IMSA: Valiante continues Rolex 24 search

All of the drivers who vied for IMSA's Prototype championship in 2015 are locked into seats for the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona, with one notable exception. Canada's Michael Valiante came within four points of securing the title with co-driver Richard Westbrook in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP, and with the team's post-season reboot, Valiante, Westbrook, and endurance co-driver Mike Rockenfeller parted ways with the program.

Westbrook was snapped up by Ford for its return to GT racing in IMSA's GT Le Mans class, Rockenfeller was hired by Corvette Racing to fill its endurance role in GTLM, and Valiante was grabbed by Honda for its Continental Tire Series effort, but a place in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship remains elusive.

With two Prototype wins to his credit last year, Valiante (LEFT) hopes to find a team in need for the Jan. 28-31 Rolex 24.

"My plans for this year changed somewhat late in the offseason, so I'm glad to be in a factory-back Continental ride with Honda, but I also want to be in the WeatherTech paddock after almost 10 seasons racing at Daytona," he told RACER. "We finished third last year with the Visit Florida team, and at this stage, I'm up for helping a good team in whatever class."

It's far from optimal, but Valiante says he's familiar with jumping into a Daytona program at the last minute.

"In 2012, I was in a similar position where I got an invite the night before the race from Peter Baron to drive in DP, and we ended up leading a lot of the race and being really competitive," he added. "I'm in a similar position this year. You want to have everything put together ahead of time, but it doesn't always work out that way. I haven't seen many openings in any of the classes, but I'll be there and I'll be ready to go."