(Photo courtesy of Max Fortis Group)(Photo courtesy of Max Fortis Group)
Windsor

Belle River native on the track for prestigious race

A Belle River native will be tearing up the track Saturday afternoon at the Rolex 24-Hours of Daytona.

Belle River native Roman D'Angelis. (Photo courtesy of Max Fortis Group) Belle River native Roman D'Angelis. (Photo courtesy of Max Fortis Group)

Roman De Angelis is a University of Windsor student studying engineering, but when he is not hitting the books, he is behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Rolex 24-Hours of Daytona will be televised starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Discovery Velocity in Canada and around the world on IMSA TV.

This will be D'Angelis's second season with the Heart of Racing Team and will compete in the GTD class. Joining him is co-driver Ian James and Aston Martin drivers, Darren Turner and Ross Gunn.

D'Angelis finished 15th in the GTD Drivers Championship last season, which was cut short by the pandemic. He finished second at the season finale in Sebring.

His career has been on the rise since becoming the first driver in history to win the championships in the IMSA Porsche CT3 Cup Series in both Canada and the U.S. in 2019.

The Heart of Racing program started in 2014 to compete in the GT Daytona class of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Since then, it has raised $7-million for Team Seattle, a Seattle Children's Hospital charity, and the Starlight Foundation in New Zealand which raises money for pediatric medical care.

Read More Local Stories

Rogers Centre in Toronto before a game between the Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, August 7, 2024. Photo by Mark Brown/WindsorNewsToday.ca

Scoreboard, May 13

The Toronto Blue Jays lost 7-6 in 10 innings to Tampa Bay. The Kitchener Rangers are OHL champions.