Rolex 24 car count now at 61 with addition of Mercedes for Daytona endurance classic

Ken Willis, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·2 min read

DAYTONA BEACH — IMSA officials left the door cracked a little while longer and, sure enough, one additional team has made its way into the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Originally capped at 60 entries from a list of more than 70 hopefuls, the 61st edition of the endurance classic now sits — appropriately, you might say — at 61 starters, the same number that started the 2022 race.

This past week, room was made for the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG, which will race in the GTD class and bring that division’s car count to a race-high 25.

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The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes has run the Rolex 24 car count from 60 to 61.
The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes has run the Rolex 24 car count from 60 to 61.

The team is expected to compete in all four of IMSA’s 2023 events in its Michelin Endurance Cup, which consists of the four longest races of the year — at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.

Nine different manufacturers make up the 25 cars in GTD for this year's Rolex 24, North America's premier sports-car endurance race.

“Our IMSA team regrouped and eventually determined that we could accommodate one more entry to match our field size from last year,” said IMSA president John Doonan. “Having 61 cars for the 61st running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona seems only natural.”

Rolex 24 Tickets

The Speedway offers several ticket packages for the Thursday-through-Sunday (Jan. 26-29) Rolex 24 weekend:

From $125: Four-day admission with garage access.

From $90: Saturday-Sunday admission with garage access.

From $45: Saturday-Sunday general admission seating.

From $40: Sunday admission and garage access.

From $20: Thursday admission and garage access.

RV or tent? Too late

All infield RV and campsites are again sold out. The Speedway says a limited number of sites just outside the track remain available.

Parking

Infield parking is also sold out, though outside-track parking is available.

$75: Frontstretch parking outside the main Speedway grandstands, between Speedway Boulevard and the Speedway entrances.

$35: Lot 4, outside the Turn 4 tunnel.

Free: Lot 3, north of Speedway Boulevard at One Daytona.

  • These lots are for cars only; no RVs or other oversized vehicles.

  • More info: DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com, or 1-800-748-7467.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24 at Daytona: Car count jumps to 61 with another Mercedes entered