Zanardi will contest the 24-hour race in the #24 BMW M8 GTE run by BMW Team RLL, alongside regular drivers John Edwards and Jesse Krohn, as well as Chaz Mostert. Alternating at the wheel of the #25 car will be regular driver Connor De Phillippi, Augusto Farfus, Philipp Eng and Colton Herta. The team was at Daytona at the start of January, when it continued its preparations for the marathon race with the official ‘Roar’ test. The 24 Hours of Daytona gets underway at 14:35 local time on Saturday 26th January. The race finishes at 14:35 on Sunday 27th January. The Turner Motorsport team runs a BMW M6 GT3 in the GTD class in the 2019 IMSA series. The car will be driven at Daytona by Jens Klingmann, Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley and Dillon Machavern. Turner Motorsport will also compete with a BMW M4 GT4 in the GS class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge, which also stages its opening race of the season at Daytona. In total, five BMW M4 GT4s will be in action in the ‘BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona’.

“The 24 Hours of Daytona are always a real highlight at the start of the new motorsport season. Last year, our BMW M8 GTE made its race debut there. In the meantime, it has evolved into a winning car and we are excited about our prospects for the coming weekend. BMW Team RLL and our engineers have worked hard in recent months to ensure that they are as well prepared as possible for the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2019 IMSA season. Alex Zanardi’s start will help make Daytona a very special event this year. It is fantastic to see him in the BMW M8 GTE. We can look forward to a particularly spectacular race this year.”

 “Compared to last year we are feeling much better prepared. We were able to focus fully on the car set-up and driver change-over during this year’s Roar test. They are obviously a little unique with Alex, but we are quick. With a bit more practice during the race weekend, I don’t expect us to lose any time in the pit stops. It’s really an honour to drive and work with Alex and to get to know him a little bit better and see his perspective on life. Hopefully that positive attitude will transfer into a good result for us at the 24 Hours.”

“I have no idea what to expect. I’ve never been in a race like this before. GTLM is a super competitive category and I think BMW has done a great job and a great deal of work over the last year with the BMW M8 GTE, getting it to where it is. I know it started off rough but now we have the car that we want. It’s very fast and very competitive. If we play our cards right and we have enough luck, we can get a really top result. I’ve always wanted to do this race. My father competed in it for a long time and it’s such an iconic race, not only in America but all around the world. To finally get the chance to do it is super exciting.”