Harry Tincknell is thrilled to be a part of the Mazda Team Joest line-up for this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, and he is proud of the way that the team has improved their RT24-P machine over the winter.
The Briton is joined in the #55 machine by American duo Jonathan Bomarito and Spencer Pigot for the twice-around-the-clock race at the Daytona International Speedway, and although he admits starting the year with this race will be tough, it will be good for the team to learn more about the RT24-P in race conditions.
“I am super excited to get the 2018 season underway this weekend at Daytona,” said Tincknell. “Mazda Team Joest have put so much work in over the winter period and I can’t believe how quickly we moved from winter testing to the first race of the season.
“The revised car is definitely a big improvement from 2017 and we are still learning and refining all the time. It will certainly be tough starting out with a 24 hour race, but I am confident we have taken giant strides forward over the last three months.”
Although the field depth of the prototype class is immense in 2018, Tincknell is hoping to be in the fight for race honours, but he knows the importance of remaining in the hunt and staying out of trouble in order to attack in the final four hours or so for the victory.
“To be able to fight for the overall win is incredible and I can’t wait for this journey to begin on Saturday,” said Tincknell. “Daytona is all about surviving the first 20 hours and then attacking at the end, so if we are in contention when the sun rises over Florida on Sunday morning then we know we are in the fight.
“We certainly face some very tough competition and guys like Fernando Alonso will be no pushover. Whatever happens this weekend, I am certain that we have a strong base to fight for many victories and podiums this season.”
