Bryce Aron Racing
Bryce Aron P6 Overall on Debut at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with JDC-Miller Motorsports
Bryce competed in his first endurance race at the 24 hours of Daytona, finishing with a solid 6th place overall in the top GTP class in a field of 61 cars.
Taking on the challenge of racing a Porsche 963 hypercar for the first time in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, was an incredible opportunity. The offer to race in the 24 with JDC-Miller Motorsports came up after the November test, where the other existing and new drivers had the opportunity to test the car.
The week before the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona, the Roar Before the 24 takes place, which for the top class, is a series of test days. During this time, the team had Bryce in the car as much as possible, however, an issue with the battery, and a weather delay, limited the car’s run time at the Roar Before.
The last test session before the start of the race was at night and Bryce was the sole GTP driver to take to the track at the beginning of the session in wet conditions. Bryce felt the car handled very well in wet conditions. The track dried throughout the session and a few of the GTP
cars went out with JDC-Miller making the most of it by having all of the drivers run a quick series of laps in order to practice driver changeovers.
Qualifying for the Rolex 24 at Daytona took place on Thursday and the four driver team which included, Gianmaria Bruni, Tijmen Vans der Helm, Pascal Wehrlein and Bryce Aron, qualified their Porsche 963 Hypercar in 5th place for the start of the race. Bryce took over the car for his first double stint approximately 6 hours into the race. The first double stint was on one set of soft tires for the entire run.
Bryce did his next double stint (which was closer to a triple stint) on one set of soft tires for the entire run, which lasted over 2 hours. This stint was filled with action, including a pass by Bryce around the outside of the Acura GTP in the kink. During Bryce's 2nd stint, while in for a pitstop, a faulty sensor indicated that the fuel probe had been removed which prematurely engaged auto launch. This led to a drive through penalty that was not due to driver error.
With each run Bryce gained confidence and skill. Having never raced at night before, Bryce found that he really enjoyed this aspect of the race. Bryce’s final stint in the car took place Sunday mid-morning. This time Bryce went out on sticker new medium compound tires. Bryce was on pace and at times faster than the other cars in his class. Bryce began the stint in 6th and exited with the car in 5th place, having created more time for the driver changeover which allowed the team to make the driver swap without sacrificing 5th.
JDC-Miller Motorsports and Richard Westbrook did an excellent job of bringing Bryce up to speed and provided a great environment to learn in. The event was nothing short of amazing and left Bryce hungry for victory in the GTP class.