after their No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi V.R failed technical inspection Saturday night for being underweight, the duo rallied to win the inaugural Motul Pole Award 100, which determined the starting order for next weekend’s 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Action Express Cadillac Wins Qualifying Race, Takes Rolex 24 Pole
Corvette Racing and the Turner Motorsports BMW take inaugural qualifying race wins in GTLM and GTD. Icon SportswireGetty Images
The Rolex 24 at Daytona s pre-season test has been a source of controversy for quite some time. The event is famous for its potential for Sandbagging, putting in slower-than-expected lap times during the test to convince regulators to give a team a pre-season performance increase before their biggest race of the season, and IMSA has been trying to legislate the practice out since at least 2014.
These plans have not worked. Sandbagging has remained a ubiquitous part of the test, which now seems to exist only to provide a platform for sandbagging to happen in the first place.
By IMSA Wire Service
Oliver Jarvis will start Sunday s Motul Pole Award 100 at the Daytona International Speedway from the pole. The race will set the starting field for next weekend s Rolex 24, the season opener for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Photo: IMSA Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It wasn’t the typical path to the front of the pack, but Oliver Jarvis will take it.
Driving the No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi, Jarvis was second fastest in qualifications Saturday at Daytona International Speedway for Sunday’s Motul Pole Award 100 – the qualifying race that will determine the starting order for the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 30-31.