There is no off-season. Not if you ask the drivers, engineers, and mechanics. When the sun rises up on a early October morning in Braselton, Georgia, it marks the two-month testing period before the start of the next season begins. A busy time for all, as engineers rush to finish designs and mechanics and drivers alike begin adjust themselves to new machinery. To add to the trials was the fact that final a programme decision was made much later compared to everyone else, and as much as everything fell into place quickly thereafter, the delay was large enough to where the first big public test for you and your competitors was nothing much more than a shakedown.

Things actually went well. With a different but familiar electronics package compared to your competitors, most of the issues found were avoided; all besides cooling, but that was an issue common to nearly everyone else. Pace seemed alright too, least for a car with a bit of a last-minute design based of a tricky-to-adapt chassis. Things aren't looking down for The 24.

A few weeks later and after a couple of practice sessions later, it's time to discover the ultimate pace of the car. Practice showed that 1:39s were more than comfortable for the car before pushing, which would bode well for qualifying. Unfortunately, track conditions, the tyres, chassis, and engine combination, paired with the immaturity in setup knowledge yielded a snap-oversteer issue that made pushing all but impossible. In the end, qualifying seemed a bit disappointing, but on the bright side, you weren't last, and you weren't woefully slow. And with a reliable electronics package and cooling no longer an issue, perhaps this is the best opportunity to win. Long as traffic doesn't kill things.
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My Rolex 24 at Daytona hype is strong. Here, have a Foxi-styled DPi based on the Oreca 07 chassis, complete with a 5.0L V8 from the Bandito GT3.