Happy New Year all!

January is all about one event: the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Last month, Inter Europol Competition announced its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship lineup with Jon Field, Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg and António Félix da Costa to compete in the 24-hour Daytona event.

In addition, the Polish-based team also confirmed its LMP2 drivers for the forthcoming European Le Mans Series, which gets underway in Barcelona in April.

The Asian Le Mans Series is underway

December saw Inter Europol Competition field two Ligier LMP3 prototypes in the opening round of the 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series in Malaysia.

The team, however, left Sepang disappointed with its own performance and a single fifth-place finish in the double-header event. While the races did not go according to plan, the team are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that the final two rounds in the United Arab Emirates next month meet the team’s expectations and objectives.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona

The opening round of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship takes place this month at Daytona International Speedway.

December saw Inter Europol Competition testing at the venue, having set up a temporary team base in Sebring ahead of the move shortly to its new Indianapolis base.

The Daytona event consists of two events: first, the ROAR before the Daytona 24, which effectively is the pre-season test, and then the main event itself, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Schedule – all times ET (CET+6)

ROAR Before the Rolex 24

Friday 17 January
11:00 – 12:15 Test 1
15:00 – 17:00 Test 2
Saturday 18 January
11:15 – 12:45 Test 3
15:10 – 16:10 Test 4
18:30 – 20:30 Test 5
Sunday 19 January
09:45 – 10:45 Test 6
14:30 – 16:00 Test 7

Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona

Thursday 23 January
10:05 – 11:35 Practice 1
15:00 – 15:15 LMP2 Qualifying
18:30 – 20:00 Practice 2
Friday 24 January
11:20 – 12:20 Practice 3
Saturday 25 January
13:40 – 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona (24h).

Details on how to follow the action live will follow on our social channels, but as a rule of thumb, those in Europe can follow on IMSA’s YouTube channel and on the series website.

Introducing António Félix da Costa

António Félix da Costa joins Inter Europol Competition for the forthcoming Rolex 24 round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Q) Antonio, welcome to Inter Europol Competition. You have bags of experience and success in LMP2 and other categories; tell us what the draw of Daytona is.

“l fell in love with endurance racing 10 years ago. Since then, I have been able to do some amazing 24-hour races and win Le Mans. I have only done Daytona 24 once, and it was my first-ever endurance race, so it feels like I have unfinished business there. The environment in Daytona is special; the whole place has amazing energy, and the race is so demanding with cold temperatures and a lot of traffic, and it becomes a sprint race at the end.”

Q) You have enjoyed success with the Oreca 07, especially with the victory at Le Mans in 2022. While a spec-chassis, the development drive continues in terms of setup and getting the car in the working window. Tell us how this moves on year to year?

“I raced four years in this car, and I was able to find some success with it, the highlight being the 24h of Le Mans win, of course. Then I did a year in the new Hypercar Porsche, and now I am jumping back in the LMP2; it’s just a very well-balanced and fun car to drive. The cool thing about this category is that everyone has the same car, so it’s super competitive, team and drivers can make a big difference.”

Q) Inter Europol Competition is entering its first race in its own right this year at Daytona and it is a significant milestone in the growth of the team. How did you connect with the team – talk about testing – and what do you see your role in this big race?

“I’ve known (Team Director) Sascha (Fassbender) and the team for a while, raced against them, and when they won Le Mans the year after I did, I was literally the garage next door, so I followed their good vibes and energy pretty closely. We did a test together where I was able to meet everyone, and I loved it; it is very good technically, and everyone was super nice. Also, it was great to meet my teammates, and we all got along well.”

Q) The team has the mandated Bronze driver in John Field; Tom Dillmann and Bijoy Garg are Gold and Silver, respectively. Each driver has their own role in the event, although John will have to qualify and start as per regulation. In such a long race, we learned a great deal with our partner team in 2024, but how do you approach a 24-hour race at Daytona?

“As I said, I think we have a great quartet of drivers. Everyone can bring something to the table. Lap times between us were pretty close, and I think the goal now is to calm everyone down and make sure everyone knows their role in this race and when to take certain risks. We need to really become friends and trust each other in the next couple of weeks for our plan to work!”