Grand-Am, Roar before The Rolex 24, Daytona – Friday/Saturday Round-Up
MSR Leads The Way After Six Sessions

46 of the 48 cars on the entry list have so far taken part in the prelude to the 44th running of the Daytona 24 Hours, with only two GTs failing to record a time.

The bitterly cold temperatures of 2010 were thankfully absent from the opening days of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 this year, and the Grand-Am runners were enjoying the smooth surface of the newly-repaved Daytona International Speedway. Even so, with just two more sessions to run, the fastest times in both classes were still some way short of those set in the test last year; more than likely a consequence of the ‘virgin’ tarmac having an absence of existing rubber on its surface.

DP Notes

Michael Shank only announced the driver squad for his #6 Dallara Ford on Friday, but AJ Allmendinger wasted no time in setting the fastest time of the first two days (in session 3 on Saturday morning); a 1:40.661 edging out the two Chip Ganassi Rileys. "Since I'm only running in the Rolex Series once a year, I didn't know if I would remember what the DP felt like," said the NASCAR star. "But when I got in the Dallara, it definitely had a different feel. It slips through the air with good speed, but I don't know if we can drive it on the edge like this in a 24-hour race." 

Allmendinger is joined by fellow Sprint Cup racer Michael McDowell and IndyCar’s Justin Wilson; the British driver no doubt eager to answer any remaining critics of his late, unscheduled pitstop in last year’s race – “the clunk” – with a win this year.

Shank himself is certain that this trio can get the job done; "AJ's a rock star," he said on Saturday. "I've been telling people that for years.

"All three of our entries have a very realistic shot to win the Rolex 24, and I couldn't be more excited about this race. This has been a lot of work to put everything together, but we are focused and ready to go. Having this stellar line up is something we've worked very hard to develop and having fast guys, with experience in this race and who know what it takes to get to the finish, was my absolute priority and I feel like we hit the target perfectly by bringing AJ, Justin, and Michael on board. I'm also very excited about working with Continental Tire to use this in their promotional efforts to kick things off."

Reigning Grand-Am champion Scott Pruett had set Friday’s fastest time – 1:41.034 – in the #01 Ganassi Riley, but by the end of the second day the car had slipped to third; but it was a very close thing, as the combined times show:

Grand-Am - Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona - Combined DP Times After Two Days

No. Class Team Drivers Car Time 1 6 DP Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian AJ Allmendinger Michael McDowell Justin Wilson Dallara Ford 1:40.661 2 02 DP Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Scott Dixon Dario Franchitti Jamie McMurray Juan Pablo Montoya Riley BMW 1:40.705 3 01 DP Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Joey Hand Scott Pruett Graham Rahal Memo Rojas Riley BMW 1:40.768 4 8 DP Starworks Motorsport Ryan Dalziel Mike Forest Jim Lowe Riley Ford 1:40.780 5 10 DP SunTrust Racing Max Angelelli Ryan Briscoe Ricky Taylor Wayne Taylor Dallara Chevrolet 1:40.917 6 55 DP Level 5 Motorsports Christophe Bouchout Luis Diaz Scott Tucker Mark Wilkins Riley BMW 1:40.978 7 90 DP Spirit of Daytona Racing Paul Edwards Antonio Garcia Sascha Maassen Coyote Chevrolet 1:41.097 8 23 DP United Autosports with Michael Shank Racing Mark Blundell Zak Brown Martin Brundle Mark Patterson Riley Ford 1:41.197 9 45 DP Flying Lizard Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Pat Long Seth Neiman Johannes van Overbeek Riley Porsche 1:41.231 10 95 DP Level 5 Motorsports Ryan Hunter Reay Raphael Matos Scott Tucker Richard Westbrook Riley BMW 1:41.304 11 60 DP Michael Shank Racing Marc Goossens Ozz Negri John Pew Michael Valiante Riley Ford 1:41.414 12 99 DP GAINSCO / Bob Stallings Racing Jon Fogarty Alex Gurney Jimmie Johnson Riley Chevrolet 1:41.509 13 77 DP Doran Racing Matt Bell Brian Frisselle Ross Kaiser Henri Richard Dallara Ford 1:41.687 14 76 DP Krohn Racing Nic Jonsson Tracy Krohn Nic Minassian Ricardo Zonta Lola Ford 1:41.716 15 5 DP Action Express Racing David Donohue Burt Frisselle Darren Law Buddy Rice Riley Porsche 1:41.855 16 7 DP Starworks Motorsport Doug Peterson RJ Valentine Riley Ford 1:41.932 17 9 DP Action Express Racing Joao Barbosa Terry Borcheller Christian Fittipaldi JC France Max Papis Riley Porsche 1:41.954

The new surface garnered praise from several drivers. "The paving is phenomenal," said Ozz Negri, who shares the #60 MSR Riley Ford with John Pew, Marc Goossens and Michael Valiante. "It's  smooth as can be. It is a real joy going through the oval without the car going up and down. The transitions are very smooth, and I like the chicane better. I wouldn't do a single thing differently."

“It’s really nice,” said Alex Gurney. “It’s obviously super smooth on the oval. Everybody keeps saying that, but it’s very noticeable from our seat. The car would tend to do these big lunges when you were on the oval and it would be a big bumpy ride, and now it’s just smooth.

"Also, the transitions coming off and coming back onto the oval are really nice. I think that might make it a little bit easier on the cars, so maybe a few less mechanical issues, I would guess. Maybe that means everybody is going to run even harder.”

“It’s really good this weekend,” said Tracey Krohn. “The track is much better since the repaving. It is certainly a smoother ride. You can put the car just about anywhere you want to on the banking. So that makes it more drivable. And there are some places you can put the car now that you couldn’t put it before, which will make it more competitive. I’m not sure that the track is necessarily faster. I think we’ve got pretty good air right now. That gives us a little more horsepower, so we’ll see how that is during the race. Our car is doing fine. We’re working on getting a set-up for the track and I think we’ve been chasing the track a little bit as we get more rubber down and get more grip, then have to change something else. I’m very pleased with the way the car is. It feels very solid on this track, very smooth. The infield is exactly the same so that hasn’t changed much except coming into Turn 1. It is much more drivable coming into Turn 1.Tthere’s a lot more you can do there. There’s a lot more grip. They’ve taken the crown out of that turn. There used to be a crown. If you got too far left the car would handle one way. If you got too far right it handled another way. But if you were right in the middle, it was just unpredictable. That was interesting. Overall I think it is a more fun track to drive.”

Joining Krohn in the #76 Lola Ford is Nic Minassian, making his debut at the Florida classic; “It’s going just as it should go, very well. I’m enjoying the driving, which is always the main thing for me. I need to enjoy what I do. We are working on improving and I’m trying to learn. It’s always easy to go a certain lap time. It’s not difficult to get the last second out of it, so that’s what I’m working on for the next sessions. I will try to extract as much as I can from the car. Other than that, it’s all smooth. This is an endurance race so you need to take your time and not rush it into anything too much. I think it is going very well at the moment.

 “I really love [driving the Speedway]. It’s really good. It’s a very good track for this kind of racing. There is enough space for traffic, for overtaking. I think the banking is something special, something different. I love that. It’s a one-of-a-kind sort of track. I enjoy every bit of everything. I’m happy.”

United Autosport’s first foray into DP racing appears to be going to plan, with the quartet of messers Brown, Brundle, Blundell and Patterson ending Day 2 in a very respectable eighth place in the #23 Riley Ford, just half a second off Allmendinger’s time. 

And Flying Lizard showed similar progress, as the #45 Riley Porsche improved from a 1:44.514 in session 1 to a ninth-fastest 1:41.231 in the sixth, night-time, practice.

Only twelfth after two days was the #99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Riley – now with Chevrolet power – but there is no doubt that the Red Dragon will feature very much at the front of the race itself. Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney team up with Jimmie Johnson for the fourth time this year, with two clear goals; one for the team and one for the NASCAR legend.

 “I think we have won just about every race there is on the schedule, but we’ve never won this one,” said team owner Bob Stallings.  “We came very close in 2008, had a second-place, and I think we’ve been quick enough a number of times to win, but it seems like something always happens.  I must say, we’re getting a little bit tired of that. I’m really hopeful this year. These three guys have driven together quite a bit. They’re very good teammates. We’ve got a good car, got a good engine package and hopefully this is the year.”

“I’m back again and I love this series, love this race team,” said Johnson. “I’ve developed some great friendships here and I truly respect what Bob has built as a race team and everybody that’s involved. The support from GM is amazing, and the relationship that I’ve had with them over the years, it’s great to have the whole in-the-family atmosphere that I’ve been accustomed to throughout my whole career. I’m excited for the race. I certainly hope to make it three drivers who have won the 500 and have gone on to win the Rolex 24.”

GT Notes

The top ten places after two days of testing in the GT class were dominated by the Porsche GT3, which occupied eight of the slots, including P1. Only the Turner Motorsport BMW M3, in second place, and the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R spoiled the party.

Bill Auberlen set the Beemer’s fastest time of 1:50.377 in the opening session and, although this wasn’t improved upon in the following five, the car was consistently rapid throughout both days; suggesting that this will be a top contender for honours at the end of the month.

TRG stalwart Spencer Pumpelly was the only driver to improve on Auberlen’s time, when he sent the #67 TRG Porsche to the top of the charts in Friday’s afternoon session.

Grand-Am - Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona - Combined GT Times After Two Days

No. Class Team Drivers Car Time 1 67 GT TRG Steven Bertheau Brendan Gaughan Wolf Henzler Andy Lally Spencer Pumpelly Porsche GT3 1:50.170 2 94 GT Turner Motorsport Bill Auberlen Paul Dalla Lana Matt Plumb Boris Said BMW M3 1:50.377 3 59 GT Brumos Racing Andrew Davis Hurley Haywood Leh Keen Marc Lieb Porsche GT3 1:50.459 4 54 GT TRG/Black Swan Racing/GMG Racing Jeroen Bleekemolen Bret Curtis Tim Pappas Patrick Pilet James Sofronas Porsche GT3 1:50.549 5 66 GT TRG Kevin Buckler Dominik Farnbacher Tim George Jr Ben Keating Jim Michaelian Porsche GT3 1:50.598 6 48 GT Paul Miller Racing Rob Bell Bryce Miller Bryan Sellers Tim Sugden Porsche GT3 1:50.633 7 4 GT TRG Ryan Eversley Daniel Graeff Kenny Wallace Ron Yarab Jr Richard Zahn Porsche GT3 1:50.795 8 86 GT Mitchum Motorsports Joey Atterbury Cooper MacNeil Randy Pobst Derek Whitis Porsche GT3 1:50.950 9 57 GT Stevenson Motorsports Ronnie Bremer Robin Liddell Jan Magnussen Camaro GT.R 1:51.011 10 44 GT Magnus Racing Marco Holzer Richard Lietz John Potter Craig Stanton Porsche GT3 1:51.054 11 00 GT Aten Motorsports Gabriel Abergel Christophe Bourret Emmanuel Collard Pascal Gibon Xavier Pompidou Ferrari 430 Challenge 1:51.144 12 07 GT Banner Racing Eric Curran Oliver Gavin Bruce Ledoux Gunter Schaldach Camaro GT.R 1:51.180 13 88 GT Autohaus Motorsports Romain Iannetta Bill Lester Matthew Marsh Johnny O'Connell Jordan Taylor Camaro GT.R 1:51.183 14 18 GT Mühlner Motorsport Peter Ludwig Mark Thomas Dion von Moltke Porsche GT3 1:51.433 15 17 GT Burtin Racing Nicolas Armindo Jack Baldwin Claudio Burtin Mitch Pagerey Martin Ragginger Porsche GT3 1:51.573 16 69 GT SpeedSource Emil Assentato Nick Ham Anthony Lazzaro Nick Longhi Jeff Segal Mazda RX-8 1:51.752 17 42 GT Team Sahlen Memo Gidley Joe Nonnamaker Wayne Nonnamaker Will Nonnamaker Joe Sahlen Mazda RX-8 1:51.942 18 43 GT Team Sahlen Memo Gidley Joe Nonnamaker Wayne Nonnamaker Will Nonnamaker Joe Sahlen Mazda RX-8 1:51.991 19 41 GT Dempsey Racing Dane Cameron James Gue Ian James Don Kitch Jr Dave Lacey Mazda RX-8 1:52.037 20 56 GT Bennett Racing Jonathan Allen Skip Bennett IV Michael Davidson Mike Skeen Ferrari 430 Challenge 1:52.080 21 70 GT SpeedSource Jonathan Bomarito Adam Christodoulou John Edwards Sylvain Tremblay Mazda RX-8 1:52.081 22 32 GT PR1 Motorsports Daniel Cheug Max Hyatt Ryan Lewis Tom Papadopoulos BMW M6 1:52.186 23 40 GT Dempsey Racing Patrick Dempsey Charles Espenlaub Joe Foster Tom Long Mazda RX-8 1:52.259 24 36 GT Yellow Dragon Motorsports Chris Cumming Taylor Hacquard Justin Marks Mikel Miller Mazda RX-8 1:52.884 25 11 GT TPN Racing/Blackforest David Empringham Tom Nastasi Ford Mustang 1:53.290 26 65 GT Chris Smith Racing Bob Doyle Dave Mundy Tony Rivera Thomas Sheehan Porsche GT3 1:53.900 27 30 GT Racers Edge Motorsports Jade Buford Gary Jensen Mark Jensen Michael Marsal Scott Rettich Mazda RX-8 1:53.992 28 81 GT DragonSpeed Elton Julian Fred Poordad Cort Wagner Ferrari 430 Challenge 1:54.854 29 47 GT Rick Ware Racing Jeffrey Earnhardt Doug Harrington Maurice Hull Eric Lux Scott Monroe Porsche GT3 1:55.088 30 22 GT Bullet Racing Darryl O'Young Brian Wong Porsche GT3 No Time 31 53 GT Magnus Racing/Nadeau Motorsports TBA TBA Porsche GT3 No Time

Tony Dowe’s #00 Aten Motorsports Ferrari 430 Challenge was making good progress up the timing screens, but this was halted in dramatic fashion when it burst into flames in the East Horseshoe; "The damage from the fire looks a lot worse than it is," said team principal Tony Dowe. "It appears we had an engine issue but the damage isn't catastrophic, if we had to be racing next weekend - we would be there." Pascal Gibon was behind the wheel at the time of the incident, but escaped without injury.

Rob Bell and Dominik Farnbacher were originally due to drive the Ferrari, but after that deal fell through, both found seats in other cars; and both finished Saturday in the top six.

“So far, so good,” said Bell, whose #48 Paul Miller Racing Porsche finished the day sixth fastest. “It's a fantastic facility and a brilliant place to be. Most of the time, in January, we're not very busy as racing drivers so it's a good time of year to be racing. It gets us sharp and it's great to be testing two or three weeks before to be learning the circuit as well. I've not been here and the first time on the banking was a bit of an experience. I really enjoyed it, though. The thing is, as a racing driver, you enjoy a challenge. Having not done it before and experienced it now, it's really, really good and exciting.”