Ben Barker was set for his Rolex 24 debut in 2025 before a snowboarding incident ruined his plans. Now, he's back at Daytona with a second chance.
DAYTONA BEACH — Ben Barker had to wait an extra year for this.
He was lined up last winter for his first appearance in the Rolex 24, Daytona International Speedway’s twice-around-the-clock endurance classic. He even came to town for the November 2024 test weekend.
But between then and January’s race, the opportunity was ripped from him. Snowboarding accident. Broke his collarbone.
“Just caught it wrong,” Barker told the News-Journal during IMSA Media Day last week. “It was quite a low-key incident, really. It wasn’t anything major. Just something that came as a surprise, unfortunately.”
NASCAR driver Austin Cindric replaced Barker in Multimatic Motorsports' No. 64 Ford Mustang. Barker watched on TV as his team finished third in the GTD Pro class.
“So it was just kind of sitting at home on the sofa, having a small cry,” he said.
Barker can chuckle about it now, though.
The 34-year-old native of Cambridge, United Kingdom, is back at Daytona and back in the same GTD Pro ride with teammates Mike Rockenfeller and Dennis Olsen. He’ll stay with that car and partner with Olsen full-time this season after joining only for Endurance Cup events in 2025.
“We’re as prepared as we can be,” Barker said. “I think the team has certainly gone through the car with a fine-toothed comb. We’re good to go.”
Despite this being his first Rolex, Barker possesses plenty of experience in 24-hour races. He has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 10 times. His best finish occurred in 2023 when he helped his team to third in its class. He’s also collected a fourth and two fifth-place finishes.
In 2020, he won the Dubai 24 Hours.
The lessons learned from those marathons are applicable to the 24 Hours of Daytona.
“Obviously the distance of the length of the race and the approach and also the sort of state of flow that you kind of get into in a long race,” Barker said. “It’s very difficult to keep your assertiveness and your energy levels high throughout the whole race. It just tires you out. So you have to try to relax, even when you’re in the car, just to get in a rhythm.”
Notice he didn’t mention sleep.
The adrenaline usually keeps Barker awake for the vast majority of these races. Plus, he enjoys driving at night. If all goes according to plan, he might sneak a half hour or 45 minutes of shut-eye.
What else is he aiming for this weekend?
“Because of the way IMSA races work out with so many safety cars, it’s being there at the end,” he said. “I think the strategy really is to stay out of trouble, no damage, stay on the lead lap and save where we can. Be there so we can compete in the last four hours. I think it’ll be interesting to experience that and how that works in reality. I don’t think it’s going to be a mad hustle for 24 hours.”
He’ll finally find out soon enough.
When is Rolex 24 at Daytona?
- Start time: 1:40 p.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 24
- End time: 1:40 p.m. EST, Sunday, Jan. 25
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24 at Daytona: Ben Barker ready for debut after injury last year
Category: General Sports
