After a short three-month long offseason, the VSCA SportsCar Championship officially returns to action this Saturday, with the third annual running of the VSCA 24 Hours of Daytona.
Daytona International Speedway, also called “The World Center of Racing” will host the biggest and longest race of the year and a grid of 49 cars is expected to take the green flag.
Grizzly Motorsports set to defend 2023 series title
All eyes will be on reigning series champions Grizzly Motorsports and their No. 1 Porsche 963 GTP, as the Portland, Oregon team will look to defend their title from 2023 with another successful campaign.
Mayer Simspeed Performance, who claimed the 2023 VSCA Endurance Cup and won last year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona in dominant fashion, are returning to challenge Grizzly for the championship in their No. 3 car, switching from BMW to Porsche over the winter.
Torque Freak Racing, one of the series veterans, has transitioned from GT to the top prototype class with their No. 6 car and will look to give the competition a run for their money in this year’s overall series championship.
Nobody should forget to mention the No. 19 Porsche of Trading Paints Racing. The team that dominated last year’s LMP2 class by collecting six wins in eleven starts, has moved to GTP class competition for 2024 and has to be considered one of the hot favorites to challenge for the championship this year with drivers Jordan Erickson and Selena Ward returning.
Spanish team World Of SimRacing Team also returns to the series. The quick Spaniards have been a mainstay in the VSCA SportsCar Championship for the past three years and should be among the front runners, based on pace.
Joining them from the Iberian peninsula is DS Racing eSports Team from Portugal, who are returning with their No. 88 car. The team took their first win in last year’s championship round at Detroit Belle Isle and will look for more of the same in 2024.
Expanding into the top class of the series for the first time since 2022, Fischer Motorsport has added a No. 4 Porsche 963 GTP entry for the 2024 season.
Likewise HAC Racing, who ran in LMP2 and GTD last season, have moved their No. 111 car to the GTP class with a Cadillac.
Rounding out the 14-car GTP class grid are new entries from Composite Performance, Bravo Snow Schatten, Intend Sim Racing, Stop N’ Go Racing and Team Heartcore in what promises to be a hyper-competitive GTP class this season.
LMP2 class promising to be competitive once again
One of the most popular classes to watch and compete in during the 2023 season, the LMP2 class returns with several high-profile teams on the grid for 2024.
Defending series champions Trading Paints Racing have moved to GTP and vice champions Albrecht Motorsports have left the series. So it the highest-ranked returning entry from last season will be the No. 14 Dallara of Fischer Motorsport.
Gowin Racing and their No. 18 car also return to the series, looking to fight for the championship, along with VRG Sport’s No. 66 Dallara and GSE Racing eSports from Germany, who bring back their No. 86 entry.
HAC Racing also returns to the class, bringing back their No. 813 Dallara.
New teams on the grid are the No. 46 of Rising Panda Racing from Austria, the No. 048 car from SCOWRS Esses Racing, the No. 100 Dallara of Rookie Esports, the No. 123 Dallara P217 of Tri-State Racing from Montclair, New Jersey and the No. 777 car of Fusion Simsport.
In total, when the green flag waves for the 24 Hours of Daytona on Saturday, a grid of 11 LMP2 cars will go into the third season of the class, making LMP2 the oldest class in the history of the series.
GT PRO featuring several high-profile team names
Featuring the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), BMW M4 GT3 and Audi R8 LMS EVO II GT3, the GT PRO class has plenty of horsepower to present, along with several high-profile team names on the grid.
Kinetic Racing - the winningest team in the history of VSCA - return with their No. 67 Porsche for a third straight season, looking to defend their spectacular win in the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona. The Auckland, New Zealand team started off last year by winning three straight and will look to do the same or better again this year.
The storied rivalry continues for Kinetic Racing, as their arch rivals Fischer Motorsport return in form of their No. 44 (formerly 85) and No. 84 Porsche, looking to attack anew in the championship this season. The team from Germany achieved its first GT win in the series last year at VIR.
GSE Racing eSports, who have a LMP2 entry as well, join the GT PRO grid in 2024, fielding the No. 21 Audi a the team expands to a two-car operation in VSCA.
Denmark’s RaceTech Competition also join the grid with their No. 55 Audi and based on performance in The Roar Before The 24 and test days during the winter, have to be accounted for as one of the favorites to win this weekend’s race.
Another new team on the grid is North Sim Racing and their No. 69 Porsche. The Italian team has shown tremendous pace in practice sessions so far and impressed competitors with quickly establishing themselves as one of the front runners.
RPM Racing and their No. 911 Porsche are another new team on the grid and did even better, taking victory in The Roar Before The 24 on January 13th.
Last but not least, rounding out the small eight-car GT PRO class grid, DS Racing eSports Team and their No. 992 Porsche hope to make a splash in the class this year as well, fighting for wins and the championship.
GT AM featured as the biggest and most popular class for 2024
Featuring 16 entries going into the 24 Hours of Daytona, the GT AM class is the biggest on the grid. Led by 2023 GTD class champions the No. 5 Mercedes of Screeching Moose Motorsports, this class has an intriguing mix of newcomers, veterans, lower- and higher-ranked drivers.
Dangler Performance and their No. 16 Mercedes is another series veteran entry that returns for another season, as is the No. 29 car of Firestorm Motorsport.
Mayer Simspeed Performance have expanded their team and field two Mercedes AMG GT3 No. 33 and No. 34.
Likewise, Digital Chicane are also fielding two cars, the No. 80 and 93 Ferrari 296 GT3 looking to improve on their best result of a third place in The Roar Before The 24 so far.
Established as one of the most popular and veteran entries of the VSCA SportsCar Championship by now, Full Send Racing and their iconic No. 94 car also return to the series for 2024, but will be featuring the colors of Mercedes this year, after switching from BMW over the winter.
Also making a manufacturer change, the No. 119 Trading Paints Racing car is on the grid once again, this time with a Ferrari 296 GT3.
Real Pixel Motorsport had a tough campaign in 2023, but will be among the cars taking the grid on Saturday, as their No. 312 Lamborghini will be the only representative of the Italian sports car manufacturer in the series.
Off in the Esses Racing are off to a rough start in 2024, after suffering a disqualification in The Roar Before The 24 for their No. 83 Ferrari. But for the 24 Hours of Daytona the team hopes to bounce back and get a good result.
Newly on the grid are the No. 016 car of Vulture Motorsports, No. 53 KC Racing Ferrari, No. 161 MMTQ Racing Ferrari and the No. 531 Ferrari of Yellow Submarine Squad - Sim-Lab.
In total the class will feature six Mercedes and nine Ferrari and one Lamborghini.
GreenFlag TV to provide live coverage of 24 Hours of Daytona
One of the big storylines heading into this weekend’s event is GreenFlag TV providing live coverage of the full event, along with all races of the 2024 season.
Twin-Busch USA sponsors and private donors made it possible for VSCA to purchase live broadcast services by GreenFlag TV for the entirety of the 2024 season. The live broadcast of last weekend’s The Roar Before The 24 was already a popular destination for fans and competitors.
This weekend, things start off for real with the full 24 hours being covered live on GreenFlag TV and a top-of-the-class live commentary team.
The broadcast is scheduled to start Saturday at 14:50 GMT with the race taking the green flag around 15:00 GMT.
The broadcast will be streamed live on VSCA’s and GreenFlag TV’s YouTube channel.
Related Links