Despite the compressed calendar, the four drivers put together a clear, triumphant effort.
“We had fun,” Wayne Taylor said. “It was just fantastic. Everywhere we went, we were so focused on going to win this race, and that’s what we did.”
While it was the first Rolex 24 victory for Acura, Honda’s luxury brand, it was not the first for Honda as a Honda Performance Development engine powered a Ligier JS P2 chassis to victory in the 2016 race.
“I knew (HPD) wanted me because they felt I must have some golden secret about how to win Daytona, which I didn’t,” Wayne Taylor said. “Winning it today after only having these cars for two-and-a-half months is a testament to the people I’ve hired and the people who work for this organization. I’m eternally grateful for all of them.”
Castroneves brought experience with the Acura to the team after driving it the past three seasons at Team Penske and winning the series championship last year.
“What an incredible opportunity this was, to be driving with Acura again and keep rolling what we had last year,” noted Castroneves. “I think this was the tougher achievement with the conditions we had to face. I can’t thank Wayne enough, though, for getting this group together.
“Absolutely incredible. What a day.”
Other Winners
Jordan Taylor and co-drivers Nicky Catsburg and Antonio Garcia led a one-two sweep of the GT Le Mans class for Corvette Racing.
Taylor brought the No. 3 C8.R home 3.519 seconds ahead of its sister car after completing 770 laps.
Taylor snagged the class lead for good with 20 minutes remaining and held off teammate Tommy Milner, who shared the No. 4 Corvette with Nick Tandy and Alexander Smith.
“It was pretty wild that it came down the way it did, with a one-two (finish) for Corvette Racing, but Tommy (Milner) raced me super clean and that was awesome,” Taylor said. “Nicky and Antonio (Garcia) did an amazing job. This is just a great event for Corvette Racing. It’s the first endurance win for the C8.R after our championship last year.”
The GT Daytona class was ruled by the HTP Winward Motorsport No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Maro Engel, Russell Ward, Indy Dontje and Philip Ellis.
The LMP2 class was won by the No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca of Paul-Loup Chatin, Kyle Tilley, Dwight Merriman and Ryan Dalziel.
Riley Motorsports dominated the Rolex 24 debut of the LMP3 class, winning by three laps over its nearest competitor with the No. 74 Ligier JS P320 co-driven by Spencer Pigot, Oliver Askew, Scott Andrews and Gar Robinson.