Alexander Sims completed his first Rolex 24 at Daytona on Sunday but was disappointed to end up eighth in the ultra-competitive GTLM class in the #19 BMW M6 GTLM Art Car he shared with Bill Auberlen, Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler.
The quartet were a lap down for much of the event and despite a total of twenty-one caution periods, were unable to get that lap back, but Sims feels the potential is there to have a strong IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, where he will run full time alongside Auberlen.
Sims admitted the whole Daytona experience was new to him but he learned a lot throughout the event, and believes the result for the #19 car did not reflect the pace they had.
“I absolutely loved racing at Daytona for the first time, but it was a difficult race,” admitted Sims. “We came here wanting to win so to finish eighth in class is obviously quite disappointing.
“The team did a brilliant job but the pace just didn’t reflect this – it’s a testament to how strong the GTLM field is in the WeatherTech Championship. However, we’ll come back fighting and looking for improvements at Sebring.
“It was a very special experience racing at Daytona and a huge privilege to drive the BMW Art Car. I was in the car for a while in the middle of the night when the race was under caution for rain. There was a lot of yellow flag running but safety has to come first.
“Luckily the weather cleared up for the last few hours and the racing was exciting across the board. This is all quite new to me and is a massive learning curve but I’m really looking forward to the rest of the IMSA season and can’t wait to get back out on track.”
