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Winward Makes Win Look Easy in GTD
Russell Ward and Lucas Auer made winning the GT Daytona (GTD) portion of Sunday’s race look easy since their No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 led all but three laps. It was anything but a cakewalk, they said.
The No. 57 edged the No. 59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 by just 0.509 seconds, a margin that never wavered much from that over the final hour. Ward started second on the grid but quickly went to the front and held position until turning the car over to Auer on the lone pit stop. Auer kept No. 59 driver Paul Holton in his mirrors the rest of the way.
“The purpose of the Roar (test weekend and qualifying race) is to shake the dust off and get everybody up to speed, and the crew did a fantastic job getting everything ready,” Ward said. “It’s awesome to come back here and be right on pace. It gives me a feeling that we are in a really good position.
“You never know what will happen in the race (Rolex 24). You have to keep it clean. If we can do what we did in this 100-minute race for 24 hours, it will come to us naturally. It’s a really good start to the week.”
Ward and Auer will be joined by co-drivers Philip Ellis and Mikael Grenier as Winward attempts to defend its 2021 Rolex 24 GTD victory. Ward and Ellis were part of that sweet win. Auer is a Rolex 24 rookie.
“For me, it was important to get laps in and see how the DPis and LMP2s would overtake and where I needed to position myself,” Auer said. “I tried to learn from every lap. For me, this is quite new, so I tried to learn every lap and get it home.”
The No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen finished third but also was assessed a post-race penalty equivalent to a drive-throhgh for not adhering to minimum tire pressures. It elevated the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 shared by Frankie Montecalvo and Townsend Bell to third place in GTD.
Practice for the Rolex 24 begins Thursday. Live coverage of the 24-hour race begins on NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
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