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The 24 hours of Daytona kicks off the SportsCar Championship in the US and is the first major automobile race in the country. The 24-hour endurance race is held on the last weekend of January at the Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Daytona 24 forms the informal Triple Crown of endurance racing, along with 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring. Phill Hill (1964) was the first driver to achieve the triple crown and Timo Bernhard (2010) the most recent. 10 other drivers, including Jacky Ickx, Al Holbert and Andy Wallace have won it, but no one has done it in a single year.
So, you know why it excites double F1 world champion Fernando Alonso who will be entering this year's Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing. He will be racing with WEC team-mate Kamui Kobayashi as both will join full-time SportsCar Championship drivers - the Dutch, Renger van der Zande, and Jordan Taylor, son of sports car veteran and team owner of - Wayne Taylor.
They will team up in number 10 Cadillac car for the 2019 International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) curtain-raiser.
Unlike Le Mans, where Alonso won last year, Daytona is held in winter, when the nights are at their longest and held entirely over a closed course (5.73 kms) within the speedway arena.
The Spaniard is excited about his team's line-up and has high expectations from the event after gaining experience in the series having finished 13th in the Prototype class in his sports car debut in 2018 at Daytona while driving a Ligier-Gibson for United Autosports.
“This year, I’m coming to Daytona with a lot more experience. It’s not my first time in an endurance race [like a year ago]. Now, I know the traffic, I know the night, I know the circuit as well. This year, I’m in a very competitive environment with a very competitive team that’s had a lot of success here at Daytona. I’m hoping to be more competitive, and enjoy the race more this year.”
