Competitors in the Rolex 24 at Daytona will be blasting through the tricky Le Mans chicane. The field at the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be streaming through the Daytona Chicane. Yes, you read that correctly.
In a joint announcement, IMSA, Daytona International Speedway and the ACO have announced new names for iconic turns at their iconic tracks, each intended to honor the other. The first chicane on the Mulsanne Straight at the Circuit de la Sarthe will be named the Daytona Chicane. The series of turns formerly known as the Bus Stop at Daytona International Raceway becomes the Le Mans Chicane. The new names are intended to honor the stability agreements and convergence in the top category of prototype racing. The curbs in the newly named Le Mans Chicane been painted alternating blue and yellow to mark the partnership and the curbs in the Daytona Chicane will be painted the same way.
“The spirit of partnership between the IMSA and Daytona International Speedway team in Daytona Beach and the ACO in Le Mans has never been stronger,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “Between the historic convergence for the top category of prototype racing, the recent 10-year extension of the IMSA-ACO partnership and today’s introduction of the Le Mans and Daytona chicanes, together we are embarking on an amazing new era of sports car endurance racing unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”
Beginning in 2023, the cars racing in the top category in both IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will be called GTP, and in the World Endurance Championship an at Le Mans, currently known as LMDh and Hypercar, will be the same, allowing for more crossover in between. In 2024, the GT regulations are likely to converge as well, as the WEC is expected to use GT3-based formula for its GT categories.
