Mazda Drives To Second Place In Rolex 24 At Daytona

Two Mazda RT24-Ps battled over 24 hours of racing at Daytona International Speedway to record the company’s best overall finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The No. 77 Mazda RT24-P driven by Oliver Jarvis, Tristan Nunez and Olivier Pla finished in second position, completing 833 laps over the 24-hour race. Jarvis qualified the car on pole position, and from the drop of the green flag it was a factor for the victory, leading 190 total laps in the race.

“Finishing the 24 Hours of Daytona and being on the podium is an amazing result for Mazda Team Joest,” said Olivier Pla, a driver of the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P. “Thanks to the crew, to everyone at Multimatic, and to my teammates Olly and Tristan, we had a very fast Mazda RT24-P. We pushed hard the whole race, battling for the lead from the start all the way to the checkered.”

The No. 55 Mazda RT24-P driven by Jonathan Bomarito, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Harry Tincknell overcame a challenging race to finish in sixth position. The drivers had to battle back from incidents in traffic and were slowed by damaged bodywork as well as a penalty, but remained in contention for the victory throughout the race. Although it was slowed by a mechanical problem in the final hours, the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P finished the race in sixth position and collected valuable championship points.

“Today is a great day for Mazda,” said Jonathan Bomarito, a driver of the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P. “Having both cars finish the race and putting one on the podium, and battling for the lead throughout the whole race, shows how the team has continued to improve and push the program forward. This puts us in a really good spot and gives us a lot of momentum for the rest of the season.”

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on March 21.