2024 IMSA VP Challenge Round at Daytona International Speedway

Map of the Daytona International Speedway road course

The 2024 IMSA VP Challenge Round at Daytona International Speedway was a sports car racing event held between 19 and 21 January 2024 at the Daytona International Speedway. It was the first race of the 2024 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season and was held during the Roar Before the 24 for the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

The event consisted of two practice sessions, one qualifying session, and two 45 minute races. Both races were won by Steven Aghakhani in the LMP3 class and Luca Mars in the GSX class.

Entry List

LMP3

Manufacturer	Car	Team	No.	Driver
Ligier	Ligier JS P320	MLT Motorsports	6	Steven Aghakhani
		Performance Tech Motorsports	7	Alex Kirby
			38	Scott Locke
		Escuderia ABRO	23	Miguel Villagomez
		Sean Creech Motorsport	33	Lance Willsey
		Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports	51	Cody Ware
		Ave Motorsports	61	George Staikos
		MISHUMOTORS	70	Mirco Schultis
		Forte Racing	77	Brian Thienes
Duqueine	Duqueine D-08	Fast MD Racing with Remstar	87	Marco Kacic

GSX

Manufacturer	Car	Team	No.	Driver
Aston Martin	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	Archangel Motorsports	22	Robbie McWilliams
		Ruckus Racing	45	Scott Blind
	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo	Rebel Rock Racing	72	Frank DePew
	Aston Martin Vantage GT4	van der Steur Racing	82	Brady Behrman
BMW	BMW M4 GT4 G82	Team ACP by Random Vandals	9	Nathan Martin
		Swish Motorsports	12	Michael Dayton
		Stephen Cameron Racing	19	Sean Quinlan
			43	Gregory Liefooghe
		Auto Technic Racing	25	Mark Brummond
			26	Christopher Tasca
		Split Decision Motorsports	88	Patrick Wilmot
		Turner Motorsports	96	Joe Dalton
Ford	Ford Mustang GT4	KOHR MOTORSPORTS	59	Luca Mars
McLaren	McLaren Artura GT4	Motorsports in Action	21	Jesse Lazare
Mercedes-AMG	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	Thaze Competition	37	Marc Miller
			78	Jonathan Woolridge
Porsche	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering	5	Angus Rogers
		BGB MOTORSPORTS	17	Will Wachs
			808	Jim Jonsin
		Baby Bull Racing	44	Moisey Uretsky
			55	Michael Cooper
		Czabok-Simpson Motorsport	66	Jackson Lee
Toyota	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO	BSI Racing	67	Eric Thompson
Official Entry List

Race 1

The grid for race 1 was set by the fastest time in a single qualifying session. Car 9 driven by Nathan Martin and Car 72 driven by Frank DePew withdrew prior to qualifying, and Car 78 driven by Jonathan Woolridge withdrew prior to Race 1.

Race 1 Starting Grid

Class pole position is indicated in bold

Pos.	Class	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	LMP3	6	Steven Aghakhani	MLT Motorsports	1:43.361
2	LMP3	87	Marco Kacic	FastMD Racing with Remstar	1:43.417
3	LMP3	7	Alex Kirby	Performance Tech Motorsports	1:43.730
4	LMP3	77	Brian Thienes	Forte Racing	1:43.982
5	LMP3	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports	1:44.042
6	LMP3	23	Miguel Villagomez	Escuderia ABRO	1:44.118
7	LMP3	33	Lance Willsey	Sean Creech Motorsport	1:44.888
8	LMP3	70	Mirco Schultis	MISHUMOTORS	1:45.645
9	LMP3	61	George Staikos	Ave Motorsports	1:48.056
10	LMP3	38	Scott Locke	Performance Tech Motorsports	1:50.305
11	GSX	55	Michael Cooper	Baby Bull Racing	1:53.814
12	GSX	37	Marc Miller	Thaze Competition	1:53.895
13	GSX	43	Gregory Liefooghe	Stephen Cameron Racing	1:54.238
14	GSX	66	Jackson Lee	Czabok-Simpson Motorsport	1:54.583
15	GSX	67	Eric Thompson	BSI Racing	1:54.688
16	GSX	88	Patrick Wilmot	Split Decision Motorsports	1:54.776
17	GSX	82	Brady Behrman	van der Steur Racing	1:54.804
18	GSX	45	Scott Blind	Ruckus Racing	1:55.010
19	GSX	19	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing	1:55.270
20	GSX	21	Jesse Lazare	Motorsports in Action	1:55.313
21	GSX	25	Mark Brummond	Auto Technic Racing	1:56.224
22	GSX	5	Angus Rogers	KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering	1:56.983
23	GSX	17	Will Wachs	BGB MOTORSPORTS	1:56.992
24	GSX	808	Jim Jonsin	BGB MOTORSPORTS	1:57.010
25	GSX	12	Michael Dayton	Swish Motorsports	1:57.227
26	GSX	96	Joe Dalton	Turner Motorsport	1:57.260
27	GSX	22	Robbie McWilliams	Archangel Motorsports	1:57.538
28	GSX	26	Christopher Tasca	Auto Technic Racing	1:58.265
29	GSX	44	Moisey Uretsky	Baby Bull Racing	No Time Set
30	GSX	59	Luca Mars	KOHR MOTORSPORTS	Time Disallowed
Race 1 Official Starting Grid

Report

On the first lap of the race, Cody Ware spun heading into turn 1, forcing Miguel Villagomez off the track to avoid him. Ware would recover from the spin to later finish 3rd.

With 28 minutes to go, Christopher Tasca suffered a right-rear puncture and had to retire from the race.

With 19 minutes to go, Robbie McWilliams crashed into the tire wall on the outside of the Le Mans Chicane, causing a full course yellow to be thrown on lap 16.

Under full course yellow, Miguel Villagomez suffered a technical issue that caused his car to stop and become stranded coming out of the pit lane. The recovery of his car prolonged the full course yellow.

The race restarted with six minutes remaining with Alex Kirby leading in LMP3 and Gregory Liefooghe leading in GSX.

With two laps left, Steven Aghakhani took the lead into turn two after Alex Kirby went wide exiting turn one. Aghakhani would hold this lead until the end of the race.

On the last lap, Luca Mars drafted off of and passed Gregory Liefooghe in Speedway Turn 4, taking the GSX class win by 0.051 seconds.

Race Results

Class winners are indicated in bold.

Pos.	Class	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Gap
1	LMP3	6	Steven Aghakhani	MLT Motorsports	23	-
2	LMP3	7	Alex Kirby	Performance Tech Motorsports	23	+1.238
3	LMP3	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports	23	+5.746
4	LMP3	87	Marco Kacic	FastMD Racing with Remstar	23	+6.035
5	LMP3	77	Brian Thienes	Forte Racing	23	+6.993
6	LMP3	70	Mirco Schultis	MISHUMOTORS	23	+10.754
7	LMP3	33	Lance Willsey	Sean Creech Motorsport	23	+11.248
8	LMP3	61	George Staikos	Ave Motorsports	23	+24.432
9	LMP3	38	Scott Locke	Performance Tech Motorsports	23	+41.900
10	GSX	59	Luca Mars	KOHR MOTORSPORTS	22	1 Lap
11	GSX	43	Gregory Liefooghe	Stephen Cameron Racing	22	1 Lap
12	GSX	37	Marc Miller	Thaze Competition	22	1 Lap
13	GSX	55	Michael Cooper	Baby Bull Racing	22	1 Lap
14	GSX	88	Patrick Wilmot	Split Decision Motorsports	22	1 Lap
15	GSX	67	Eric Thompson	BSI Racing	22	1 Lap
16	GSX	66	Jackson Lee	Czabok-Simpson Motorsport	22	1 Lap
17	GSX	25	Mark Brummond	Auto Technic Racing	22	1 Lap
18	GSX	19	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing	22	1 Lap
19	GSX	12	Michael Dayton	Swish Motorsports	22	1 Lap
20	GSX	808	Jim Jonsin	BGB MOTORSPORTS	22	1 Lap
21	GSX	45	Scott Blind	Ruckus Racing	22	1 Lap
22	GSX	21	Jesse Lazare	Motorsports in Action	22	1 Lap
23	GSX	82	Brady Behrman	van der Steur Racing	22	1 Lap
24	GSX	5	Angus Rogers	KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering	22	1 Lap
25	GSX	96	Joe Dalton	Turner Motorsport	22	1 Lap
26	GSX	17	Will Wachs	BGB MOTORSPORTS	22	1 Lap
27	GSX	44	Moisey Uretsky	Baby Bull Racing	22	1 Lap
28	LMP3	23	Miguel Villagomez	Escuderia ABRO	15	Not Running
29	GSX	22	Robbie McWilliams	Archangel Motorsports	12	Not Running
30	GSX	26	Christopher Tasca	Auto Technic Racing	8	Not Running
Race 1 Unofficial Results

Race 2

The grid for race 2 was set by either the driver's second fastest lap in qualifying, or the driver's fastest lap in race 1. The fastest of the two is used.

Race 2 Starting Grid

Class pole position is indicated in bold

Pos	Class	No.	Drivers	Team	Time
1	LMP3	6	Steven Aghakhani	MLT Motorsports	1:43.536
2	LMP3	87	Marco Kacic	FastMD Racing with Remstar	1:43.784
3	LMP3	7	Alex Kirby	Performance Tech Motorsports	1:43.914
4	LMP3	77	Brian Thienes	Forte Racing	1:44.018
5	LMP3	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports	1:44.077
6	LMP3	23	Miguel Villagomez	Escuderia ABRO	1:44.221
7	LMP3	33	Lance Willsey	Sean Creech Motorsport	1:45.218
8	LMP3	70	Mirco Schultis	MISHUMOTORS	1:46.259
9	LMP3	61	George Staikos	Ave Motorsports	1:48.020
10	LMP3	38	Scott Locke	Performance Tech Motorsports	1:50.318
11	GSX	59	Luca Mars	KOHR MOTORSPORTS	1:53.740
12	GSX	55	Michael Cooper	Baby Bull Racing	1:53.908
13	GSX	37	Marc Miller	Thaze Competition	1:54.073
14	GSX	43	Gregory Liefooghe	Stephen Cameron Racing	1:54.339
15	GSX	21	Jesse Lazare	Motorsports in Action	1:54.679
16	GSX	66	Jackson Lee	Czabok-Simpson Motorsport	1:54.828
17	GSX	88	Patrick Wilmot	Split Decision Motorsports	1:54.838
18	GSX	45	Scott Blind	Ruckus Racing	1:55.509
19	GSX	19	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing	1:55.524
20	GSX	67	Eric Thompson	BSI Racing	1:55.551
21	GSX	82	Brady Behrman	van der Steur Racing	1:55.950
22	GSX	25	Mark Brummond	Auto Technic Racing	1:55.950
23	GSX	12	Michael Dayton	Swish Motorsports	1:56.178
24	GSX	808	Jim Jonsin	BGB MOTORSPORTS	1:56.756
25	GSX	44	Moisey Uretsky	Baby Bull Racing	1:56.874
26	GSX	26	Christopher Tasca	Auto Technic Racing	1:56.916
27	GSX	5	Angus Rogers	KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering	1:56.932
28	GSX	96	Joe Dalton	Turner Motorsport	1:57.103
29	GSX	17	Will Wachs	BGB MOTORSPORTS	1:57.161
30	GSX	22	Robbie McWilliams	Archangel Motorsports	1:57.464
Race 2 Official Starting Grid

Report

On the first lap of the race, Cody Ware went down the inside of several cars at the west horseshoe and made contact with the 77 car of Brian Thienes, causing him to spin. Ware would receive a 10 second time penalty for incident responsibility and would go on to finish third before the penalty, and drop to eighth after it. Thienes would recover to finish fourth.

An incident in the GSX class occurred when Mark Brummond and Sean Quinlan made contact at the International Horseshoe, causing Brummond to go off the track and Quinlan to spin.

The only full course yellow of the race occurred on lap 21, after Alex Kirby spun heading into the Le Mans chicane, stranding his car in the grass.

The race restarted with one lap remaining with Aghakhani and Mars leading their respective classes, both of them holding onto their leads to win.

Race Results

Class winners are indicated in bold.

Pos	Nr.	Class	Driver	Team	Laps	Gap
1	6	LMP3	Steven Aghakhani	MLT Motorsports	24	-
2	87	LMP3	Marco Kacic	FastMD Racing with Remstar	24	+4.036
3	23	LMP3	Miguel Villagomez	Escuderia ABRO	24	+4.056
4	77	LMP3	Brian Thienes	Forte Racing	24	+4.43
5	70	LMP3	Mirco Schultis	MISHUMOTORSPORTS	24	+4.436
6	33	LMP3	Lance Willsey	Sean Creech Motorsport	24	+4.874
7	61	LMP3	George Staikos	Ave Motorsports	24	+7.818
8	51	LMP3	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports	24	+10.700
9	38	LMP3	Scott Locke	Performance Tech Motorsports	23	1 Lap
10	59	GSX	Luca Mars	KOHR MOTORSPORTS	23	1 Lap
11	55	GSX	Michael Cooper	Baby Bull Racing	23	1 Lap
12	43	GSX	Gregory Liefooghe	Stephen Cameron Racing	23	1 Lap
13	21	GSX	Jesse Lazare	Motorsports in Action	23	1 Lap
14	88	GSX	Patrick Wilmot	Split Decision Motorsports	23	1 Lap
15	66	GSX	Jackson Lee	Czabok-Simpson Motorsport	23	1 Lap
16	67	GSX	Eric Thompson	BSI Racing	23	1 Lap
17	45	GSX	Scott Blind	Ruckus Racing	23	1 Lap
18	12	GSX	Michael Dayton	Swish Motorsports	23	1 Lap
19	82	GSX	Brady Behrman	van der Steur Racing	23	1 Lap
20	44	GSX	Moisey Uretsky	Baby Bull Racing	23	1 Lap
21	19	GSX	Sean Quinlan	Stephen Cameron Racing	23	1 Lap
22	5	GSX	Angus Rogers	KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering	23	1 Lap
23	808	GSX	Jim Jonsin	BGB MOTORSPORTS	23	1 Lap
24	96	GSX	Joe Dalton	Turner Motorsport	23	1 Lap
25	26	GSX	Christopher Tasca	Auto Technic Racing	23	1 Lap
26	17	GSX	Will Wachs	BGB MOTORSPORTS	23	1 Lap
27	7	LMP3	Alex Kirby	Performance Tech Motorsports	19	Not Running
28	25	GSX	Mark Brummond	Auto Technic Racing	17	Not Running
29	37	GSX	Marc Miller	Thaze Competition	14	Not Running
30	22	GSX	Robbie McWilliams	Archangel Motorsports	8	16 Laps
Race 2 Unofficial Results