derBayerische May/June 2023 - 22

T H E
2 0 2 3 R O L E X 2 4 A T D A Y T O N A
The desire was to base the cars on
hybrid power and to keep costs
under control through a designated
set of chassis manufacturers
and a specified electric drive in all
the cars.
The available chassisconstructors
are: Dallara,
Multimatic, Ligier and ORECA.
These constructors will build
the monocoque, suspension and
brakes. Xtrac and Williams
Advanced Engineering will provide
the gearbox and battery of the
hybrid system. Finally, Bosch
will provide the MGU (Motor
Generator Unit). An entrant selects
a chassis constructor and then utilizes the rest of the components.
An entrant/manufacturer then develops an engine of their own choice,
cooling package and bodywork to give the car a desired appearance.
The aerodynamics, power and weight are performance-balanced to keep the
cars in " performance windows " .
Entering this class in 2023 are Acura, BMW,
■ The Turner Motorsports M4 GT4 in the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
stages of development. Acura and
Cadillac competed with DPi cars
in 2022 with Acura winning the
championship. Both have experience
in the series, but all are still
learning about the new cars and
their advanced technology. The
Penske Porsches probably got the
earliest start on the new cars, with
BMW being one of the latest.
BMW management has expressed
that they benefited from work that
Porsche had done with electric
drive problems, but the Daytona
24-hour race would be the longest
run for M Hybrid V8s. Problems
were encountered during BMW's
Entering this class in 2023 are
Cadillac and Porsche, with Lamborghini intending to
join in 2024. Engine solutions for this group at
Daytona were as follows: Acura - 2.4L twin-turbo V6,
BMW - twin-turbo 4.0L V8, Cadillac 5.5L naturally
aspirated V8, Porsche 4.6L twin-turbo V8. Making these cars even more
unique is the torque sensor that allows the race series to monitor the power
output. In Europe, we will see Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari and Glickenhaus.
Expectations are to see all these cars at LeMans in 2024.
The 2023 Rolex was the first look at this new class of sports cars in
the US. It was a big test for these new cars which are all still in various
■ The BMW pit crew team replacing the faulty MGU on the #25.
Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche
with Lamborghini intending
to join in 2024.
planned endurance test, so it had to be abandoned. The BMW press release
pointed out that the race was just 598 days after the BMW Group board made
the decision to go forward and 188 days after the roll out of the BMW M
Hybrid V8, which then debuted in its first race after a " short development
period " . We remain very excited to see these cars
compete on track in this new era of prototype racing.
For the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona, we had two
BMW M Hybrid V8s, two Acuras, three Cadillacs and
two Porsche 963s. I know I'm biased, but the BMWs
are the nicest looking cars in the field and the lighting
around the kidney openings is quite striking at night. The M Hybrid V8 looks
like a BMW. The reality is, Daytona is very well lit at night, but grill lighting
on the cars still looked great. The exciting point that has been reiterated by
the BMW M Team RLL drivers is that they are now competing for the overall
victory. Winning GT was fine, but the ultimate prize is the overall victory.
As usual, BMW brought a remarkable driver lineup to the 2023 Rolex.
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