Mazda’s second place “like a victory” after previous troubles
Mazda ace Oliver Jarvis has described the marque’s second-place finish in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona "like a victory" as both RT24-Ps were classified in the top six.
Jarvis, who took pole at the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener for Mazda Team Joest, claimed that there was no reason to be disappointed after missing out on victory aboard the RT24-P he shared with Tristan Nunez and Olivier Pla.
The #77 Mazda finished 65 seconds behind the winners, and suggested that there was nothing more the team could have done to beat the victorious Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R shared by Ryan Briscoe, Renger van der Zande, Kamui Kobayashi and Scott Dixon.
"We can't be disappointed that we didn't win because we did the maximum today," Jarvis told Motorsport.com. "We had a pretty much perfect race, apart from one penalty, but they were just better than us – they were in a different league."
Mazda's first race finishes at Daytona with the RT24-P represented "a major achievement" for the marque, Jarvis continued.
"The engine never missed a beat," he said of the AER four-cylinder turbo that had never previously made it through the race. "This is a huge step forward for us and a great way to start the season.
"When you consider how much progress we've made in two seasons, this feels like a victory."
The #55 Mazda driven by Harry Tincknell, Jonathan Bomarito and Ryan Hunter-Reay did suffer engine problems, progressively losing turbo boost through the race.
The team suspected the source of the problem was either an exhaust or a wastegate issue that led to the car finishing 10 laps down.
The second place for Jarvis, Nunez and Pla represents Mazda's top finish at the Daytona 24 Hours. It comfortably surpassed the previous best for the Japanese marque, a fifth place for a rotary-engined 767B shared by Elliot Forbes-Robinson, Takashi Yorino and Yoshimi Katayama.
Mazda wasn't the only team to believe that WTR was unbeatable last weekend. The Action Express Racing team, which won at Daytona with Cadillac in 2018, stated that its DPi-V.R didn't have the pace of the race winner.
Filipe Albuquerque, who finished a delayed seventh together with Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani and Mike Conway in the solo AXR entry after gearbox trouble, reckoned their Caddy was only "a second-place car" at the weekend.
Previous article
Acura's Daytona BoP "a tough pill to swallow"
Next article
"Weird" tweaks by Kobayashi credited for WTR pace
About this article
| Series | IMSA |
| Event | Daytona 24 |
| Drivers | Oliver Jarvis , Olivier Pla , Tristan Nunez |
| Author | Gary Watkins |
24 Hours of Daytona Video Recap
24 Hours of Daytona: Fourth Place for Ferrari
Watch the entire Rolex 24 in just over a minute
Why a Mazda IMSA Prototype title would bring bitter joy
Can Mazda win this year’s IMSA Prototype championship? Undoubtedly. But it will be the culmination of an achingly hard struggle, after which the brand has decided to quit. David Malsher-Lopez tells the story of a bizarre blend of heartache and positivity.
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
Nine things to watch at the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
After a 100-minute sprint race to whet the appetite, the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship gets underway properly this weekend. With plenty of significant changes during the winter, here are the key points you need to keep an eye on
Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars
Having gone over seven years without a race win through spells with McLaren, Renault and Haas, Kevin Magnussen's departure from Formula 1 for IMSA with big-hitters Chip Ganassi Racing could give him what he craves most - a chance of success
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…
The 12 greatest Sebring 12 Hours ranked
The 2020 edition of the Florida sportscar classic is finally taking place this weekend, eight months after its traditional date in March. That meant there was plenty of time for Motorsport.com to pour over its previous 67 races and select the best.
Tony Kanaan’s top 10 races – in his own words
The 2004 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan probably hasn’t yet driven his final IndyCar race, but we still asked him for the 10 most significant races of his career. He explained his choices to David Malsher-Lopez.
