- Twice around the clock in Florida
- British F3 champion to take on maiden endurance race
After months of anticipation, it has finally arrived: the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The American sportscar classic traditionally feeds in the new international motor racing season, and for Linus Lundqvist, this week’s gathering in Florida will mark a particularly special occasion as he prepares to take part in the first endurance race of his career.
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for over the last couple of months, and it’s great to finally be here,” says Linus Lundqvist. “I’m really excited and I want to make the most of this opportunity to present myself in this paddock. I’m sure it will be a fantastic experience.”
Gifted a prize drive in America’s biggest endurance race after winning last year’s Sunoco Whelen Challenge, Lundqvist is set to compete for Precision Performance Motorsports (PPM) aboard a brand new Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. The Swede – who won the British F3 championship in 2018 – is sharing the #47 car with Steve Dunn, Milos Pavlovic and Don Yount.
The quartet recently attended the official pre-event test known as “the Roar” in early January, getting a first taste of the daunting Daytona International Speedway and getting up to speed with general proceedings ahead of the race.
READ MORE: Linus Lundqvist completes Roar Before the Rolex 24 test
“The Roar presented a useful opportunity to learn the car and track, which were both completely new to me,” Lundqvist continues. “Added to that, we were also able to practice driver changes and get a feel for the traffic situation. That’s something I’ve never had to think about in single-seater racing, but obviously in a 24-hour race there will be plenty of lapping going on. It will be a lot of new things for me to take in, but I’m ready for the challenge. This will be so much fun!”
The 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona begins with practice and qualifying on Thursday and Friday. The race itself gets underway at 14.35 local time on Saturday and will be streamed in real time at IMSA.tv.
A total of 47 cars are entered for the event, spread across four classes. Lundqvist and PPM are racing in the GTD category, which is also the biggest class featuring almost half (23 cars) of the entire grid.
Also due to race in Daytona this weekend is double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso, entered in the DPi class for the fastest prototype cars.
Linus Lundqvist was announced on Monday by the Swedish motorsport federation, SBF, as one of four drivers selected for the Swedish National Team in racing. He joins IndyCar duo Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson as well as DTM driver Joel Eriksson in the exclusive programme.
TIME TABLE
Rolex 24 At Daytona
All times local (GMT-05:00)
Thursday 24 January
Free Practice 1: 10.20-11.20
Free Practice 2: 13.30-14.25
Qualifying (GTD): 15.35-15.50
Free Practice 3: 19.00-20.30
Friday 25 January
Free Practice 4: 10.00-11.00
Saturday 26 January
Race – start: 14.35
Sunday 27 January
Race – finish: 14.35
FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION AT:
www.linuslundqvistracing.se/en/daytona-24-hours-2019/