DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The fight for Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class honors in the Rolex 24 was a good one, with five cars remaining in contention to the finish.
The No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 and the No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca were the main contenders, until the No. 18 with drivers Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch and Christian Rasmussen took control over the final four hours. The No. 18 drivers led 132 of the final 136 laps, with Rasmussen taking the checkered flag with a 6.8-second advantage over Malthe Jakobsen in the No. 04, which was co-piloted by George Kurtz, Colin Braun and Toby Sowery.
“It’s awesome; it’s a huge bucket list item for me,” said Rasmussen, the team’s IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup driver about to embark on his first full season of IndyCar Series competition. “We were just strong all race. We kept improving, we knew we had the pace and we had the strategy just right. Then just cruised to the finish. I’m over the moon.”
Merriman and Dalziel were also half of the Era lineup in 2021 that won the Rolex 24 LMP2 race.
The No. 74 Riley Oreca with drivers Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon and Felipe Massa finished third in LMP2.