Palou will be the fourth driver in a squad that features regular IMSA SportsCar Championship season drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, along with six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon for the Floridian sportscar classic on 27-28 January.
Palou has started the race once before with Ganassi, driving its Daytona Prototype Cadillac DPi-V.R in 2022 and setting the fastest lap in his first sportscar start since he drove a McLaren in SUPER GT competition in Japan in 2019.
“I'm very excited to return to Daytona after competing with the team in the DPi era in 2022,” said Palou. “I can't wait to get behind the wheel of the new hybrid and it will be a great way to start the year early with such a great team and with such great team-mates.
“I've had the privilege of racing with Scott, Sebastien and Renger and I'm sure with all the preparation and knowledge that the team has, we'll be able to fight for a win and maybe bring home some new watches at the end of January.”
Alvarez completes DragonSpeed LMP2 entry
Mexico’s Sebastian Alvarez will be the fourth driver for DragonSpeed’s LMP2 entry for the Daytona 24 Hours.
The 21-year-old European Le Mans Series rising star will fill the #81 car’s silver-ranked slot alongside the team’s 2022 Daytona-winning Bronze pilot Eric Lux, 2023 Daytona LMP2 victor James Allen, and Allen’s ELMS co-champion and Ganassi’s IndyCar rookie Kyffin Simpson.
“I am very happy to return to Daytona, this time in LMP2 with DragonSpeed,” said Alvarez. “Last year we were leading LMP3 when we retired with a mechanical issue, so I feel there is unfinished business for me here. The team is so experienced and has already won this special race three times, so I am confident that if we stay out of trouble, we can challenge for the win in the final hours.”
DragonSpeed team principal Elton Julian said: “Sebastian continues our team’s tradition of helping to put promising silver-ranked drivers on the map. He’s young and fast, but has also shown plenty of savvy and discipline in his ELMS career to date. He understands the job at hand and rounds out a great driver lineup for our return to the Rolex.”
