IMSA: Roar Before the 24 entry list revealed

Sports car fans now have a full list of teams and drivers to root for at the 53rd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

IMSA published its long-awaited entry list for the test ahead of the season-opening TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race, and as expected, car counts in Prototype, PC, and GT Le Mans look rather familiar, while the GT Daytona ranks are somewhat depleted.

Prototype features 16 entries (18 in 2014), PC has eight (nine), GTLM is at 10 (11), and GTD lists 19 (29) for 2015. 53 entries are contained on the Roar entry list. 67 were listed for the inaugural TUDOR Championship event last year.

The Prototype field is very familiar, with two cars from defending race winners Action Express Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Mazda, and Tequila Patron ESM. Single entries for DeltaWing Racing, Fifty Plus Racing, Michael Shank Racing, RG Racing, Starworks Motorsport, VisitFlorida.com Racing (aka Spirit of Daytona), and Wayne Taylor Racing comprise a blend of six P2s, nine DPs and the DeltaWing DWC 13.

The RG Racing Riley-BMW DP team is the only new entry in Prototype. Losses from 2014 involve the Bob Stallings Racing/GAINSCO Corvette DP, Oak Racing's Morgan-Nissan, and Muscle Milk Pickett Racing's Oreca-Nissan.

The PC class is loaded with single entries, with the exception of two cars listed for Bar1 Motorsports, and is highlighted by the return of defending Rolex 24 class and TUDOR Championship series champions CORE autosport.

GTLM suffered the departure of the two-car Dodge Viper factory team at the end of 2014, but the count has only been reduced by one thanks to AF Corse's No. 51 Ferrari F458 filling one of the vacancies.

Multi-car entries are prominent in GTD with two car programs from Alex Job Racing, Muehlner Motorsports America, Riley Technologies, Scuderia Corsa, and TRG-AMR. Single-car entries from AF Corse, Flying Lizard Motorsports, GB Autosport, Konrad Motorsport, Park Place Motorsports, Wright Motorsports, and Turner Motorsport complete the class.

The majority of the teams entered in the Rolex 24 are expected to participate in this week's 3-day Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona, which begins on Friday.