– Swede swiftly up to speed with Meyer Shank Racing; next stop Daytona
Felix Rosenqvist slotted into his new workspace for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign as he completed his first day of testing with Meyer Shank Racing on Monday, topping the times at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Running on the first of three days of collective testing on the Homestead “roval”, which combines the Florida track’s oval and infield sections, Rosenqvist recorded an unofficial best time of 1m11.244s to set the pace some two tenths clear of countryman Marcus Ericsson.
Reigning champion Alex Palou was third.
”It was a great first day running with my new team; it’s been super smooth,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “Everybody is so happy to be working together here at MSR, and I really liked the car. That was the main takeaway today – it’s reacting well. It’s obviously early days, but it’s nice to go quickest on our first day together and the car was a pleasure to drive.”
Team-mate Tom Blomqvist is set to take over driving duties for MSR as testing continues at Homestead on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Next up: Daytona
Rosenqvist, meanwhile, is now heading back up the Florida east coast as momentum builds for the Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend. Driving for Anglo-American squad United Autosports, Rosenqvist is vying for success in the 13-car LMP2 category driving alongside team-mates Paul di Resta, Dan Goldburg and Bijoy Garg in entry #22.
Rosenqvist joined the rest of the field in last weekend’s “Roar” practice sessions at Daytona International Speedway – where Goldburg qualified the car fifth in class – and feels well-placed for the 24-hour sportscar classic that kick-starts the global motor racing season.
“We had a really solid couple of days at the Roar, and I think we’re definitely competitive,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “The last time I did Daytona was back in 2018, so it’s been a while, but I felt very much at home in the United Autosports car and especially the latter sessions were very encouraging.
“It’s a long race and there will be a lot going on, but on pure performance I think we’re as good as anyone. I’m very excited for this weekend.”
Race week at the Rolex 24 begins with a further four practice sessions across Thursday and Friday. The race then goes green at 1:40 pm local time on Saturday. International streaming of the race is available at imsa.tv (pending region).
TIME TABLE
All times local (U.S. Eastern)
Rolex 24 At Daytona
Daytona International Speedway (USA)
Thursday 25 January
Practice 1: 10:05-11:35 am
Practice 2: 2:10-3:55 pm
Practice 3: 6:35-8:05 pm
Friday 26 January
Practice 4: 11:20 am-12:20 pm
Saturday 27 January
Race start: 1:40 pm
Sunday 28 January
Race finish: 1:40 pm
TIMING: imsa.com/scoring
ENTRY LIST: view here