Live Thread: 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona

I don't think the official race timer is the same as the tv timer.   But this is a bit of a black eye for the races title sponsor. 

Being it's a rolling start,when does the clock start? First car that crosses the line at the green or when the green is shown?

I don't think a pace car or the pole sitter can nail the 24.00 and cross the line exactly, assuming  the clock counts down from 24:00.00 to 0. 
 

It's been a while for me ,is it 24 hours plus a lap?

Overall leader gets checker first after 24 hours?

24th hour flag comes out regardless where the cars are and we will figure it out by who pays us the most kick backs?

Ive seen where the Overall All leader has slowed to not cross before the 24th hour to not have to run another lap.

or is all this for nothin,it is, and TV messed us up.

Cyclone03 said:

Did they  just flag the race before 24 hours passed? Dayton 23:58.30?                    --------------------------                  
                                                      I am disappointed in the early checkers decision! I always thought that it was the next time the leader crossed the finish line AFTER 24hrs. I remember a nearly non-functional 935 (Interscope possibly) with a multi lap lead stopping on the trioval grass to wait on the clock to reach 24:00 then limping across the line.

David S. Wallens said:

Meant to post this last night: our first-class dining accommodations featuring $7 corn dogs. The dude behind the counter once did tree work for JG and knew our Corvette Z06 project car. 

Glad to see the Doing Yard Work For Me > Smoked Meat Vending pipeline is still as strong as ever.

Apparently Chip Ganassi ran over Devlin DeFrancesco's dog, killed it, and didn't even stop afterwards in the infield RV lot. If true, I'm 100% anti Ganassi from here on out.

Based on the clock and the TV note, it seemed more that they waved the checker instead of the white flag.  And the white flag could be easy to estimate based on lap times and how much time is left.  

IIRC, the race ends as soon as the clock hits 24 and *then* the race leader crosses the line.  

The end was interesting. I actually went back, rewound the video, and tried to figure out what I missed till I realized that I didnt miss anything, just odd checkered.

Someone upstream mentioned getting rid of LMP2. I'll say that it doesnt pull the same 'star power' as the other classes, but a good stepping stone, of sorts, to GTP.

I'd rather see a bigger change from GTD and Pro. When the only difference is level of driver it's just...eh, whatever.

Maybe a different tire size or 50hp less or something to slow down the 'lower' class of GT cars

Lastly - for the experts in here - what are the rules on what cars can run? Does it have to be a 'modern' car or could it be a car that was a few years old, a generation old etc?

hybridmomentspass said:

 

Lastly - for the experts in here - what are the rules on what cars can run? Does it have to be a 'modern' car or could it be a car that was a few years old, a generation old etc?

Ultimately it's up to the sanctioning body, but generally the car has to be approved in its class.

GTD is GT3 with IMSA's tweaks. LMP2 has a spec chassis and engine. GTP has more spec chassis and a hybrid package. If someone makes a new chassis then it would have to be approved.

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

Cars must be currently homologated.  Once homologation expires, or the class is dropped, no you can't run it.  For instance this is the second year of GTP / LMDH (name for these cars in WEC), so if you wanted to enter a 2022 DPI car (the class replaced by GTP) then no bueno.  

Yeah weird end to the race. At the same time it seemed the gaps were all growing so the impression was that there would be no challenges for positions. Then again, as with many endurance races, things can change on the very last lap. 

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Dude seemed totally stoked at the opportunities that have come his way since. 

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

When I went to pay for my food, he goes, Grassroots Motorsports? I’ve been to your house to do tree work.

And then he said, You have that blue Corvette race car.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

When I went to pay for my food, he goes, Grassroots Motorsports? I’ve been to your house to do tree work.

And then he said, You have that blue Corvette race car.

 

But does he remember the donkey?

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

You just won the internet!!!!

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

When I went to pay for my food, he goes, Grassroots Motorsports? I’ve been to your house to do tree work.

And then he said, You have that blue Corvette race car.

 

The check-in guy at the Gamble Rogers state park campground recognizes the Triple Threat Miata we tow behind our motorhome every year.  And gives us the Florida state resident discount, ignoring our Texas plates...wink, wink.

hybridmomentspass said:

Someone upstream mentioned getting rid of LMP2. I'll say that it doesnt pull the same 'star power' as the other classes, but a good stepping stone, of sorts, to GTP.

The issue with P2 is the wiiiiiide diversity of driving talent.  There's a few that are using it as a stepping stone (e.g. winners Zilisch and Magnussen), and some as a career extender (e.g. Massa), but it's predominantly gentleman drivers with big checkbooks.  And they interfere massively with the legit experienced/talented entries in the rest of the classes.  Look how many FCY's were caused just by the #33 alone!  And the % of FCY's caused by P2 escapades in general was about 80%.

I look at them as a "joker entry"...in more ways than one.  Unpredictable rolling chicanes.

Cyclone03 said:

Being it's a rolling start,when does the clock start? First car that crosses the line at the green or when the green is shown?

I don't think a pace car or the pole sitter can nail the 24.00 and cross the line exactly, assuming  the clock counts down from 24:00.00 to 0. 
 

It's been a while for me ,is it 24 hours plus a lap?

Overall leader gets checker first after 24 hours?

24th hour flag comes out regardless where the cars are and we will figure it out by who pays us the most kick backs?

Ive seen where the Overall All leader has slowed to not cross before the 24th hour to not have to run another lap.

 

or is all this for nothin,it is, and TV messed us up.

All good questions, and details that presumably the announcers were unable to explain at end of race clearly, so it did leave a bad taste.  
 

I was rooting for the Cadillac, and ultimately don't think another lap would've made a difference,  but it would seem not that hard to match up the "TV time" with the official time.  It's not like soccer where there's stoppage time or something, they literally have 24 hours of a running clock that all teams presumably are aware of.  
 

So, did they throw the flag early?  
 

Seems like they should race until the lead car hits the 24Hr mark and then crosses the finish line after whatever lap that is.  As others mentioned, white flag could be thrown/estimated based on position/average lap times, but really the white flag doesn't matter, as you're racing against the clock.  There could still presumably be a scenario where a lead car is going to cross the line +/- a second of what may or may not be a white flag lap, or a final lap, depending on next lap time... I.e. fast lap = crossing with a few ticks on the clock, and around for another lap they go.... or a bit slower and they cross line at 24:00:03 and it's over.  
 

Regardless 24Hr in full should have elapsed.  

In reply to Andy Hollis :

The kicker being that the blue Corvette lived with JG, not me. (Womp, womp because not the first time this has happened....)

Had a good time, the finish was odd.  I worked 12+ hours friday and saturday, but got to hang out with my friends on sunday and just spectate, which was nice.  Also, got to drive the new car:

See you all at Sebring!

Flynlow said:

Had a good time, the finish was odd.  I worked 12+ hours friday and saturday, but got to hang out with my friends on sunday and just spectate, which was nice.  Also, got to drive the new car:

 

See you all at Sebring!

Hhhnnnnggggg!  Dream car for me right there.

Andy Hollis said:

hybridmomentspass said:

Someone upstream mentioned getting rid of LMP2. I'll say that it doesnt pull the same 'star power' as the other classes, but a good stepping stone, of sorts, to GTP.

The issue with P2 is the wiiiiiide diversity of driving talent.  There's a few that are using it as a stepping stone (e.g. winners Zilisch and Magnussen), and some as a career extender (e.g. Massa), but it's predominantly gentleman drivers with big checkbooks.  And they interfere massively with the legit experienced/talented entries in the rest of the classes.  Look how many FCY's were caused just by the #33 alone!  And the % of FCY's caused by P2 escapades in general was about 80%.

I look at them as a "joker entry"...in more ways than one.  Unpredictable rolling chicanes.

Worth a QFT.

Flynlow said:

Had a good time, the finish was odd.  I worked 12+ hours friday and saturday, but got to hang out with my friends on sunday and just spectate, which was nice.  Also, got to drive the new car:

 

See you all at Sebring!

Saw it while passing by. Looked terrific. 

I ran through 7 rolls of film, with one more still in the camera. I'll post the results once everything is developed.

In reply to Flynlow :

I took a similar picture of your car lol!