Fernando Alonso admits he and his United Autosports team need to find performance gains after only claiming 12th in the mock qualifying to decide team garages at the Roar test event before the Daytona 24 Hours in just under three weeks time.

The event in Florida is the two-time Formula 1 world champion's first foray into sportscars and his experience will likely determine whether he attempts at the Le Mans 24 Hours later in the year as part of his ambition to become just the second driver in history to win motorsport's Triple Crown.

The Spaniard couldn't contain his excitement ahead of his first trip to the Daytona International Speedway and offering his initial impression it seems his enthusiasm remains undampened.

“I think it was a positive weekend,” Alonso said. “Obviously it’s nice to have the first run in the car and experience the circuit for the first time.

"There are small things that you keep learning lap after lap," he added. "The sessions are quite short and you share the car with your teammates, so it’s not that the amount of laps are huge but they are better than nothing."

Adapting to the different challenges of endurance racing was one of the key goals for the first few days of running, which Alonso claimed had been achieved. Forever the competitive animal, however, the McLaren F1 driver wasn't satisfied with being outside the top 10 in the first competitive session and 1.7 seconds off the leading pace.

"With the performance of the car, it’s early days, it’s only testing," he said, "but we need to find more pace and hopefully be more competitive when we come back in the race.”

The fastest man in the qualifying session was ex-Sauber F1 driver Felipe Nasr as the top four positions were filled by Cadillac entries. Track action will resume on January 25 with further practice and official qualifying before the 24 hours begin on January 27.

Max Root, a 17-year-old driver from Rancho Santa Fe, California, is the 2018 recipient of the IMSA Hurley Haywood GT3 Scholarship, which he will use toward a full-season ride in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama season with Wright Motorsports.

The scholarship is provided by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), with support from Porsche, Yokohama, Sonic Tools, OMP and RACER Magazine is worth nearly $70,000. Last year’s inaugural recipient of Hurley Haywood Scholarship, Jake Eidson with Kelly Moss Road and Race, went on to win the Platinum Cup Championship in the 2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

“On behalf of IMSA, we offer hearty congratulations to Max Root as our 2018 IMSA Hurley Haywood GT3 Cup Scholarship recipient, and also to Wright Motorsports for securing Max’s driving services this season,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “Max has some big shoes to fill in 2018, as Jake Eidson set the bar high last year with his championship-winning performance, but there is no question Max is another rising star in our sport. We are grateful to our entitlement and presenting partners – Porsche and Yokohama – as well as OMP, Sonic Tools and RACER Magazine for their continued support of this important and beneficial program for aspiring young racers.”

Racers between the ages of 16 and 25, with no previous full-time Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama experience, are eligible to earn the scholarship. Successful candidates must have a strong desire to compete in the series, outstanding previous race results and proven on-track potential in junior racing categories, and the ability to build a compelling business plan for securing the remaining funding needed to compete in a full season of the IMSA-sanctioned Single-Make Series.

Root rose through the ranks of motocross and UTV racing before shifting his focus to sports car racing. Last year, he participated in the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA, winning in his first series start at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willow, California and adding a second victory at Circuit of The Americas en route to second in the 2017 Diamond class championship.

He finished on the podium in all 16 races in the 2017 championship, and makes his Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama debut at Sebring International Raceway on March 14-17 as part of the prestigious Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring event, kicking off the eight-weekend, 16-round season that runs through Oct. 10-13 at Road Atlanta and the Motul Petit Le Mans weekend.

“It’s a huge blessing,” Root said. “It’s an honor, just for everything this scholarship stands for. Hurley is an amazing man. I’ve only known him for a little while, and it’s an amazing opportunity and I’m looking forward to everything it holds with IMSA, Wright Motorsports, Porsche, Yokohama and everyone involved.”

The scholarship is named after legendary sports car driver Hurley Haywood, one of the most accomplished sports car endurance racers in history. He earned five overall victories at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, three victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and two wins at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida – all in Porsches – during his remarkable driving career, which spanned five decades.

Haywood also was a mainstay of the illustrious Brumos Porsche team as a driver and a leader for more than four decades. He currently serves as the chief driving instructor at the Porsche Sport Driving School at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

“I am a big believer in giving back to the sport that has treated me so well, and there is no better way than by supporting up and coming drivers,” said Haywood. “Between our annual Porsche Young Driver Academy and this valuable scholarship, we are all able help attract young talent into the sports car competition arena. It was gratifying to see what last year’s IMSA GT3 Cup by Yokohama scholarship winner was able to do with the opportunity. Jake made the most of it, winning the Porsche GT3 Challenge by Yokohama championship his first year in the series. We believe we have made another quality choice with Max Root, and look forward to seeing what he can do over the course of 2018.”

Root is the second recipient of the IMSA Hurley Haywood GT3 Cup Scholarship, which was expanded in 2017 from a program IMSA, Porsche and Yokohama started in 2014. Previous IMSA Scholarship recipients were Eidson (2017), Victor Gomez IV (2016), Elliott Skeer (2015) and Michael Lewis (2014).

“At Porsche, young drivers are always a big topic of conversation,” said Dr. Daniel Armbruster, President and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America. “Our Porsche Junior program in Europe is one well-established component, as our Porsche Young Driver Academy has taken root here in North America over the past six years. We are constantly looking for new ways to support talented newcomers like Max Root, while expanding our Porsche ladder system for drivers. Working in partnership with IMSA, Yokohama and other generous sponsors, the IMSA Hurley Haywood GT3 Scholarship is yet another way to attract and encourage new people into our sport.”

"Support of this scholarship is one of the cornerstones of Yokohama's deep commitment to motorsports and development of racing talent in North America, and we're honored to be associated with a legend like Hurley Haywood,” added Drew Dayton, motorsports manager for Yokohama Tire. “We are excited to help support Max in his first year of GT3 Cup Challenge racing, his diverse experience in racing motocross, off-road and sports cars along with his commitment to the sport make him an excellent choice for the scholarship."

The Batavia, Ohio-based Wright Motorsports team has maintained a long association with Porsche through a variety of racing series, and will field the No. 58 Porsche 911 GT3 R in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class for two-time and defending GTD champion Christina Nielsen and American Porsche factory driver Patrick Long – who won the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge GT championship for the team – in addition to its longstanding IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama program.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Wright Motorsports Owner John Wright. “It’s always nice to have a driver that can run up front in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. It’s such a competitive field. Being involved with Hurley, too, he’s always been a hero and mentor of mine, and it’s an honor just being affiliated with the scholarship. It was a little difficult seeing it go to someone else last year, because I feel like I’m a part of the Brumos family, but everybody needs to have an opportunity to do this. I’m glad Max got it this year.”

Scott Pruett walked into the Daytona International Speedway media center and smiled widely as he looked at the Lexus banner hanging behind the podium displaying three cars he had driven in the Rolex 24 and honoring him for a “storied career in racing” that spanned five decades.

Moments later, the 57-year old Pruett smiled again and calmly, thoughtfully, announced his retirement from the sport, revealing he will hang his helmet up after the upcoming Jan. 27-28 Rolex 24 At Daytona – the great sports car endurance race that Pruett has hoisted the overall victory trophy five times in an amazing career that’s spanned five decades.

“As an athlete if you’re fortunate enough to have a long and successful career and lucky enough to come to the end on your terms then you are truly blessed, and I truly am,’’ Pruett said. “Today, after 50 years of racing, the 2018 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will be my last race.

“It’s a magical place and I love it and what better way to say goodbye to a sport I love than at this revered place surrounded by my respected peers and diehard fans. So here we go. I’m so excited about the next chapter of my life and getting on with the Rolex 24 here in the next few weeks.’’

Early in Pruett’s diverse and celebrated career, it became clear the question wasn’t what this driver might accomplish, but what wouldn’t he achieve.

His is a five-time champion in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with an amazing 60 sports car series wins in addition to claiming victories in the prestigious International Race of Champions (IROC) circuit. He competed in both NASCAR’s premier Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ranks and the IndyCar Series, where he won twice. He even made a pair of starts in the famed Australia SuperCars Series.

When it comes to sports car racing, Pruett is considered a legend already.

And how fitting that his final green flag – teaming with Dominik Farnbacher, Jack Hawksworth and David Heinemeier Hansson in the No. 15 GT Daytona (GTD) class Lexus — will come in the Rolex 24 At Daytona where he is among the great race’s absolute best. His five overall victories ties him for the most all-time with the legendary Hurley Haywood.

Since 2004, Pruett has led an astonishing 5,262 laps in fulltime sportscar competition and in the last 10 years, he’s led 2,010 laps in the Rolex 24 alone.

“Scott Pruett is a legend of sports car racing,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “It is a word and a description that is often over-used, but in this instance it is a statement of fact. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to have him represent IMSA for decades.

“His on-track accomplishments and larger than life personality made him the face of American road racing. He became a household name among race fans through his versatility, and while he also enjoyed success in IndyCar and NASCAR, his sports car racing résumé is what made him a hall of famer.

“As we embark upon what many expect to be the biggest season yet for IMSA and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, we will miss having Scott out there battling for race victories. And we will also miss his ‘Hi to the family back home,’ gesture that was his signature element of every TV interview… On behalf of Jim France, Ed Bennett and everybody at IMSA, I offer heartfelt congratulations to Scott on a truly amazing career, and most importantly, thank you, Scott, for all that you’ve done for our sport.”

He is truly one of the most well-rounded competitors in the sport’s history.

Pruett’s first victory in the renowned IROC (International Race of Champions) circuit came as a 28-year old in 1988 on the Riverside, Calif. road course. He bested a healthy version of the sport’s all-time all-stars including sports car’s Chip Robinson, two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., and legends such as Al Holbert, Bobby Rahal, four-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser and NASCAR Hall of Famers Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott and the late Dale Earnhardt.

He won a second IROC event on the Daytona International Speedway high banks during the 1991 Speedweeks – less than a year after he recovered from massive injuries – broken feet, ankles and back -- he suffered while testing an IndyCar the previous March. That victory remains one of the brightest moments of his highlight-reel career, Pruett insisted Friday.

“Coming off my bad accident and coming here and beating Bill Elliott in the IROC race, that was huge after breaking my ankles and shattering my knees and breaking my back,’’ he said. “There was never a moment I didn’t want to get back in a race car, in fact it drove me harder.”

Pruett earned three top-five finishes in 40 starts in the Monster Energy Series, including 28 starts in the 2000 season. His best finish was runner-up, fittingly at the Watkins Glen, N.Y. road course in 2003.  He also made a combined 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in six different seasons, winning three pole positions and earning top-five finishes in two Mexico City starts.

All his NASCAR starts came after the age of 40.

Pruett’s two IndyCar victories came in 1995 (Michigan) and 1997 (Queensland, Australia).

When it’s all said and done, having competed in such a wide array of race cars and racing series, Pruett reiterated his truest love remains sports car competition. And therefore it is most fitting that he officially retire after the country’s most celebrated sports car race, the Rolex 24.

“Sports cars,’’ Pruett replied, when asked to reflect on his favorite form of racing competition. “Overall, people long past when I’m gone, I think will remember me for sports cars. Even though I have achievements in other forms, by far, sports cars are my love.

“More so than anything else I’d like to go out and just have an incredible race in my final 24.

“My wife and I were looking. … My first race was when I was 24 and I believe this is my 24^th time doing the 24. … maybe all those wonderful 24s will come together in the coming weeks here at Daytona.’’

“I have so many incredible memories here, it just seemed appropriate this was the time and place.’’

Racing is back and it’s the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda that kicks off the 2018 North American motorsports calendar with its season-opening event this Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

A total of 25 prototypes are set to embark in the historic event that features several firsts for the series. Not only is the race a part of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 weekend for the first time, it is the inaugural event for the IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda at Daytona and the first with its new 1-hour, 45 minutes endurance race format. The race can be seen live on IMSA.com at 1:25 p.m. ET.

Entered are a total of 13 LM P3s from a trio of constructors, with the Norma M30 of Forty 7 Motorsports and the Ave-Riley AR2 of Ave Motorsports joining 11 Ligier JS P3s. Among those are a trio of entries apiece from P1 Motorsports and Extreme Speed Motorsports, as well as entries from ANSA Motorsports, Charles Wicht Racing, Gilbert LMP3 Racing, K2R Motorsports and Performance Tech Motorsports.

The longstanding MPC class that uses the Élan DP02 chassis powered by Mazda engines also returns with 12 entries, including four from Performance Tech Motorsports, three from Eurosport Racing, two apiece from ODU Motorsports and ONE Motorsports, and a solo entry from Wolf Motorsports.

The new endurance format will allow teams to run a single or two-driver combination with a required pit stop.

“I think that’s what the series needs as it is kind of the feeder into WeatherTech [SportsCar Championship],” said Corey Lewis, who will co-drive alongside Matt Dicken in the No. 17 P1 Motorsports Ligier JS P3. “You get the feel for what the WeatherTech show is like and having experienced that series and now bringing up the drivers and teams, I think it is a real good thing for the series overall that IMSA put together.”

“Yeah, I think it’s awesome,” added Robby Foley, who will co-drive P1 Motorsports’ No. 42 entry with Jim Garrett. “Especially for myself, looking to move up, the endurance format is nice because going to WeatherTech or something like that, you’ll be in an endurance format. … It’s good practice for the future for me hopefully.”

The race rounds out a jam-packed weekend for IMSA at Daytona. Joining the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda are the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, each with several test sessions which serve as a prelude to the Rolex 24 At Daytona later this month.

Race day events for fans of the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda include a fan walk on the grid prior to the event at 12:45 p.m. and an autograph session in the UNOH Fanzone at 10:30 a.m.