Tuesday Paddock Notes

General Motors president Mark Reuss has been named as the Grand Marshal for Saturday’s 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona with the field set to take the green flag under the watchful eye of Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board for BMW Group, in the flag stand as the honorary starter.

Both dignitaries have spent their entire professional careers with their respective manufacturers. Reuss has served as president of General Motors since January 2019. A mechanical engineer, he began his career with GM as a student intern in 1983. Zipse was named Chairman of the Board for BMW in August 2019, and started his career at the automaker as a trainee in development, technical planning, and production in 1991.

“Being named the Grand Marshal of the Rolex 24 at Daytona is one of the true honors of my life and something I’ll never forget,” said Reuss. “This is one of the premier motorsports events in the world, at one of its most historic venues, and I couldn’t be happier about how far the series has come since the first Corvette-inspired DPI appeared with Jim France and set a new trajectory for the sport. I’m proud to be at Daytona this year with all of the fantastic drivers and great cars, including our own Cadillacs and Corvettes.”

“It is an honor to welcome Mark as our Grand Marshal for the 61st running of the Rolex 24,” said Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher. “General Motors has long had a strong partnership with Daytona International Speedway, alongside their success on the track here. This is a great opportunity to recognize their commitment to our facility and motorsport in general.”

“Daytona International Speedway and BMW have great historical ties in racing,” said Kelleher. “It’s only fitting that Oliver waves the green flag over the track where BMW first raced in the United States.”

The 61st running of the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA begins at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Ferrari Test 499P Hypercar at Sebring

Ferrari – AF Corse are testing the 499P Hypercar at Sebring this week, the car set to debut at the Sebring 1000 mIles, 2023 FIA WEC season-opener in March, the test captured yesterday (with car-to-car filming also underway on behalf of the team) by YouTuber ‘Lanky Turtle (pic top is copyright LT!)

Robby Foley Named As BMW Contracted Driver

BMW of North America have confirmed that 2023 Turner Motorsport IMSA GTD and Michelin Pilot Challenge driver Robby Foley is now a contracted BMW driver.

“What an honor and privilege to officially be contracted as a BMW driver,” stated 26-year-old Foley. “My journey with the brand began in 2018, with a few races for Turner Motorsport, which then transitioned into four full season campaigns. To see it come full circle is a childhood dream come true and I am extremely grateful for the trust that Victor Leleu and Dan Lubin from BMW NA have placed in me. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support and help of many people, including Will Turner and my full-season teammates Vin (Barletta), Michael (Dinan) and Bill (Auberlen). I can’t wait to kick the year off at Daytona.”

Busy Paddock

Whilst drivers and most media are generally taking a couple of days away from the circuit, the mechanics, engineers and technical teams for the 61 entries for the Rolex 24 are very busy indeed.

The cars damaged in qualifying, the #6 Porsche 963 and #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca looked well on the way to being back in shape yesterday whilst many team were undergoing full rebuilds after a busy weekend of running at the Roar.

That included multiple teams undergoing engine changes ahead of race weekend, giving DSC the first opportunity to see the engines of the new GTPs uninstalled from the cars.