Really stinks where Ford again to stack the field to assure a win has 4 cars in GTLM where the 2 C7Rs with old designed cars cannot even come close in today's qualifying
C7.Rs stunk coming in at 5th and 10th place of 11 cars in GTLM

The world debut of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT race car came at the 2016 Rolex 24 At Daytona, but it was a race Ford would rather forget, as both cars suffered from mechanical issues that ruined their chances for a solid finish.

Of course, the team made up for that with a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the 50th anniversary of the race victory of the original Ford GT, and put together a solid 2016 season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

For the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Ford and Ganassi are serious about winning. How serious?
Not only did they bring the two U.S.-based cars – the Le Mans-winning No. 66, and the team car, No. 67 – they brought the two Europe-based Ford GTs, No. 68 and No. 69.

And it appears they are ready for the challenge, qualifying first, second, third and sixth in the 11-car field Thursday afternoon.

On the pole was the No. 66 driven by Joey Hand, one of the drivers who won at Le Mans.
“We feel like we’re more prepared this year,” he said. And how does he feel about the fact that his central competition may be his three teammates?

“Well,” he said, “you just want to be the fastest bullet in the gun!” Hand’s best lap was 1:43.473 seconds, just ahead of Richard Westbrook’s 1:43.704 in the No. 67.
Third was Olivier Pla in the No. 68, whose best lap was 1:43.987. Pla’s best lap was on the fourth tour around the circuit, which was lucky, as he later spun off the track and sat in the grass for most of the session.

Fourth was the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE, with a lap of 1:44.121 by Toni Vilander. He said he well realizes the challenge the Ford contingent presents, but says,
“We have a strong lineup of drivers, and we’re looking forward to the race. We won Petit Le Mans last year,” referring to the WeatherTech Championship 10-hour season finale at Road Atlanta, “And everything we have is the same or better. We’re the lonely riders – the only Ferrari in the class.”

The GT Le Mans class is mechanically much the same as it was in 2016, with one major exception. The No. 911 and No. 912 Porsche 911 RSRs run by the Porsche GT Team are all-new, with the most significant change being a shift from the traditional 911 rear-engine configuration to more of a mid-engine layout.

The Porsches were quick, but not quick enough: Patrick Pilet was fifth in the No. 911 car, and Kevin Estre was eighth in class in the No. 912.

CORVETTE RACING AT DAYTONA: Focus Turns to Run for Fourth Rolex 24 Win

Magnussen leads Corvette Racing qualifying efforts in No. 3 Corvette C7.R

Corvette Racing finished 1-2 in 2016, separated by just 0.034 seconds at finish
Team can become first in nearly a decade to win three straight Rolex 24s
Chevrolet the most successful manufacturer at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2017) – Corvette Racing will go for a third straight class victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona from the fourth and fifth rows of the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class following qualifying Thursday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.

A trio of practice sessions and time trials will give way to a final single practice Friday before the official start of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday.
When it gets under way, Jan Magnussen will start the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R seventh after a lap of 1:44.359 (x mph). In the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, Oliver Gavin will roll off ninth from the grid following his best lap of 1:44.685 (x mph).

Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler won last year’s Rolex 24 in GTLM in a thrilling race that saw the two Corvettes separated by just 0.034 seconds at the finish. Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller were runners-up a year after the No. 3 Corvette C7.R won the race in 2015.

For reference the two Corvettes qualified seventh and eighth last season, and the gap to the class pole-winner was much closer Thursday.

The Rolex 24 was the site of Corvette Racing’s debut on Jan. 31, 1999. Since that first race, the team has competed in more than 170 events around the globe with 102 victories worldwide – including five wins in 2016 – along with 11 Manufacturer and Team championships in the American Le Mans Series and WeatherTech Championship to go along with eight victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona is the start of the 2017 IMSA season and is set for 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 28. It will air on live on FOX beginning at 2 p.m. ET with coverage also on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports Go. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SEVENTH IN GTLM:

"It’s been a little tougher than everyone expected coming back here for the race weekend. I think everyone left the Roar pretty happy with how the Corvette was handling and how we were stacking up against everyone else.
But today for sure, we’ve been struggling a little bit. Qualifying I think is a good indication of where we are right now. It will be a tough race ahead of us."

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED NINTH IN GTLM:

"The session was OK.
We were struggling a little bit with the balance.
It seems like this weekend has been very different than how the two tests have gone – the Roar earlier this month and the test in December. It is warmer now, and also the wind direction is very different. There is a lot of sand on the track. That has been playing with us a little bit. I know it is the same for everyone.

But I just think we are just slightly outside of our window to get the car to operate in a comfortable spot for us. But as we know, in qualifying here it is nice to be in the front, but it certainly is not everything. This is race is long and tough. There are many sort of treacherous points you have to get through. We are mindful of that and just need to be there at the end to race whoever is left.

Hopefully our car will come to us. That is the way we are thinking. Temperatures are certainly going to cool down and we might get some rain. This race, like I said, is long and tough with many hurdles that will be thrown in front of us. No, we aren’t exactly where we want to be.
But we know there are many things we an do to changes that we can do to change our position. We will be pushing just as hard as we always do to try and get that Corvette win like we did last year."