Daytona 24 2024 - NOMAD Sim Racing

View the pre-race event details here

The iRacing Daytona 24 marks the start of the team special events each year, and last weekend marked the 2024 running. Despite plenty of rumours and even more willing it to happen – no rain this year.

Prestanda NOMAD put together 5 cars for entry into this years event, and here's how it went for each of them:

#561 – P10 Split 3

Drivers: Lochlan Bearman, Jason Dilworth, Jason Close
Car: Acura GTP

The 561 car put together our highest iRating car into any special event, with an average of 5590 through the 3 drivers. That put the car into split 3, which soon showed how competitive it would be. The plan for this race was to avoid all contact for the car, and see where that put them. Having qualified the car 21st and last, the only way was up.

The team put together a stellar run through the 24 hours, without majorly putting a foot wrong save for a few slowdown penalties at the bus stop and a pit speeding penalty. None of those would have changed the end P10 result. On average pace the team were humbled by some incredibly fast and efficient competitors, but the #561 crew are all very proud of the result.

#565 – P9 Split 18

Drivers: Casey Waters, Massimo Berta, Tom Stanley, Nic Veltenaar, Taylor Lane
Car: Ferrari GT3

This car had a turbulent build up to the event, with a driver reshuffle to move Liam Doyle to the 562 bringing in both Nic and Taylor with very little preparation. They made the best of the time they had, pulling together a setup and schedule in short order.

The cars aim going into their race was very much around survival and experience, and it is inarguable that they achieved both those goals. Being one of only two cars in the team to finish the event, and in the hardest class to survive in, is a huge accolade. The car started in 21st position, took on small amounts of damage and other issues through the race, and were rewarded with a final position in the top 10.

#562 – DNF Split 11

Drivers: Ryan Scott Hamilton, Chris Chadderton, Daniel Gilding, Liam Doyle
Car: Ferrari GT3

Our highest rated GT3 car fell foul from the beginning of a quirk of the iRating splitting system. Due to the relative popularity of the GT3 class compared to the LMP2 field, the skill gap between those classes was huge. That put paid to any chance of keeping their fate in their own hands from the start, and a good result was almost entirely going to be down to luck.

As it turned out, the car was hit twice in the initial stints by LMP2 cars but survival was still on. That couldn't last forever, though, with more issues around 7 hours into the race. LMP2 cars again caused two incidents in the same lap, with a large amount of avoidable netcode involved. Many laps of damage caused the decision to retire the car.

#563 – DNF Split 5

Drivers: Pablo Arteaga, Oliver Bunn, Matt Distill, Jamie Pounder
Car: Acura GTP

Our second GTP car was another strong entry, with split 5 being the strongest strength of field that the majority of the lineup had taken part in. A car that had great potential due to their high and consistent pace relative to their field.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be when, after just under 6 hours, the car was put into the wall hard. The car was subsequently retired.

#564 – DNF Split 20

Drivers: Chris Thacker, Håkon Eide Lindmo, Tim Penny, Ayden Refaie
Car: BMW GT3

The 564 had the most preparation laps in the run up to this event, mostly due to Chris Thacker's 849 practice laps. Another well balanced lineup went into the event with high hopes.

Those hopes were well rewarded in the first 10 hours, moving up 15 spots to 4th position. Unfortunately contact with a GTP car through the kink around 11 hours in resulted in a 45 minute repair time, and the race was all but done. The car was circulated for another few hours before being retired early into the second half.

Overall as a team we would have clearly loved for more cars to finish, but the results we did manage are ones that we can be proud of and build from. A huge amount of lessons have been learned and shared in debrief sessions in the team, and we take those into the rest of the season.

Driver Comments

"I am very pleased with my P9 finish, there were no incidents or damage, despite iRacing crashing on my PC. I am grateful to the team for allowing me to participate despite low availability." Massimo Berta

"It's disappointing to have to retire a car that was performing well. We were running at a good pace with a more ambitious fuel strategy compared to the cars around us. Unfortunately, we were hit by netcode issues that put us out of the race, but we'll live to fight another day. Good game to the other teams and drivers." Liam P Doyle

"As I only returned two days prior, I really wasn't expecting to run this race at all until I found out a few people got sick. To help move things around, I offered to jump in and help. Glad to say, I'm happy I did. Not only did I get to run the race, I also got to race with a few new faces. Overall, the race was good. I put the car in P21 for the start, and we finished P9. With that, a big thank you and well done for a fairly clean race. Can't wait for the next one." &emdash;

"A collision from a GTP at the 12-hour mark required 45 minutes of repairs, effectively ending our attempt. However, up to that point, the team had driven brilliantly, moving us from 19th on the grid to battling between P3 and P4. Although I would have loved to finish the race, the progress we made was thoroughly enjoyable and demonstrated the good pace we had." Tim Penny

"We couldn't finish the first 6 out of 24 hours of the race. We failed. Congratulations and settling for giving our best effort are useless; it's the same as what any of the other 2236 teams that started the race during prime time can say today. At least on my part, I intend not to forget this disappointment and approach the next attempt with several lessons learned." Pablo Arteaga

"Pretty crushing. Very disappointing to have our race ruined by rookie errors. That’s iRacing for you. On to the next." Daniel Gilding

"We had a great opportunity to show our capabilities in Split 5, the highest split I've ever been in personally. The first few stints from Matt and Pablo were nearly flawless, putting us in a good position for the rest of the race. When I got in the car third, I quickly found my rhythm. I had one and a half of the best stints I've ever done, but towards the end of the race, I made an unforced error that ultimately ended our race. I can only apologize to the others, as we had a strong car and driver lineup, excellent preparation, and I believe we could've achieved a strong result. There's a lot to learn from this experience to improve next time, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity of another special event." Oliver E Bunn

"We were well prepared but fell behind after a small spin incident early on in the race. We all had excellent pace and were on our way towards a possible podium before we got taken out and suffered a blown engine. I am super happy about our pace and performance, but very sad that the race ended early." Håkon Eide Lindmo

"We had an impressive performance from the team. Being added to the lineup at the last minute and driving a car that I'm not used to, I didn't have high expectations. However, the car performed very well. Despite running out of fuel during one of my stints, we pushed through and had a relatively uneventful race, ultimately securing a hard-fought P9. I want to commend the team for their brilliant effort and for delivering an outstanding performance on the track!" Taylor Lane

"It may not seem like a lot, but finishing 10th in the 3rd split of this race is a big achievement for me. We were quite humbled today, but we accomplished what we set out to achieve - staying focused on the process, completing laps without major incidents, and seeing where we end up. Both of my teammates did an amazing job, and I was very proud to partner with them." Jason Dilworth

"Due to an incident around 6 hours in, the Daytona 24 turned into a race I was not hoping for. However, we demonstrated good preparation, pace, and race management. Personally, I was pleased with my own racing speed, but it was a short-lived stint as we collectively decided to retire the car. There are positives to take away and more events to look forward to!" Jamie M Pounder

"Pretty happy. Placing 10th in the 3rd split is a great achievement. The split was highly competitive. Despite the solid result, the speed wasn’t quite there, so we certainly have some work to do. Overall, we executed an almost perfect race with minimal mistakes, so we can take pride in that. Thanks to Jason and Lochlan who were great teammates. Bring on Bathurst 12hr." Jason M Close

"It was a positive experience for my first 24-hour race. Although it wasn't the result I had hoped for at the beginning of the race, we performed well by not only finishing the race but also gaining 11 places from our starting position. As a team, we recognize the need for more effort in refining our race strategy, as we seemed to lose time where other teams didn’t. Nevertheless, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my teammates and the entire Nomad team for their support." Lochlan Bearman

"Unfortunately, the D24 did not go to plan for the #563. After qualifying in 16th place, the team fell back to last on the first corner. However, they did a great job to recover to 12th place and were running at a very competitive pace. Unfortunately, the car was involved in an incident around 10 hours into the race, which led to the team having to retire from the race. It was not the result that we, as a team, were hoping for, but we are looking onwards and upwards to the next one." Matt Distill

"Finishing a 24-hour race with few hiccups is a victory in itself, and although it's not a podium position, our team limited errors by driving a safe strategy, and can be proud of a 9th place finish! Personally, I was very happy with my performance on the track. Not making mistakes showed in my average at the end of the race. It was a massive field of competition for my return to the Daytona 24!" Casey Waters

"I am disappointed with the outcome of the race for our car 564. We were involved in an incident that damaged the car after 429 laps, resulting in our retirement. Prior to this, however, we had a very strong and consistent pace across all of our drivers who did a great job gaining 14 positions from our qualifying position without any damage. We were executing all our strategy plans and were comfortably running in 4th place, close to P3, gaining lap after lap. Personally, I can take a lot of positives from the event, especially in the build-up preparation that gave me the confidence and understanding in the setup to push in race trim, yet still remain well within my limits. Traffic management was good and precise, resulting in very little time lost. This led to my stints being at the top end of the timing sheets. Hard work paid off, but the overall result was poor. There is plenty of experience for all that can be used in the future, I'm sure." Chris Thacker