The #18 Oreca 07 LMP2 featuring drivers Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch, and Christian Rasmussen charged to the LMP2 class victory at the 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Through pace, impeccable pit stops and calculated maneuvers, the Era Motorsport squad charged their way from towards the rear of the LMP2 field, and up to the first 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory for the LMP2 category, their second at the Daytona 24.
Since the green flag, LMP2 housed a narrative of drama, tension, and thrilling battles for what was one of the most fiercely-fought victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Ben Keating set the tone from qualifying the #2 United Autosports Oreca at the front of the class, a feat which marked his fifth consecutive pole position at Daytona.
Whilst the Texan carries a profoundly talented FIA-Bronze driver, the race enabled all but the sole Ligier JS P217 run by Sean Creech Motorsport.
To their misfortune, the #33 struggled with both race pace and reliability problems, occurring after mistakes made by Lance Wilsey.
At lights out, Keating could not retain his pole spot, which was a tall order with a circuit such as Daytona featuring the speedway corners, encouraging LMP2s to race close together.
The first significant incident was during the opening phase of the race was when the #11 TDS (Steven Thomas) and High Class (Dennis Anderson) contact together into bus stop, in addition to Dennis Anderson in the #20 High Class Racing slipping on the grass slightly, which set off a spin which thumped the proximate GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan of Mike Conway into the left-side concrete wall.
All of which triggered the second full course caution of the race, and the second in the first hour alone.
The #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Oreca qualified second, and performed impressively well during the race in efforts to continue fighting for the podium and win towards the final hours.
Both the #2 pole-sitting LMP2 and the #52 remained close during the opening stages, as drivers jumped in and out of either car.
Jakub Smiechowski took on both a new partnership with the reigning IMSA LMP2 champions, but a venture into his first ever Daytona 24.
A moment for him to remember was when he challenged and overtook McLaren IndyCar Series driver Pato O’Ward of the #2 for the class lead.
Multiple spins for Wilsey in the Ligier illustrated potential discomfort with the feel of the car during race conditions, before the car experienced several reliability woes and as such they ended up retiring from the race – a less-than-ideal start to their IMSA LMP2 season ahead, with the 12 Hours of Sebring next for them in March.
Within LMP2, besides having a Bronze driver, there are also brimmed with young, eager talent. One of those names is Malthe Jakobsen, recently promoted to Peugeot’s reserve driver for 2024.
Along with the 20-year-old Dane, there is Toby Sowery in the same #04 Crowdstrike Racing by Algarve Pro Racing (APR), and Connor Zilisch in the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca.
The latter car started 11th out of 13 LMP2s, and Dwight Merriman’s excursions at the beginning set an unlikely fate for them to challenge for the win.
To their delight, they redeemed their positions especially during the first half of the race, employing cunning strategy and little in further mistakes or penalties, which brought the #18 into winning contention.
During the night phase, temperatures cooled and the threat of rain loomed for the early hours of the next day. But the fight was far from over as lap times became quicker.
Much later into the 17th hour, Zilisch duelled with both of the #04 Crowdstrike youngsters throughout a strong double-stint effort from the 17-year-old.
Sowery closed up onto Zilisch and the pair fought, whilst his battle with Jakobsen, so that they were side-by-side on the banking, and nose-to-tail elsewhere right until the pit stop. Even so, the fight continued from thereon in, primarily heightened by the efforts of Zilisch and Jakobsen.
Jakobsen has an ongoing Asian Le Mans Series campaign with APR, whereby he tasted victory with the same people he drives with the exception of Crowdstrike Sowery being a fourth driver to formulate a solid lineup.
The final quarter of the race in LMP2 revolved around the same protagonists: #18 Era Motorsport, #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR and the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.
With 30 minutes remaining, the #04 Crowdstrike of Jakobsen tapped with the #24 BMW M RLL of Jesse Krohn when the field was restarting after the 14th and final caution period.
After only a warning was given to the #04, Felipe Fraga of the #74 Riley overtook Tom Dillmann who was driving the #52.
It was a sprint between the top three, separated by just a matter of seconds which put the pressure on quick driving, and sensible traffic management to the end.
With the hard work done by the #18 driver crew, it was a matter of conducting successful, mistake-free pit stops, in addition to maintaining their pace.
Rasmussen made the special venture as the driver who took the car to the checkered flag with a final double-stint, having turned up the pace in the final minutes on the #04.
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