CORE autosport of Rock Hill ready for Daytona endurance race

The starter’s flag drops about 2:40 p.m. Saturday for the 50th running of the 24 hours of Daytona, one of the premier sport car endurance races.

Some of the fan focus will be on the Fords in the field. Ford is debuting a new generation of the Ford GT, the car that won the first 24 hour race at Daytona in 1966. The Ford GT dominated sports car racing, winning the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 – finishing first, second and third each year.

Chip Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates, winner in the the Daytona Prototype class last year – the top pro class at Daytona – returns to defend its title, as well as fielding two Ford GTs in the GT Le Mans class. Ganassi Racing is based in Concord, N.C.

Fan focus will also be on the other new cars in the field. BMW debuts its M6 and Ferrari its 488GT in the GT Le Mans class.

A rule change expands the field for Daytona GT class with seven manufacturers represented. Lamborghini is debuting is Huracan GT3 and Audi debuts its R8 LMS GT 3.

New cars and drivers new to Daytona means “it’s a mine field out there,” says Jon Bennett, owner and driver for CORE autosport of Rock Hill. “There are a lot of drivers we have never seen before, you have to be careful around traffic.”

CORE autosport hopes to reclaim the prototype championship class title. The team won at Daytona in 2014 and was contending in the final minutes of the 2015 race when driver Colin Braun attempted to pass a slower Daytona Prototype car. The Daytona Protoype knocked CORE autosport’s No. 54 ORECA FLM09 into the grass.

Braun restarted the car and resumed racing. When he entered the “Bus Stop” chicane – a series of curves designed to slow race cars – the back of the car snapped sideways, sending Braun into the wall. A suspension piece punctured an oil tank, setting the car on fire.

While CORE autosport didn’t finish the race is was so far ahead of the competition that it placed third. The finish was eventually upgraded to second when a review of driving times showed the initial second-place finisher had not distributed the time among its drivers correctly.

Despite the heartbreaking start to the season, CORE autosport won the TUDOR United Sports Car championship – its fifth straight title. Bennett and Braun again won driver of the year honors for the prototype challenge class. The racing series is now sponsored by Weather Tech.

Last year’s success came under the catchy slogan “Drive for Five.” Bennett admits they don’t have a slogan this year, but the goal is the same, dominate the prototype challenge class with consistency.

CORE autosport starts the season with two personnel changes. Martin Plowman joins the driver rotation of Bennett, Braun and Mark Wilkinson for the long endurance races.

Plowman drove BAR1 Motorsports’ prototype challenge car in 2014 and 2015, including last year’s Rolex 24. He was part of winning team at the 2013 24 hours of Le Mans.

“Every time we raced against him we gritted our teeth,” Bennett said of his new teammate.

Jeff Braun – Colin’s dad – joins the team as race strategist and engineer. Braun brings more than three decades of motorsport engineering to CORE autosport.

Daytona Speedway unveiled a $400 million renovation that is designed to improve the fan experience. Rolex continues as sponsor of the race, officially know an Rolex 24 at Daytona.

No major changes were made to the speedway or the road course in the interior of the track. Driver used the road course and a portion of the speedway for the 24-hour race.

“The track, it’s a song we know well,” Bennett said.

There was a rain-shorted qualifying on Thursday. CORE elected not to try to drive in the rain and did not win the pole.

CORE autosport’s strategy was to have Braun qualify the car, hoping for another pole position for the prototype challenge class. The driver who qualifies the car, must start the race. As planned, Braun would drive the first 45 minutes before handing off to Bennett for a three-hour shift. The drivers when then alternate through the night and early morning, putting Braun in the car for push to the finish Sunday afternoon.

Like past races, CORE autosport is hoping that attention to details makes the difference.

Among them is making sure the driver changes are completed in under 20 seconds, before the tire changes and fueling is complete. Critical to the driver is change is making sure all the seat-belt connections are made.

“You want to keep the wheels of the car turning,” Bennett said. “The idea of the race as a 24-hour sprint sounds good, but it’s the 90 to 120 seconds of unscheduled stops that hurt the most.”

In addition seeking its own title, CORE autosport is again preparing and maintaining the two-car Porsche North America factory team. Patrick Pilet is the lead driver in the No. 911 car. He was the GT Le Mans series champion last year and a 2015 winner at Le Mans. Pilet again teams with Nick Tandy, who was also on the winning Le Mans team, as well as Kevin Estre. The second Porsche car, No. 912, is driven by Earl Bamber, part of the winning Le Mans 2015 team and Frederic Makowiecki and Michael Christensen.

Pilet helped Porsche win the GT Le Mans title at Daytona in 2014. 

Pilet was the fastest driver in the rain-shortened qualifying  session.

With the 50th anniversary celebration Ford’s goal is to start the season by repeating the success of its previous GTs. Ford also wants to make it a sweep, winning at Le Mans too.

“We want,” Bennett said of CORE autosport’s and Porsche’s combined effort, “to spoil their party.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 8:53 PM with the headline "CORE autosport of Rock Hill ready for Daytona endurance race."