IMSA: Rolex, Endurance Challenge fields released

The season-opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will see 55 cars try to conquer the 55th Rolex 24 at Daytona Jan. 28-29.

IMSA officials released entry lists for the Rolex 24 and the the four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge for the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, set for Friday, Jan. 27.

• Entry lists:

  Rolex 24

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  BMW Endurance Challenge

The 55 entries continue the trend of the entry list amount serving as a parallel to the annual event tally; the 53rd running of the event featured 53 entries in 2014. Coverage begins Saturday, Jan. 28 on FOX at 2 p.m. ET, with flag-to flag-coverage available via FOX Sports GO with FS1 authentication.

Twelve cars make up the Prototype class ranks, with Daytona Prototype international (DPi) entrants from Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan joined by a host of global LMP2 spec cars. Defending overall winner Tequila Patrón ESM will kick off its return to full season IMSA competition, taking on what is perhaps the strongest collection of driver lineups in recent history and highlighted by marquee drivers such as four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe.

Eleven factory efforts will battle in GT Le Mans (GTLM), with reigning class champion Corvette Racing returning after an exhilarating 1-2 finish in the 2016 Rolex 24. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing brings four Ford GTs, as Porsche fields a pair of all-new 911 RSRs and Ferrari returns with a single entry. BMW is entering a pair of cars, one of which being the first BMW Art Car ever to race in the Rolex 24.

The largest class of the field, GT Daytona (GTD), features 27 GT3 spec race cars from nine premium automotive manufacturers, including series newcomers Acura, Lexus and Mercedes. Prototype Challenge kicks off its final season in the WeatherTech Championship with five ORECA FLM09s taking to the track.

The racing action will kick off, however, on Friday with the BMW Endurance Challenge, the first of two new four-hour enduros for the Continental Tire Challenge. The race will feature 40 cars from two classes tearing around the high banks of the World Center of Racing.

The Grand Sport (GS) class welcomes global GT4 spec cars to its ranks for 2017, with 20 cars ready to race. Manufacturers include class regulars Aston Martin, Ford and Porsche, joined by newcomer McLaren. Also featuring 20 entries, Street Tuner (ST) includes a healthy mix of cars from Audi, BMW, Mazda, MINI, Nissan and Porsche.

The BMW Endurance Challenge will stream live on IMSA.com at 12:15 p.m. ET on Jan. 27, with a telecast scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1.