DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (January 26, 2024) – Race is almost here for the competitors of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and Wright Motorsports is at the ready to once again battle for glory at the iconic Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team secured victory in the grueling 24-hour endurance race in 2022, and this year returns with a strong new lineup to attempt another win on Saturday, January 27, and Sunday, January 28.
After a productive three-day test at the Roar Before the 24, followed by the official series practice sessions, the team is ready for action. The Wright Motorsports No. 120 Porsche, driven by Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, Jan Heylen, and Fred Makowiecki, ran in the top-five positions for four of the five test sessions, starting the first official test of the year strong. For drivers Adam Adelson and Elliot Skeer, the familiar co-drivers will be making their Rolex 24 debut with veterans Jan Heylen and Fred Makowiecki. Their entry will see Wright Motorsports return to the GTD class, the fourth of four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. With 23 cars entered, the class is the largest of the series, with each entry being comprised of a mixture of professional and amateur drivers.
The strategy of driver order throughout the race can be the key to any team’s success, as well as the timing of the pit stops, using caution periods to the best advantage, fuel consumption, and steering clear of danger throughout the night and be well positioned to fight in the final afternoon hours. While drivers rotate through driving stints, the mechanics and engineers will eat and rest in pit lane, trying to steal naps between the almost hourly-pit stops. Last year’s race saw 16 of the 61 entries retire early, claiming over a quarter of the entries.
A free full-driver autograph session will take place Friday, January 26 in the Fan Zone at 2:15 PM ET. IMSA’s fan-friendly approach will allow fans to participate in the pre-race open-grid fan walk before the green flag waves on Saturday, January 27 at 1:40 PM. General admission attendees will be able to walk behind pit lane, as well as all over the grounds of Daytona International Speedway, able to experience the endurance event from vantage points all over the property.
For fans watching from home, the first hour of the race will air on network TV on NBC starting on Saturday at 1:40 PM, then begin the tradition channel hop. Fans in the USA who have subscribed to Peacock streaming can watch live from start to finish on Peacock, while international audiences can watch on imsa.com/tvlive. For full event information, visit imsa.com.
DRIVER QUOTES
Adam Adelson
The Roar was super positive for us. We’ve been working hard to get the car to a place we’re happy with and my co-drivers have been absolutely incredible in their coaching efforts with me. As we get closer to what will be the biggest race of my career, I feel more and more grateful for everything Wright Motorsports has done to help me get to this point. I’m feeling really good about our competitiveness and can’t wait for our car to take the green flag.
Elliott Skeer
Giving a pre-race quote for the Rolex 24 puts a smile on my face! The Roar went pretty much exactly to plan, and everyone at Wright Motorsports is in good spirits. Adam has been driving brilliantly to start the year and I can’t wait to see how well he adapts to such a race. For me, it’s a pretty special feeling, going into the biggest race weekend of my career, and knowing just how ready I am to get this started.
Jan Heylen
I’m super pleased with how the Roar went. Over the winter, we reshuffled some positions within the team and added on some new talent to build an even stronger team. Our strong performance at the Roar showed that Wright Motorsports has made all the right decisions to excel as a team. In terms of performance, all the hard work from the last year paid off with the No. 120 Porsche feeling the best yet. We had a smooth Roar without any hiccups and all the drivers got the time they needed in the car. Adam and Elliot were up to speed from day one. I can’t wait for Saturday to come around.
Fred Makowiecki
After a productive Roar where learned a lot and tried different philosophies, now it’s time to summarize everything and bring it all together to have a strong Rolex 24 At Daytona. We have a strong package and now is the time to be passionate on track and be there in the morning on Sunday.
Event Schedule | All Times Eastern
Saturday, January 27
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM Open Grid Fan Walk
1:40 PM Race Start
Sunday, January 28
1:40 PM Race Finish
TV Schedule
Saturday, January 27 – Sunday, January 28
1:40 PM – 1:40 PM
Flag-to-Flag Coverage
Peacock (USA)
imsa.com/tvlive (International)
Network TV – Saturday
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM NBC
2:30 PM – 8:00 PM USA
10:00 PM – 11:59 PM USA
Network TV – Sunday
6:00 AM – 12:00 PM USA
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM NBC
Wright Motorsports
Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy, and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team, and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.
