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Daytona Prototypes are a much-maligned type of racing car. To be honest, for much of their history, that’s with good reason. They were quite unsafe, slow compared to LMP2 cars and, really, really, ugly.
Video: Daytona Prototypes are motorsport’s ugly duckling
But then, when convergence finally stopped the daft split in US sportscar racing that had gone on for far too long, bringing Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series together to create what we know as IMSA today, something glorious happened.
In order for P2 cars and Daytona Prototypes to compete against each other, the DPs were made faster, they were given some better aero, and many of them began to look a lot, lot, better.
What they retained with that change, was the glorious, roaring, V8 soundtrack that made them so famous. So now these cars were fast, reasonably good looking, and sounded incredible. Finally something we could get behind.
Just to demonstrate that, here is our much missed friend Jim Pace, wheeling a BMW Riley DP around Sebring at the start of the 2015 Sebring 12 Hours. Jim probably knows American road circuits better than pretty much everyone, so he’s our perfect guide. First we have to make our way through a rather manic start, in which multiple cars apparently give up straight away and dive for the pits, and then Jim is left to battle a Le Mans prototype for the rest of the video. It’s properly stirring stuff.
Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: The Porsche 550 Spyder is one of the coolest cars ever
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