GTD Teams (22 cars)
No. 12 Vasser Sullivan
Lexus RC F GT3
Frankie Montecalvo/Aaron Telitz/Richard Heistand/Townsend Bell
Telitz finished seventh in the 2021 GTD championship standings, with a win in the Watkins Glen sprint race – one of five top-five finishes (three podiums) for the team last year. He will drive fulltime with Montecalvo this season and Heistand will join the pair at the endurance races.
This will be Montecalvo’s fourth fulltime season with Vasser Sullivan. Last year, he finished eighth in the championship driving the same No. 12 Lexus. He scored four top-five finishes with podiums at Petit Le Mans, Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen.
Heistand brings worthy credentials in his return to the team for the endurance races. He co-drove to Vasser Sullivan’s first two wins back in 2019. Montecalvo, Telitz and Heistand are vying for their first Rolex 24 victory and welcome Bell back to the cockpit for the fourth consecutive Rolex 24 with the group. Bell won the GTD class at the Rolex 24 in 2014 and added the GTD season title the following year.
No. 16 Wright Motorsports
Porsche 911 GT3R
Ryan Hardwick/Zacharie Robichon/Jan Heylen/Richard Lietz
The reigning Michelin Endurance Cup GTD champion had to replace long-time Porsche driver Patrick Long for this season following his semi-retirement. Hardwick looks to run the complete schedule this year after injury and illness forced him to miss three 2021 races. Heylen, who won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship driving for Wright last year, expands his WeatherTech Championship role with the team from endurance race to full-season driver. Robichon, the 2021 GTD champion with Pfaff Motorsports, joins Wright for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
“I’m excited to be kicking off the year with one of my favorite races at Daytona,’’ Heylen said. “We have some unfinished business there with a few podiums but not yet the top step. I’m looking forward to going back and coming away with a good result.’’
No. 19 TR3 Racing
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Bill Sweedler/John Magrue/Giacomo Altoe/Jeff Segal
This will be TR3 Racing’s Rolex 24 debut as it fields cars in both GTD and GTD PRO. However, its GTD driver lineup is already highly decorated and the team is fielding the same Lamborghini that has won the Rolex 24 GTD class three of the last four years.
The combination of Sweedler – a former GT class champion, Sebring, Rolex 24 and Le Mans winner – along with Segal, also a past Rolex 24 and Sebring winner and two-time GT class champion, certainly brings high-wattage expectations.
Magrue is a former Ferrari Challenge North America championship contender, who finished runner-up in the GT World Challenge America ranks last year driving for TR3.
No. 21 AF Corse
Ferrari 488 GT3
Simon Mann/Luis Perez Companc/Nicklas Nielsen/Toni Vilander
This young lineup featuring Mann and Nielsen only has a handful of IMSA starts. Mann, 20, started 15th and finished eighth in the GTD ranks of the Rolex 24 last year. Danish driver Nielsen, 24, co-drove with Mann at Daytona and also earned a 26th-place class finish at Le Mans in 2021.
Companc is the veteran of the group, with a long career competing in the World Rally Championship. He has had some success in sports cars as well, earning a career-best ninth-place finish with AF Corse in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Vilander, 41, brings two Le Mans titles to the team (2012 and 2014 LMGTE Pro). He’s won in the FIA WEC ranks and has a pair of titles in the FIA GT Championship (GT2 class) as well. He is a long-time AF Corse Ferrari driver.
No. 27 Heart of Racing Team
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Roman De Angelis/Ian James/Darren Turner/Tom Gamble
This team is built upon the goal of raising money for the Seattle Children’s Hospital – generating more than $10 million to date. Racing hard and campaigning for a victory is the best way to get exposure for the cause and the driver lineup for the 2022 Rolex 24 certainly gives it a strong chance of success.
The 46-year-old James, the team principal, brings solid credentials with decades of sports car experience – 39 podiums and nine wins in his career including last year’s Motul Petit Le Mans alongside up-and-coming youngster De Angelis.
Turner has a good track record in the endurance races with a win at Sebring in 2012 and a runner-up effort there in 2020. He’s competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 18 times with a best showing of fifth place in 2007.
The 19-year-old Gamble made one WeatherTech Championship start in 2021, winning pole for the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class and finishing sixth.
No. 28 Alegra Motorsports
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Michael de Quesada/Linus Lundqvist/Maximilian Goetz
Ready for a second year fielding the Mercedes-AMG, Alegra is vying for the Micheline Endurance Cup championship where it won the Rolex 24 in 2017.
De Quesada was part of that winning effort at the age of 17. Last year, he helped the team to three top-five finishes in the switch to Mercedes. The 22-year-old Swede Lundqvist finished 18th in his only Rolex 24 start in 2019. This will be the German Goetz’s first Rolex 24 start. He has a podium finish in the 2019 Bathurst 12-hour race.
No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Mike Skeen/Guy Cosmo/Stevan McAleer/Scott Andrews
Skeen “rejoined” the team late in the 2021 season, co-driving with Cosmo at VIRginia International Raceway. Skeen is a former Petit Le Mans winner with the group when it competed in the LMP3 ranks.
The Australian Andrews certainly brings a bona fide resume as defending Rolex 24 LMP3 champion. He helped Riley Motorsports to wins in three of the four 2021 LMP3 endurance races.
McAleer is also coming off a strong 2021 effort running in three of the four endurance races – for three different teams – with a pole position at last year’s Rolex 24 and a 14th-place finish in his Gilbert Korthoff debut at Petit Le Mans.
No. 34 GMG Racing
Porsche 911 GT3R
Kyle Washington/James Sofronas/Jeroen Bleekemolen/Klaus Bachler
Washington made one start in 2021 – starting 17th and finishing 15th on the streets of Long Beach. Sofronas, 52, returned to IMSA competition for the first time since 2014 – co-driving with Washington at Long Beach. He last drove for GMG in 2014.
Bleekemolen has competed regularly in the IMSA ranks since 2006, earning 22 class wins. While he’s still looking for his first Rolex 24 victory, he is the 2017 GTD Sebring winner. He has eight Rolex 24 starts with a best showing of third in 2017.
The 30-year-old Austrian Bachler has six Rolex 24 at Daytona starts with a best showing of fourth place in 2020 and 2021.
No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Robert Megennis/Corey Lewis/Sandy Mitchell/Jeff Westphal
The team is fielding a Lamborghini this year and anticipates the manufacturer move will also mean a competitive fulltime run in 2022. Westphal and Magennis are slated to campaign the full season.
Westphal, 34, is the 2019 Michelin Pilot Challenge champion and ready to move fulltime into the GTD ranks this year after a solid season doing the sprint races last year – just missing the podium at the second Watkins Glen race (fourth place).
He’ll be joined fulltime by Megennis, 21, who ran endurance races last year with Vasser Sullivan – earning a podium finish at the season finale Petit Le Mans. He is a 2019 winner in the Indy Lights series.
Lewis, a four-time GTD race winner, won the Rolex 24 GTD class in 2020 with Paul Miller Racing. This will be the 21-year-old Mitchell’s Rolex 24 debut, though he brings great experience winning the GTD class in the 2020 British GT Championship.
No. 42 NTE Sport
Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Don Yount/Benja Hites/Jaden Conwright/Markus Palttala
There is a lot of excitement as the Dallas-based embarks on its first fulltime GTD schedule – switching from Audi to Lamborghini power – and welcoming IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient Conwright to the team. He had top-10 finishes in his first two WeatherTech Championship starts last year with a best showing of fourth place at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
This may be Conwright’s first Rolex 24 but his teammates bring plenty of Daytona experience. Yount has a full resume of endurance starts, including six previous Rolex 24s with a third place in 2017 with BAR1 Motorsports.
No. 44 Magnus Racing
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
John Potter/Andy Lally/Spencer Pumpelly/Jonathan Adam
Magnus could be a race favorite again with its experienced team and winning drivers. Lally, 46, is one of the most versatile drivers in the sport – having won the 2011 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and three sports car titles. He has 34 career sports car victories, including five Rolex 24 class wins – the most of any driver in this year’s field.
Pumpelly is another winning driver with a pair of Rolex 24 class victories in 24 race starts. They will team with veterans Potter, who also has two Rolex 24 wins, and Adam, a four-time British GT champion making only his second WeatherTech Championship start. Adam is a WEC veteran and factory Aston Martin driver with a pair of class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2017 and 2020).
No. 47 Cetilar Racing
Ferrari 488 GT3
Roberto Lacorte/Alessio Rovera/Giorgio Sernagiotto/Antonio Fuoco
Set to contend for the Michelin Endurance Cup, the Italian-based team is a WEC veteran, winning in class at Portugal last year and earning pole position in Bahrain to close out the season. It finished 20th in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
This will be the team’s second Rolex 24 start. It finished sixth in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) in 2021 – leading laps but ultimately retiring early after experiencing gearbox problems.
“I’m very excited by the idea of participating in the four most important endurance races in the United States,’’ Fuoco said. “It’s an experience I wanted to do, and living it with Cetilar Racing, a team I have established a very special feeling with, is even sweeter.
“My first race with Cetilar Racing was the 24 Hours of Daytona last January and given how it ended, we want to make up for it with interest.’’
No. 57 Winward Racing
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Russell Ward/Philip Ellis/Mikael Grenier/Lucas Auer
The defending Rolex 24 winning team earned a hard-fought title. Ward and Ellis were on the 2021 trophy team to give Mercedes a 1-2 sweep in the GTD class. It was the first Daytona win for all four Winward Racing drivers last year.
Grenier was part of the Sun Energy 1 Mercedes team that finished second in last year’s Rolex 24. Auer is making his series debut.
No. 59 Crucial Motorsports
McLaren 720S GT3
Lance Bergstein/Jon Miller/Patrick Gallagher/Paul Holton
This Florida-based team will be making its Rolex 24 debut with plans to run the full Michelin Endurance Cup schedule. Gallagher competed in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and won the 2017 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires championship.
This will be Bergstein’s WeatherTech Championship debut. Miller’s only previous IMSA start came in the 2012 Rolex 24.
No. 64 Team TGM
Porsche 911 GT3 R
Ted Giovanis/Hugh Plumb/Matt Plumb/Owen Trinkler
This team is back for its second Rolex 24 start and highly motivated, participating in both the Michelin Pilot Challenge race and Rolex 24 on the same weekend, in what the team considers the “true test of endurance.” The four-driver lineup also makes up TGM’s two-car Michelin Pilot Challenge attack. Last year, the No. 64 retired from the Rolex 24 at the 18th hour with a drivetrain problem.
Team owner Giovanis is eager to be back on track.
“We put so much time and preparation into the double-duty event last January and we felt like we were cheated out of the finish,’’ Giovannis said. “We gave it a great deal of thought, as it is a huge investment of both time and money, but Team TGM is ready to tackle the Rolex 24 again this year.’’
No. 66 Gradient Racing
Acura NSX GT3
Till Bechtolsheimer/Marc Miller/Mario Farnbacher/Kyffin Simpson
The team will contest the Michelin Endurance Cup and is optimistic with the addition of young Honda Performance Development standout Simpson. He joins the veteran Farnbacher, an eight-time race winner and two-time GTD champion who has a pair of Twelve Hours of Sebring victories but is still racing for his first Rolex 24 winner’s watch.
Bechtolsheimer has made 17 WeatherTech Championship starts but this will be his first at the Rolex 24. Miller, the 2016 Motul Petit Le Mans winner, is back for his third season with Gradient and first Rolex 24 start since 2016.
No. 70 inception racing
McLaren 720S GT3
Brendan Iribe/Frederik Schandorff/Ollie Milroy/Jordan Pepper
This is another World Endurance Championship team making its first Rolex 24 start with plans to contest the entire WeatherTech Championship GTD season. The team made its IMSA debut in last year’s season-ending Petit Le Mans, finishing 12th after being collected in an accident.
Iribe and Milroy are the full-season drivers, with help at Daytona from Schandorff and Pepper. All four drivers are Rolex 24 rookies.
No. 71 T3 Motorsport North America
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo
Franck Perera/Mateo Llarena/Maximilian Paul
The German-based team will be making its Rolex 24 debut after success racing in the DTM touring car series in Europe. It has a strong anchor driver in Perera, who was a Rolex 24 GTD winner in his race debut in 2018 – riding in a Lamborghini.
Llarena, the 17-year-old Guatemalan, impressed last year with a pole position earned in Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) at Watkins Glen. He’ll be making his second Rolex 24 start but first in a GT car.
Paul has driven for T3 since 2019 in DTM and ADAC GT Masters and will make his Rolex 24 debut.
No. 75 Sun Energy 1
Mercedes-AMG GT3
Kenny Habul/Luca Stolz/Raffaele Marciello/Fabian Schiller
Three of the team’s four drivers from last year’s Rolex 24 GTD runner-up return: Habul, Stolz and Marciello.
The 48-year-old Australian Habul is the team leader. Now living in North Carolina, he is the CEO of Sun Energy 1 and a versatile driver – even competing for NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series teams. He has three sportscar podiums including that runner-up showing in last year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Stolz, a European GT driver, has finished on podium in two of his seven WeatherTech Championship starts – at Sebring in 2018 and Daytona last year. Schiller, who earned a Rolex 24 podium last year with DragonSpeed in LMP2, is the newcomer to the team.
No. 96 Turner Motorsport
BMW M4 GT3
Robby Foley/Bill Auberlen/Jens Klingmann
Led by Auberlen, IMSA’s all-time leading race winner, the team is sporting a new BMW M4 GT3 this year after running the BMW M6 for six years. Among Auberlen’s 64 career wins have been two in the Rolex 24.
Foley has been a great teammate with six GTD wins already in his young career, including two last year. This will mark Klingmann’s U.S. debut.
No 98 Northwest AMR
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Paul Dalla Lana/David Pittard/Charlie Eastwood/Nicki Thiim
Dalla Lana returns to Rolex 24 competition for the first time in three years. The seven-time race winner won the GTD pole position at both Daytona and Sebring in 2018 but is still looking for his first Rolex win.
The team is enthused to have Thiim on board. The Danish driver won in the GTE Am class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans and at Nurburgring. Eastwood will be making his second IMSA start, following a seventh-place finish in the Rolex 24 last year. This will be Pittard’s Rolex debut.
No. 99 Hardpoint
Porsche 911 GT3 R
Rob Ferriol/Katherine Legge/Stefan Wilson/Nick Boulle
Legge and Ferriol are paired again this season after finishing ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 2021 GTD standings. A four-time WeatherTech Championship race winner, Legge is still looking for her first Rolex 24 victory.
This will mark Ferriol’s third fulltime season in the GTD ranks. His career best finish is fifth (Sebring in 2020).
This will be Wilson’s second WeatherTech Championship start. He finished runner-up in the Prototype Challenge class at Circuit of The Americas in 2017. This year’s race marks the 10th anniversary of his late brother Justin’s overall Rolex 24 win.
This will be Boulle’s sixth Rolex 24. He holds the distinction of being the first Rolex watch retailer to win the race – taking LMPC class honors in 2017.
