McNish: Daytona 24 Hours a two-horse race

Speaking in this week's Autosport magazine, McNish, who is contesting his only race of the season before concentrating on Toyota Formula 1 testing duties, said: "The Ferrari and the R&S have been the main contenders over the past couple of years and I don't expect anything to change this time."

The Scot has tipped the number one Dyson car, driven by James Weaver, Andy Wallace and Butch Leitzinger, for pole position.

"We'll see the Dyson car on pole because Weaver always does the business in qualifying, but our 333SP will be closer come the race," he said.

McNish believes the second Dyson R&S, driven by veteran Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Champ Car star Max Papis, Nic Jonsson and team boss Rob Dyson could also be a factor, while the Champion team's Lola-Porsche B2K/10 is an outside bet if the front-runners fall by the wayside in the opening round of the Grand-Am series.

McNish has twice finished second in the Florida enduro, but would love to add the classic event to the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours victory he took for Porsche.

"This will be my only race of the year," he said, "so it would be nice to win it. I'm looking to get my season off to a cracking start."

But behind the battle for the lead, the eyes of the world's media will be on NASCAR Winston Cup dynasty Dale Earnhardt Sr and Jr in the GTS class. The seven-time Winston Cup champion and his son share a factory Chevrolet Corvette with sportscar expert Andy Pilgrim, with Canadian road-racing expert Ron Fellows heading up a second works 'Vette.

With so few cars in the top LMP class seemingly capable of winning the race, pundits are tipping a Corvette to finish in the top three, with a win even on the cards if the Ferrari and R&S duo fail to go the distance.

The Daytona 24 Hours race starts at 13:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Daytona's combined oval/road circuit course.

The Risi Competizione squad will close its doors after this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours. The Houston-based squad has opted to pull out of sportscars rather than find a replacement for the Ferrari 333SP it has run since 1998. Team owner Giuseppe Risi, a Ferrari dealer, said: "There isn't anything else out there that fits in with our business, so it's time to stop." The team's biggest success was in winning the 1998 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.