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Photo Credit: Grand Am |
Enduring a full day of braking and acceleration, tire changes as well as track hazards, the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona reached an end during the mid-afternoon Sunday. Opening the 2011 Grand Am Rolex Series with 50 cars playing part of a massive sports car event, new looks and faces battle for an immediate claim to fame.
Beyond the mechanicals having a test of as many as 700 laps around the 3.56 mile Daytona International Speedway road course, the human factor of a continuous 24-hour work day made drivers as well as team members exhausted. Driving through a total of 23 cautions including a 2 hour, 47 minute long yellow flag for morning fog hovering over the race circuit.
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Photo Credit: Grand Am |
12 DP (Daytona Prototype) class machines led through a portion of the 24-hour distance would started with the pole-winning #45 Flying Lizards Motorsports Porsche Riley parading out front for the first 27 laps. Positioned out front at the beginning of the race, the Racing Lizards Motorsports DP (piloted by Patrick Long, Jorg Bergmeister, Seth Neiman and Johannes van Overbeek) car would be one of very casaulties of the long race distance. Suffering front end damage, the #45 Riley Porsche race result would place the team 22nd in the overall 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona standings retiring after a late race engine fire.
Even the seasoned Chip Ganassi Racing squad of two-cars (the #01 and #02 BMW Rileys) were challenged through the course of this sports car race. The #01 missed the bus stop chicane corner between the oval's turn 2 and turn 3 sections, the #02 car suffered two tire punctures during the early stages and later required new front bodywork. With only 45 minutes remaining in the event, a second to last pit stop resulted in a costly mistake by the #01 Chip Ganassi car driven than by Joey Hand. Hitting a tire while leaving the team's pit stall, the Hand and the #01 car was assessed a 20-second penalty. However, thanks to team determination and some beneficial cautions, both Chip Ganassi Racing team BMW Riley cars in the DP class found themselves in the thick of the Rolex 24 at Daytona final laps.
Within the final 7 minutes of the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona, a late race caution for debris from the #90 Spirit of Daytona prototype. Bunching up the top-4 DP class machines for what would be a green-white-checker flag finish, the #01 BMW Riley DP car will be tested once more after almost a full day of racing. The #02 Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley, the reigning 2010 24-hour race #9 Action Express Racing Porsche and the #23 United Autosports Ford Riley are given a chance to capitalize on any mistake the leading #01 BMW Riley could make on the restart. Unfortunately for the 2nd through 4th place competitions in DP, the #01 driven by veteran Chip Ganassi Racing sports car driver Scott Pruett was flawless through the final lap also benefiting from a GT inserted between the Chip Ganassi Racing machines. Through the final lap, action for the 2nd place result in the DP class was more contentious as #02 beat the #9 by just 6/10th of a second.
Having been denied victory in the 2010 24-hour race the team had dominated 3 years prior, The Chip Ganassi Racing was reunited with the Daytona International Speedway victory lane. This year's winning team for the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing lineup consisted of Chip Ganassi regulars Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas along with some new additions to the DP class machine. Graham Rahal, the 2011 driver of Chip Ganassi's new second IZOD INDYCAR Series team, and the American road racing talent Joey Hand were additions to the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona victory.
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Photo Credit: Grand Am |
Despite the renewed efforts of Mazda, Chevrolet and BMW in the GT class, Porsche dominated the class. Leading the German sports car's triumph with the top-two positions, an all-new 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car fielded by TRG (The Racer's Group). Qualifying as a fast race car on Friday, the TRG #67 Porsche was forced to the back of the starting field Saturday afternoon due to a technical violation. Leading a total of 216 of the GT class maximum 685 laps, the TRG squad of Steven Bertheau, Wolf Henzler, Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brendan Gaughan celebrated a GT category win at Daytona. For TRG, they take Daytona honours back from Mazda having last won the 2009 Rolex 24 race. Mentioning Porsche honours, another team in the Grand Am GT class Porsche GT3 Cup race car fielded by Paul Miller Racing claimed a valuable 2nd place. Dempsey Racing cancelled hopes of a Porsche podium sweep in GT at the Rolex 24 at Daytona placing their Mazda in third place.
Back to the Porsche GT cars was also a nostalgic return of Brumos Racing at the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Making a memorable showing but finishing outside of the podium standings, the #59 Brumos squad's return to the GT class of sports car racing resulted with their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car leading through the mid-stage of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Fifth in the GT category, the #59 Brumos team is ready for a full 2011 Grand Am Rolex Series season.
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Photo Credit: Grand Am |
As for the often enduring SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT cars who are the reigning class winners of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, their 2011 race was quite a bit different. With the SpeedSource #69 retired after completing 202 laps, the #70 car maintained itself in the event but was well out of contention for a top finish during the 2011 Daytona event. Placed 6th in the Rolex GT class after the 24-hour distance, the #70 Mazda RX-8 finished 15 laps behind the category winning TRG Porsche.
In a 12-month period, Chip Ganassi-supported vehicles have won four major races at the two most iconic United States race tracks Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Started with Jamie McMurray's 2010 Daytona 500 win, Dario Franchitti followed up in May to take victory in the IZOD INDYCAR's crown jewel Indy 500. When the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, McMurray pulled off the Brickyard 400 win.
2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona
Final Results
Overall Pos | (*) Class Pos | Team | Sponsor | Drivers | Car/Chassis
1. (1) 01 DP Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates| Target/ TELMEX
Scott Pruett, Auburn, CA
Memo Rojas, Mexico City, Mexico
Graham Rahal, Hilliard, OH
Joey Hand, Wilton, CA
BMW Riley
2. (2) 02 DP Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates| TELMEX/ Target
Scott Dixon, New Zealand
Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia
Dario Franchitti, Scotland
Jamie McMurray, Mooresville, NC
BMW Riley
3. (3) 9 DP Action Express Racing
Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL
JC France, Ormond Beach, FL
Joao Barbosa, Portugal
Christian Fittipaldi, Brazil
Max Papis, Mooresville, NC
Porsche Riley
4. (4) 23 DP United Autosports with Michael Shank Racing| Johnnie Walker/ FXI/ UBS
Zak Brown, Carmel, IN
Mark Patterson, Bronxville, NY
Mark Blundell, Royston/ Herts, Uk
Martin Brundle, Gayton, Norfolk, England
Ford Riley
5. (5) 10 DP SunTrust Racing SunTrust
Wayne Taylor, Apopka, FL
Max Angelelli, Monaco
Ricky Taylor, Apopka, FL
Ryan Briscoe, Australia
Chevrolet Dallara
6. (6) 76 DP Krohn Racing
Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX
Nic Jonsson, Sweden
Ricardo Zonta, Brazil
Nicholas Minassian, France
Ford Lola
7. (7) 6 DP Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Continental Tires/ Curb Records/ PVA/ Rocky Fork Company
AJ Allmendinger, Denver, CO
Michael McDowell, Huntersville, NC
Justin Wilson, Dacono, CO
Ford Dallara
8. (8) 55 DP Level 5 Motorsports Microsoft/ E Data Solutions/ Selling Source/ US Bank
Scott Tucker, Overland Park, KS
Christophe Bouchut, France
Luis Diaz, Mexico City, Mexico
Mark Wilkins, Aurora, ON Canada
BMW Riley
9. (9) 5 DP Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ Action Express Racing
David Donohue, Malvern, PA
Buddy Rice, Phoenix, Az
Burt Frisselle, Aspen, CO
Porsche Riley
10. (10) 60 DP Michael Shank Racing Crown Royal XR
John Pew, North Palm Beach, FL
Oswaldo Negri Jr, Miami, FL
Marc Goossens, Belgium
Michael Valiante, Vancouver, BC Canada
Ford Riley
11. (11) 95 DP Level 5 Motorsports Microsoft/ E Data Solutions/ Selling Source/ US Bank
Scott Tucker, Overland Park, KS
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Richard Westbrook, England
Raphael Matos, Miami, FL
BMW Riley
12. (1) 67 GT TRG Sargent & Lundy/ South Point Hotel & Casino
Steven Bertheau, Aurora, IL
Brendan Gaughan, Las Vegas, NV
Wolf Henzler, Germany
Andy Lally, Newport, NY
Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA
Porsche GT3 Cup
13. (2) 48 GT Paul Miller Racing Marquis Jet/ Total/ IPC
Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ
Tim Sugden, England
Bryan Sellers, Dayton, OH
Rob Bell, UK
Porsche GT3 Cup
14. (3) 40 GT Dempsey Racing Mazda/ Visit Florida
Joe Foster, Lawrenceville, GA
Patrick Dempsey, Beverly Hills, CA
Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, FL
Tom Long, Raleigh, NC
Mazda RX-8
15. (12) 99 DP GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing GAINSCO Auto Insurance/BobStallingsCars.com
Jon Fogarty, Bend, OR
Alex Gurney, Irvine, CA
Jimmie Johnson, El Cajon, CA
Chevrolet Riley
16. (4) 44 GT Magnus Racing Magnus Racing, LLC.
John Potter, Salt Lake City, UT
Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA
Richard Lietz, Austria
Marco Holzer, Germany
Porsche GT3 Cup
17. (5) 59 GT Brumos Racing Brumos.com
Hurley Haywood, Ponte Vedra, FL
Andrew Davis, Bogart, GA
Leh Keen, Charleston, SC
Marc Lieb, Germany
Porsche GT3 Cup
18. (6) 70 GT SpeedSource Castrol Edge/ Mazdaspeed
John Edwards, Cincinnati, OH
Sylvain Tremblay, Coral Springs, FL
Adam Christodoulou, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Jonathan Bomarito, Del Mar, CA
Mazda RX-8
19. (7) 42 GT Team Sahlen Theracesite.com
Joe Sahlen, Elma, NY
Will Nonnamaker, North Canton, OH
Wayne Nonnamaker, Massillon, OH
Joe Nonnamaker, Massillon, OH
Memo Gidley, Novato, CA
Mazda RX-8
20. (8) 4 GT TRG Children's Tumor Foundation
Ryan Eversley, Winder, GA
Daniel Graeff, Miami, FL
Kenny Wallace, Concord, NC
Ron Yarab Jr, Poland, OH
Richard Zahn Jr, Lake Mary, FL
Porsche GT3 Cup
21. (13) 45 DP Flying Lizard Motorsports
Patrick Long, Belleair, FL
Jorg Bergmeister, Germany
Seth Neiman, San Francisco, CA
Johannes van Overbeek, Oakland, CA
Porsche Riley
22. (9) 18 GT Muehlner Motorsports
Mark Thomas, Houston, TX
Peter Ludwig, New Paltz, NY
Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, FL
Cory Friedman, Charleston, SC
Porsche GT3 Cup
23. (14) 90 DP Spirit of Daytona Racing
Antonio Garcia, Spain
Paul Edwards, Ft Collins, CO
Sascha Maassen, Germany
Chevrolet Coyote
24. (10) 41 GT Dempsey Racing Seattle Children's Hospital/ JG Sport/ Global Diving
James Gue, Alpharetta, GA
Dane Cameron, Glen Ellen, CA
Ian James, Sunset, SC
Dave Lacey, Toronto, ON Canada
Don Kitch Jr, Bellevue, WA
Mazda RX-8
25. (11) 47 GT Rick Ware Racing Fuel Doctor
Jeffrey Earnhardt, Charlotte, NC
Scott Monroe, Kemah, TX
Doug Harrington, Kemah, TX
Maurice Hull, High Point, NC
Brett Sandberg, Allendale, NJ
Porsche GT3 Cup
26. (12) 57 GT Motorsports Stevenson Automotive Group
Robin Liddell, England Stevenson
Ronnie Bremer, Denmark
Jan Magnussen, Denmark
Camaro GT.R
27. (13) 66 GT TRG ViperExchange.com/ Summit/ DRISW
Dominik Farnbacher, Germany
Tim George Jr, New York, NY
Ben Keating, Port Lavaca, TX
Lucas Luhr, Germany
Porsche GT3 Cup
28. (14) 88 GT Autohaus Motorsports Autohaus Motorsports
Jordan Taylor, Apopka, FL
Bill Lester, Atlanta, Ga
Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA
Matthew Marsh, Hong Kong
Camaro GT.R
29. (15) 81 GT DragonSpeed Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale/ Quality
Specialty Pharmacy/ Novatic
Rosso/ Hopkins Investments/ UC Handsur
Cort Wagner, Los Angeles, CA
Fred Poordad, Los Angeles, CA
Doug Baron, Pacific Palisades, CA
Nick Jones, Los Angeles, CA
Ferrari F430 CH
30. (16) 54 GT TRG/Black Swan Racing/GMG Racing
Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monaco
Bret Curtis, Lake Sherwood, CA
Tim Pappas, Boston, MA
Patrick Pilet, France
James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA
Porsche GT3 Cup
31. (15) 2 DP Starworks Motorsport| Duncan
Enzo Potoliccio,
Alex Popow,
Romain Iannetta, France
Ford Riley
32. (17) 94 GT Turner Motorsport Turner Motorsport
Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA
Paul Dalla Lana, Toronto, ON Canada
Boris Said, Escondido, CA
Matt Plumb, Newport, RI
BMW M3
33. (16) 8 DP Starworks Motorsport Corsa Car Care/ Burlusa
Mike Forest, Edmonton, AB Canada
Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL
Jim Lowe, Bryn Maur, PA
Colin Braun, Harrisburg, NC
Tomas Enge, Czech Republic
Ford Riley
34. (18) 63 GT Team Spencer Motorsports Trench Shoring Services
Rich Grupp, Decatur, GA
David Murry, Atlanta, GA
Jim Downing, Atlanta, GA
Dennis Spencer, Kissimmee, FL
Owen Trinkler, Nashville, TN
Mazda RX-8
35. (19) 65 GT Racing 65 Roses
Tom Sheehan, Auburn, NH Chris Smith
Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL
William Sweedler,
Mitch Pagerey, Deerfield Beach, FL
Porsche GT3 Cup
36. (20) 30 GT Racers Edge Motorsports 3-Dimensional.com/ IDEMITSU/ Moton/ Terra Firma/ Springboro Car Wash/ PDI Communication Systems
Scott Rettich, Camden, OH
Mark Jensen, Winter Park, FL
Michael Marsal, Bedford, NY
Gary Jensen, Winter Park, FL
Jade Buford, Brentwood, TN
Mazda RX-8
37. (21) 53 GT TRG/Nadeau Motorsports
Jim Michaelian, Long Beach, CA
Bob Doyle, Killingworth, CT
Coulter Mulligan, San Francisco, CA
Joe Castellano, Spain
Porsche GT3 Cup
38. (22) 32 GT PR1 Motorsports Autosport Designs/ Mobotix/ Corsa Car Care
David Cheng, Summamish, WA
Tom Papadopoulos, East Hills, NY
Ryan Lewis, Grapevine, TX
Max Hyatt, San Jose, CA
BMW M6
39. (23) 07 GT Banner Racing The Cool TV
Bruce Ledoux II, Southborough, MA
Eric Curran, Holyoke, MA
Gunter Schaldach, Aspen, CO
Oliver Gavin, England
Camaro GT.R
40. (24) 17 GT Burtin Racing Foametix
Claudio Burtin, Cartersville, GA
Jack Baldwin, Marietta, GA
Martin Ragginger, Austria
Nick Tandy, London, England
Nicolas Armindo, France
Porsche GT3 Cup
41. (25) 22 GT Bullet Racing PacificWesternPerformance.com/ Guard Transmission
Darryl O'Young, Hong Kong, China
James Walker, Oxford, England
Brian Wong, Newport Beach, CA
Eric Lux, Williamsville, NY
Porsche GT3 Cup
42. (17) 77 DP Doran Racing
Brian Frisselle, Aspen, CO
Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA
Matt Bell, Los Altos, CA
Ross Kaiser, Binfield, UK United Kingdom
Ford Dallara
43. (26) 56 GT Bennett Racing Skip Bennett
Mike Skeen, Charlotte, NC
JF Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, QC Canada
Michael Davidson, Chesapeake, VA
Glynn Geddie, Scotland
Jonathan Allen, Upper Black Eddy, PA
Ferrari F430 CH
44. (18) 7 DP Douglas Peterson, Bonita Springs, FL Starworks Motorsport Xtreme Indoor Karting/ Burlusa
RJ Valentine, Braintree, MA
Jared Beyer, New Braunfels, TX
Scott Mayer, Franklin, WI
Jan Heylen, Belgium
Ford Riley
45. (27) 69 GT SpeedSource FXDD
Emil Assentato, Locust Valley, NY
Jeff Segal, Miami, FL
Nick Ham, Evergreen, CO
Anthony Lazzaro, Atlanta, GA
Nick Longhi, Nyack, NY
Mazda RX-8
46. (28) 43 GT Sahlen Theracesite.com
Joe Sahlen, Elma, NY Team
Will Nonnamaker, North Canton, OH
Wayne Nonnamaker, Massillon, OH
Joe Nonnamaker, Massillon, OH
Memo Gidley, Novato, CA
Mazda RX-8
47. (29) 36 GT Yellow Dragon Motorsports ModSpace/ Construct Corps/Scotia Bank/ Mazda
Taylor Hacquard, Surrey, BC Canada
Chris Cumming, Vancouver, BC Canada
Mikel Miller, Pacific Grove, CA
Justin Marks, Chico, CA
Mazda RX-8
48. (30) 86 GT Mitchum Motorsports Weather Tech/ Semper Fi Fund/ Eibach
Joey Atterbury, Chesapeake, VA
Cooper MacNeil, Hinsdale, IL
Randy Pobst, Gainesville, GA
Derek Whitis, Tallahasse, FL
Billy Johnson, San Clemente, CA
Porsche GT3 Cup
49. (Withdrew) 11 GT TPN Racing/ Blackforest Summit Financial/ Borla/ Race Tec/ Gary Yoeman's Ford
Tom Nastasi, Stamford, CT
Scott Maxwell, Toronto, ON Canada
David Empringham, Toronto, ON Canada
David Russell, Winter Park, Fl
Ford Mustang
50. (Withdrew) 00 GT Aten Motorsports RG512/ OFI/ Sequana/ Ice Cap/ Sport Event
Emmanuel Collard, France
Davy Jones, Lake Tahoe, NV
Gabriel Abergel, France
Xavier Pompidou, France
Steve Lisa, Paradise Valley, AZ
Ferrari F430 CH