Daytona winners from Ford and Porsche, and the new Mazda RT24-P ...

This weekend, the racing season starts in earnest with the Daytona 24 Hours. To mark the occasion, we have taken a renewed look at a pair of previous winners. The earliest of these two is the original Ford GT, which won the 2000 km race at Daytona back in 1965. One of the prototypes for the definitive GT40s, it featured a slightly different design and mechanicals. The cars that raced at Daytona had been developed by Carroll Shelby over the winter and boasted many improvements compared to the 1964 specification. This allowed chassis GT/103 to score what was the first major victory for the new Ford racer. Featured in our 48-shot gallery are all three survivors of the original five prototypes built in 1964.
Porsches have always faired very well at Daytona, and more often than not in privateer hands. One of those independent victories came in 1979 when the Interscope team clinched the outright victory with their brand new Porsche 935. One of the very last complete 935s built by the factory, this 1979-spec machine featured a single turbocharger to comply with stricter regulations. Regardless, chassis 930 990 0029, helmed by Danny Ongais, Ted Field and Hurley Haywood grabbed the win. This was Haywood's fourth of a record five victories in the Daytona 24 Hours.
One of the most striking cars on the grid this weekend is the Mazda RT24-P. Although based around a Riley/Multimatic chassis, it features a bespoke exterior design, which is the most visually pleasing of all prototypes due to hit the track this weekend. The two RT24-Ps have their work cut out as they were outpaced in qualifying but anything can happen in 24 hours, especially in a field packed with brand-new cars.

Enjoy the links:

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/2972/Ford-GT-Prototype.html"]1964 - 1965 Ford GT Prototype - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/6703/Mazda-RT24-P.html"]2017 Mazda RT24-P - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]

[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3270/Porsche-935-79.html"]1979 Porsche 935/79 - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]