AWA WINS THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA!
AWA WINS THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA WITH CAR #17 – FINISHES 4TH WITH #13
Daytona Beach (Florida, United States), January 29, 2022 – Canadian-based AWA have won the 2023 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona! The team survived the prestigious 24-hour race and claimed their first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win this past Sunday, also marking the first win for the Duqueine D08 in Weathertech LMP3 competition. Anthony Mantella, Wayne Boyd, Thomas Merrill and Nicolás Varrone co-drove the #17 Agritainer Tech Duqueine D08 flawlessly, winning the Rolex 24 by an admirable 12 laps.
In the thick of the race, AWA was in a position to snag a hopeful 1-2 finish, with both machines showing promising pace. However, the #13 Orlando Corporation LMP3 was forced to enter the pits for repairs after two on track incidents, the second forcing a behind the wall repair.
The silver lining of this situation was that once they were back on track, and on a fresh set of tires, Orey Fidani was unstoppable, clocking one flying lap after the next. The #13 crew showed persistence and determination, and started making their way up the field. It was another example of a flawless strategy as Orey Fidani, Matt Bell, Lars Kern and Moritz Kranz finished 4th.
#17 Agritainer Duqueine D08
Anthony Mantella, driver of the #17 Duqueine D08: “It’s a dream to hold the trophy. Anybody that’s ever dreamed of racing a car has wanted to win this trophy, and today we did it. It’s surreal and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. It’s so hard to win, it’s my first time running this race and here I am standing with this trophy. And listen, I did participate but these guys were paramount, they are the ultimate professionals and are the best at their craft. All I had to do was keep the car clean and bring it home in order to hand it off to any one of these guys so they could bring it home. It was a fantastic day.”
Wayne Boyd, driver of the #17 Duqueine D08 : “I’m speechless to be honest. These boys will back me up and confirm that I’m never speechless. Absolutely amazing, fantastic. I can’t thank the whole team enough for the effort they put in during the winter up until now. I’ve felt so welcomed in this team since I joined last year, and these past two weeks have been very enjoyable as well. To come away with the Rolex win is amazing as well. I can’t thank everyone enough and I can’t describe how I feel right now.”
Thomas Merrill, driver of the #17 Duqueine D08: “I’m a late addition to this team and I can’t express how welcoming these boys are. It was so much fun racing with them. This is my fourth 24 Hours of Daytona and I can tell you how hard this is to win, and after doing this race many times you truly appreciate how hard it is to win it. But it’s all about the team and the people that make it happen. I’m so proud to be part of this group.”
Nicolás Varrone, driver of the #17 Duqueine D08 : “I was recalling how when I was a kid, 8 years ago, I came to visit as a spectator to see this famous race. And now to win here and win the watch is crazy. Absolutely unbelievable for me. It will take me two weeks for it to sink in. It’s pretty amazing, the AWA guys did an amazing job, and Anthony drove incredibly well. We didn’t make any mistakes, the car was perfect during the 24 hours and that’s where we ended up.”
Photo credit: Sam Cobb
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