Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Alex Palou doesn’t believe double stinting in high temperatures at the Daytona 24 Hours will be enjoyable for the drivers, he told MotorsportWeek.com.
‘I’m sure for the tyres it’s not gonna be fun to do double stints at high temperatures, but it’s good,’ he said.
‘I think it’s going to be good for everybody to struggle. I don’t know if there’s some cars or some drivers that are a little bit far ahead on that aspect.
‘But I think it’s always fun when there’s high deg and it’s just tougher to make a double stint. And you can make that big difference on the, let’s say, last 10 laps of the second stint.’
IMSA GTP tyre supplier Michelin have introduced an all-new tyre compound for the class this weekend for Daytona. Drivers have reported that it’s much easier to bring up to temperature and is more consistent, helping drivers to know what to expect from the tyres at different points in the stint.
Temperatures at Daytona are significantly higher than they were last year, which was unusually cold for mid-late January in Florida. With temperatures expected to rise further before the weekend, and thus causing track temperatures to rise too, it has the potential to have a significant impact on tyre degradation and thermal wear.
However, better tyre warm up characteristics mean that degradation may also be higher. Generally, many teams haven’t double stinted enough in the Roar test or practice sessions to know.
Looking at Acura’s race pace, Palou wasn’t sure where to place the team in comparison to their rivals.
“I don’t know,” the Spaniard chuckled.
“Honestly, I feel good but I don’t know how good. Are we top three good, or just top six good. Honestly, I don’t know.
“I think we we have a good car and we have good pace, but I don’t know what everybody is doing yet. I don’t know if people are running 100%, or 95 or 90.”
‘Survive’ is the first rule of Daytona – Palou
Palou will race the #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing machine alongside Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly and Kaku Ohta. Van der Zande qualified the car second, just a tenth slower than polesitter Jack Aitken.
However, with the Cadillac’s disqualification from qualifying it will start at the rear of the GTP field, meaning the #93 Acura will start on pole.
But, it’s a 24 hour race and qualifying is, in many ways, meaningless. The game plan is, for Palou and his teammates, the same as always at Daytona.
“Survive, first of all,” he said.
“And, try and keep the car in in one piece, with good brakes.”
“Just a car that you can fight, and then allow Nick or Renger to finish the race and be able to push and go for the win,” concluded the 2025 Indianapolis 500 winner and 4-time IndyCar champion.
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