WEC stars baffled by lack of cautions at Daytona
FIA World Endurance Championship stars Oliver Jarvis and Loic Duval have expressed their surprise at the abnormally low number of caution periods in last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The 56th running of the American endurance classic featured just four caution periods – compared to the 21 seen in 2017 – making it the lowest tally since 1994.
Although the winning #5 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi had a winning margin of one minute and 10 seconds over the sister #31 car, it led by as many as three laps before easing off the pace due to overheating concerns.
Mazda Team Joest driver Jarvis, whose #77 car failed to finish due to a recurring electrical issue, said he found the lack of yellow-flag running "amazing" and the attritional nature of the race a "shame".
Said Jarvis: "We always talk about Daytona as [being about] staying out of trouble, staying on the lead lap – and if you do have a problem, don't worry, because you get laps back.
"But it just hasn't happened. I've never seen a Daytona 24 with such big gaps [between the leading cars].
"It's a shame really because in the prototype class there hasn't been much of a race on, it's just survival to the finish.
"A lot of people have had tyre issues, us included, which has taken a lot of front-running cars out of the race.
"Considering the tyre issues and the weather, it's amazing we've only had four cautions. I remember races in the past where there were three in one hour!"
Audi DTM driver Duval managed to secure a third place finish in the CORE autosport-run Oreca LMP2 he shared with Romain Dumas, Colin Braun and Jon Bennett.
The Frenchman said the uninterrupted green flag running in the final six hours hampered the American squad's chances of beating the AXR Cadillacs to the win on its maiden outing with the Oreca.
"You didn't take any risks because you knew you might come back with the leaders with the yellows," he recalled. "But in the end it didn't come to us.
"I would say close to the end, when we saw the Cadillacs were having troubles, we pushed a little bit more to put some pressure on them.
"But before that, I remember on Friday we had a meeting – we were thinking [there would be] about 20 yellows.
"We tried to put some pressure on the guys [ahead] but it was a bit too late, they were a bit too far ahead."
Previous article
Corvettes “didn’t have enough” to fight Fords, says Garcia
Next article
Jan Magnussen: Tough start to title defense at Rolex 24
About this article
| Series | IMSA |
| Event | Daytona 24 |
| Location | Daytona International Speedway |
| Drivers | Oliver Jarvis , Loic Duval |
| Author | Jamie Klein |
24 Hours of Daytona Video Recap
24 Hours of Daytona: Fourth Place for Ferrari
Watch the entire Rolex 24 in just over a minute
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
Nine things to watch at the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
After a 100-minute sprint race to whet the appetite, the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship gets underway properly this weekend. With plenty of significant changes during the winter, here are the key points you need to keep an eye on
Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars
Having gone over seven years without a race win through spells with McLaren, Renault and Haas, Kevin Magnussen's departure from Formula 1 for IMSA with big-hitters Chip Ganassi Racing could give him what he craves most - a chance of success
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…
The 12 greatest Sebring 12 Hours ranked
The 2020 edition of the Florida sportscar classic is finally taking place this weekend, eight months after its traditional date in March. That meant there was plenty of time for Motorsport.com to pour over its previous 67 races and select the best.
Tony Kanaan’s top 10 races – in his own words
The 2004 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan probably hasn’t yet driven his final IndyCar race, but we still asked him for the 10 most significant races of his career. He explained his choices to David Malsher-Lopez.
Why the GTE ruleset looks to have run its course
The GTE ruleset has served sportscar racing in both Europe and the United States well over the past decade. But now there are clear signs that the end of its life is in sight as manufacturer support continues to fade.
