TINCKNELL TAKES POSITIVES FROM DAYTONA PERFORMANCE

Harry runs as high as 2nd at the Rolex 24 at Daytona before retirement. Classified 9th in the DPi class.

Harry Tincknell and the Mazda Joest Team squad left Daytona with confidence inspiring speed despite both its cars having to retire from the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. The #55 Mazda RT24-P qualified on the second row of the grid in the hands of Jonathan Bomarito and he ran strongly in the top 5 during the opening hour and half of the twice around the clock endurance classic. Tincknell started his opening stint in the third hour, taking over from Olivier Pla who had moved the car up to fourth. Despite dropping back to 8th during the pit stop phases, the Devonian quickly moved through the order climbing as high as second position by hour six. However, things started to unravel soon after as a visit to the garage for repairs lost three laps to the leaders. Bomarito, Pla and Tincknell cycled through the car afterwards, making up two laps and climbing from 14th overall to 5th by the early morning hours. However, after an incident in the race’s 14th hour, the car was forced to retire from the race.

Harry Tincknell (GB):

“This is a really disappointing result, but I can’t help but be proud of everyone at Mazda Team Joest for their effort this week. Mazda showed this month that we can compete at the front with the strongest manufacturers in the world. Our Mazda RT24-P is fast and ran at the front of the toughest race in North America. A huge thanks to everyone who supported us – the love and support for Mazda this past month has been incredible, and we will deliver many great results this season. I’m so excited for what’s to come.”