15 of the best images from the Daytona 24 hours

It's hard to attend the Rolex 24 - aka the Daytona 24 hours - and not begin drawing comparisons with Le Mans. It is, after all, a bunch of prototype and GT racers going hammer-and-tongs for 24 hours on circuit, with a festival atmosphere among the crowd.

But while there are similarities in abundance, Daytona feels very much its own thing. It's much tighter, for a start, with no need to stray into the woods to get close up glimpses of the cars in action. The infield camping sections are also filled with expensive RVs, rather than scruffy stag dos.

It's also wonderfully American, with the national anthem belted out before race start (2:40pm EST on Saturday) and a hot dog stand never more than 30 seconds way. You can read what happened at the 2016 Rolex 24 here, but for now, let us take you on a pictorial tour of the race, starting with a Dodge Viper and Lamborghini Huracan LOUDLY duelling it out on the exceedingly steep Daytona banking...

Picture: Nathan Deremer

Before the race, the teams, media and spectators all mingle together in an hour-long grid walk. It's also a chance to climb - and attempt to sit on - the perilously steep banking that passes the grandstand. This year, the Ford GT returned to motorsport. It was the car most swarmed by race fans and their camera phones.

Picture: Nathan Deremer

After the American national anthem rouses the crowd, and an eagle flies over their heads (yup, really), lights are out and the race begins. With a circuit less than half the length of Le Mans, the cars cross the start/finish line for the second time in under two minutes. The rather empty grandstand is a reflection of fans choosing the more intimate infield to spectate. It'll no doubt be full for the Daytona 500 later this month.

Picture: Nathan Deremer

The arch that leads onto the grid features the official time keeping, by race sponsor Rolex. There is still rather a lot of racing to go at this point.

Picture: Nathan Deremer

Daytona - and the rest of the IMSA sports car series of which it is the first race - features a very eclectic grid. Here, you can see the DeltaWing eyeing up an overtake. It led for much of the first two hours, but sadly succumbed to its usual bad luck and retired by nightfall after an accident.

Picture: Nathan Deremer

At 9:57pm, fireworks erupt within the Daytona infield. They're finished by 10pm so that most fans can see them: there aren't many hardy folk who'd be around at 2:40am to see the race's halfway point.

Picture: Nathan Deremer

Those who do stick around, though, can enjoy similar treats to Le Mans, in the shape of a Ferris wheel and some fairground rides. The queues aren't nearly as long as those at the race's more famous French cousin, though...

Picture: Jamey Price

Daytona's mix of high-speed bowl and fiddly infield totals 3.56 miles. In 2016, all three cars on the podium completed 736 laps over 24 hours.

Picture: Jamey Price

The banking can be seen from most parts of the infield, and it seems implausibly steep should you attempt to walk up it. Spot the prototype-class car at the back, with a bunch of slower GTs to worm its way through...

Picture: Jamey Price

Pit stops are always a thrilling watch at 24-hour races, especially in the dead of night as wear and tear takes its toll and crews begin to tire. Pay a little extra for your ticket and you can get pretty close to this at Daytona. As an aside, the Corvettes finished one-two in the GT LM class. They put on an epic display, battling bumper to bumper for the final 15 minutes, finishing the race a mere 0.034 seconds apart. After 24 hours, that's astonishing.

Picture: Jamey Price

Dawn breaks, not only for the Rolex 24, but for Ford's GT programme which will ultimately see the new supercar fight for a class win at the Le Mans 24 hours. Sadly, Daytona was not a glorious debut, with both cars - wearing numbers 66 and 67 - suffering a wealth of niggles to keep them from the GT LM podium. They both finished the race, though, and they were quick when they weren't hit by trouble. Work in progress.

Picture: Jamey Price

Feeling tyred? While drivers can slink off for an hour or two's rest in a truck, the pit crews rarely have such luxuries. But despite the cacophony of race noise and lack of traditional bedding, when they need to sleep, they have no trouble whatsoever.

Picture: Jamey Price

A final pit stop as the race draws to a close. The Lamborghini Huracan GT3s - of which they were several - won the hearts of the crowd thanks to perhaps the best engine noise of the whole grid. That's what a naturally aspirated V10 will do for you...

Picture: Jamey Price

The race winner, the Tequila Patron Ligier Honda prototype, which crossed the finish line with 22-year-old Luis Felipe Derani at the wheel, 26 seconds ahead of the second-placed Corvette prototype.

Picture: Jamey Price

The Brazilian racer is the fourth youngest winner of the Rolex 24. And as you can see, he's deservedly elated.

Picture: Jamey Price