BMW Team RLL is back aiming for a third consecutive Rolex 24 win in GTLM. John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Augusto Farfus were part of last year’s triumph in the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE, joined this year by Marco Wittman. The No. 25 BMW was class winner in 2019 and has Connor De Phillippi and Philipp Eng back from that win (Farfus was also part of the 2019 winner).
Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia drove away with the GTLM season championship last year and will be a force again in the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R, with Nicky Castburg filling out the Rolex 24 lineup. Meanwhile, the No. 4 Corvette has Tommy Milner back, with ex-Porsche standout Nick Tandy and former BMW driver Alexander Sims alongside.
Porsche’s GTLM presence remains with the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19, driven at the Rolex 24 by Cooper MacNeil, two-time Rolex 24 winner Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni and Kevin Estre. And Risi Competizione brings back its No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE for the Rolex 24, guided by Italians Alessandro Pier Guidi and Davide Rigon, Frenchman Jules Gounon and Brit James Calado.
The competition level in GTD is at its best with 19 Rolex 24 entries, led by defending race winner Paul Miller Racing. Usually the No. 48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, the team will run as the No. 1 for the Rolex 24 to signify its 2020 class win, but that’s the only thing that’s changed. The driver lineup returns intact with Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, Corey Lewis and Andrea Caldarelli.
They’ll face plenty of stiff competition, however. The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports “Plaid Porsche” includes 2019 GTLM champion Laurens Vanthoor in its lineup. His former co-driver in the GTLM Porsche, Earl Bamber, is co-owner and co-driver of the No. 88 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche. Bamber’s team just added Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen to its lineup for the Rolex 24.
Yet another Porsche 911 GT3R to keep an eye on is the No. 16 Wright Motorsports entry that won the 2020 season finale, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, and finished two points shy of the GTD championship. Ryan Hardwick, Patrick Long and Jan Heylen are back from that effort, with Klaus Bachler providing assistance as the fourth driver for this year’s Rolex 24.
Vasser Sullivan Racing brings back its two-car Lexus RC F GT3 effort. Full-timers Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz, in the No. 12 Lexus, are joined at the Rolex 24 by past Corvette great Oliver Gavin and newbie Kyle Kirkwood.
Magnus with Archangel takes over the Acura GTD banner following Meyer Shank’s move to DPi, with Andy Lally – the active leader in Rolex 24 victories with five – and two-time Rolex 24 winner John Potter in the full-time role, joined at the Rolex 24 by Mario Farnbacher (two-time reigning GTD champion in an MSR Acura) and Spencer Pumpelly.
And never overlook all-time IMSA wins leader Bill Auberlen, who will anchor the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 with co-drivers Robby Foley and Aidan Read.