The Rolex 24 at Daytona marks the start of the 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and CORE autosport’s debut in the Prototype class.
The team has already taken part in two tests with its No. 54 ORECA 07 LM P2 at Daytona International Speedway and showed excellent pace, but this weekend’s 24-hour race will be the ultimate test of its off-season preparations. CORE will be up against factory programs from Cadillac, Acura and Mazda, plus entries from endurance stalwarts Ligier, Nissan and Riley. Altogether the Prototype boasts 20 entries alongside nine GTLM cars and 21 GTD cars.
Full-season drivers Jon Bennett and Colin Braun are joined by endurance champions Romain Dumas and Loïc Duval for the Rolex 24, which also marks the first race in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
Jon Bennett and Colin Braun won the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona in the Prototype Challenge class.
At the Roar Before the 24 test, CORE was the second-quickest ORECA entry.
Bennett has five previous Rolex 24 starts.
Braun has 14 starts at Rolex 24.
Dumas has been in six Rolex 24 races.
This is Duval’s second Rolex 24.
Jon Bennett
Driver: No. 54 ORECA 07 LM P2
“The 2018 Rolex 24 will be remembered as a renaissance in prototype racing in North America. It will be a special opportunity to be a part of this competitive field representing the best teams and drivers in the world.
“Our goal will be to execute each step and each stint as perfectly as we can. Every long endurance race has unexpected situations that must be adapted to, the team that can adapt the most efficiently will have a major advantage.
“My goal will be to enjoy every aspect of the race and support my teammates with performance quality in the cockpit. If we all execute to the best of our abilities, the result will take care of itself.”
Colin Braun
Driver: No. 54 ORECA 07 LM P2
“I feel like we had a great test and ran through our plan and did everything we could on our end to be as strong as we possibly can. Everyone else is doing the same. I don’t think we’ll see the true performance of the field until we get down to the last three or four hours at the end of the race.
“Jon’s got a lot of great experience at Daytona in the PC car and he’s done a really good job. I think having someone like Jon that really understands the endurance racing mentality and how to be safe and smart and is one of the guys that does a great job at the start of the races and knows how to protect the car… having a co-driver that is strong in those areas is crucial to a race like Daytona.”
Romain Dumas
Driver: No. 54 ORECA 07 LM P2
“I think our advantage will be reliability. The car has performed well in 24-hour races. It will be difficult to fight against some of the other cars, the Cadillac will for sure be strong, but in a 24-hour race you never know. I think our chance is good to see the checkered flag.
“In a 24-hour race, there are a lot of question marks; sometimes you should win and you don’t, sometimes you win and you shouldn’t have. We need to stay calm, make no mistakes, and do our own race without looking around, because the competition will be so high. We have to survive to the end. The goal is minimum to be on the podium and on top of it would be the best.”
Loïc Duval
Driver: No. 54 ORECA 07 LM P2
“When you arrive to the first race of the season, it’s difficult to know exactly how the competition will be. We did get a good test at the Roar and ended up in most of the sessions in the top five, which is good. We are confident, but it is difficult to know who is keeping a little bit in their pocket until the end of the race. Us, as drivers, we’re happy with the setup and the car behavior and performance.
“For me, the main thing in a 24-hour race is reliability. That’s always the biggest challenge. To arrive with a clean car without any problems and to be able to push for the last two hours, that’s the main thing in endurance racing. It’s important to keep the car safe through the first part of the race and have the tools to try and get the best out of it.”
