PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports is excited to kick off the 2023 Season with the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 test this weekend in preparation for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team will begin activities this weekend at Daytona, with the No. 52 Wynns/Max Connect/RainX/Client Command/Apex Protect Oreca 07 LMP2 entry featuring returning Champion Ben Keating, two-time ELMS LMP2 Champion Paul-Loup Chatin, British open-wheel rising star Alex Quinn, and world-class four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre.
The No. 52 will continue with the 2022 Championship livery design showcasing the colors of the team main sponsor Wynn’s. Bobby Oergel, Team Principal said, “This set of events in Daytona is going to be a great start to our new season. All the categories are loaded with amazing drivers and teams, the whole team here is really excited and ready to get to Daytona and on track. We’re very happy and fortunate to have Ben, Paul, Alex, and Nico in the driver’s seat. The entire crew has done a great job with the preparations and it’s one of the few times I can say I’d like to start the Rolex 24 race right now!”
Ray Mathiasen, Team Principal added, “Bobby has assembled another outstanding driver lineup to compete at this year’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and to hopefully achieve the Endurance Cup for the third year in a row. I would like to welcome Alex and Paul to our team and I’m very pleased that Ben and Nico will once again compete for us. The Roar is a great opportunity to set the car up for 24 hours of racing.”
The drivers also shared their excitement for the upcoming three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24 test, with Ben Keating stating, “We are ready! We have done enough pre-season testing that we are excited to come back to the Roar to further develop our car. The LMP2 class has been given less power and less aerodynamic downforce than previous years, so there is a lot to figure out to balance the car and make it fast within the current regulations. We have done the homework and now we are eager to get into the execution of the plan.”
Paul-Loup Chatin added, “The main objective of the Roar is that the whole team prepares as best as possible for the 24 hours. It will be the first time that Ben, Alex, Nicolas, and I will all be together, so it’s an important moment to create strong bonds in order to perform better as a team afterwards.”
“I’m very excited to get the year started at the Roar and fully focused on having a good performance”, said Alex Quinn. “It’ll be great to get back in the car and work with the team again, hopefully we can reward the hard work they have done over the winter.”
Nicolas Lapierre added, “The Roar is a very good opportunity for us to work with the team and with the two new teammates and set up the car so that it is good for the four of us. It will be interesting to check the new opponents on track and see what their strengths are. Traffic will also be another important factor that we will see during the Roar, with a lot more cars in the top classes. I’m really looking forward to it,” he finalized.
The Roar Before the Rolex 24 will feature a whopping 61-car field entry, for the second straight year, with 10 entries registered in the LMP2 category, the same as 2022. The three-day event from January 20-22, features two full days of on-track testing at Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course, climaxed by a 100-minute qualifying race on Sunday, January 22nd to set the grid for the Rolex 24 that starts on January 28th. Qualifying will stream live on Peacock at 1:25 pm ET January 22, with IMSA Radio also providing coverage. For more information and the Roar Before the Rolex 24 full schedule, click here.
