Grand-Am, Mid-Ohio - Race Report
An Emotional Win For Dalziel & Potolicchio Qualifying Cool temperatures brought hot times Friday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, as Jon Fogarty rewrote the record book in qualifying for Saturday's season-ending EMCO Gears Classic. Fogarty edged Ricky Taylor to capture his third pole position of the season and lead Daytona Prototype qualifying in record time, while Ronnie Bremer scored his first career pole as Stevenson Motorsports led GT qualifying for the fifth time this season. Bill Lester, who was bidding to become the USA's first African-American champion in a major auto racing series, was ninth fastest in GT qualifying as the top three teams in the standings struggled in qualifying. He co-drove the #88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro with Jordan Taylor, who was hoping to become Grand-Am's youngest champion. Fogarty ended a six-race pole-winning streak by Ricky Taylor last month in Montreal with a lap of 1:16.504 in the #99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet/Riley he shared with Alex Gurney. Fogarty nipped Taylor by 0.101 seconds while breaking Memo Rojas' existing mark by more than one second. "We had to really push hard to get that time," said Fogarty. "I don't know if two makes a streak, but maybe we can keep the streak going into next year. We have great weather here at Mid-Ohio - dry and cool. Normally it gets really hot in a Daytona Prototype, but in conditions like these, it's really comfortable." Rojas, who qualified seventh, could clinch the third DP title in four years for the #01 TELMEX BMW/Riley co-driven by Scott Pruett by completing the minimum 30 minutes needed to score points. Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli trailed by 20 points entering the finale, and were in position to take the title if the Ganassi team failed to score points. Chip Ganassi Racing would win its fifth team championship by taking the green flag. Ronnie Bremer led a 1-2-3 Chevrolet sweep with a lap of 1:25.092 (95.930 mph) in the #57 Stevenson Auto Group Camaro, followed by fellow Chevrolet drivers Boris Said and Daniel Herrington. Andrew Davis and Leh Keen entered the race trailing Lester and Jordan Taylor by three points in the GT standings but failed to qualify after an electrical problem struck the #59 Brumos Racing Porsche GT3 and would thus start 19th in class. Sylvain Tremblay qualified fourth in the #70 Mazda Speed/Castrol Edge Mazda RX-8 co-driven by Jonathan Bomarito. Tremblay and Bomarito were five points off the GT lead. Race Determined to ‘win or wreck,' Ryan Dalziel held off newly crowned Daytona Prototype champion Scott Pruett by 0.416 seconds to capture the Rolex Sports Car Series finalé at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Potolicchio, 43, had started the car in ninth place and handed the #8 Starworks Riley Ford over to Dalziel in the top six, after which the Scot quickly promoted the Fort Lauderdale team to the head of the pack. After a mid-race spell in the lead, a good pitstop but the #8 back in the mix. The Orlando-based Dalziel took over the lead on lap 74 and spent the final 45 minutes of the race fending off Pruett and Alex Gurney, with four re-starts adding to the pressure. Despite never having more than a second lead, 28-year-old Lanarkshire-born Dalziel held his nerve to clinch his first win of the season — and his first since taking the Rolex 24 at Daytona crown in 2010. It was Potolicchio's first win in the championship. "It was an amazing race, and it's unbelievable - I can't believe I'm up here," said a delighted Enzo Potolicchio. "It's all down to my teammate. I felt good with my job, I kept a good pace. Then Ryan drove an amazing race." “The last 40 minutes we never had anything more than a second lead," said Dalziel. "We had four re-starts in that time - two in the last 20 minutes. There was oil put down, there were crashes - I hit pretty much everything I could hit in the last 20 minutes, but we had to be aggressive. “We knew the car was good from lap four or five. We struggled a lot in the opening laps after the re-start so we had to make the most of the cold tires on the opening lap. I had to stretch a gap, then they would reel me in. From then on, we played a bit of chess. “It was a massive win. Emotionally, it feels even bigger than Daytona because I have put so much effort into this team for the past couple of years. “I have been with Starworks since it was just two employees - Peter Baron and myself. To see how we have grown and to get close with a couple of podiums every year has been good. But to get this was very special and there wasn’t a dry eye in the team. It really meant a lot to everybody. It is the most special win I have had so far. “The best bit is that we know we can take this into next year. It was the perfect performance. Every single person in the team did their job to perfection. Enzo did a great job and handed the car over in sixth.
“We had a good car and good stops. “It is good to go into the close season with a win and with a little bit of momentum. When we arrive at Daytona next year, we will be the team that has had the most recent win so that will give everyone a good feeling over the winter. It was also Ford’s first win of the year. They have never had such a disappointing campaign so it was important that we got a victory for them.” Pruett and Memo Rojas clinched their third DP title in four years by completing the minimum 30 minutes in the #01 TELMEX BMW/Riley required to score points. It was Pruett's fourth DP title and the fifth team championship for Chip Ganassi Racing since entering the Rolex Series in 2004. BMW also won the DP Manufacturer's championship in a double tiebreaker with Chevrolet, based on the team's five second place finishes. "It's been an incredible year for us. We've had our ups and downs, but we've been focused as a team to get our car to the front as much as possible," said Pruett. "All my championships are great. I never thought I'd still be winning championships at this point in my career." Rounding out the podium were third-place finishers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in the #99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet/Riley, who were looking to end the year with two straight victories. After winning a record-extending 19th career Daytona Prototype pole in the qualifying session, Fogarty jumped to an early lead in the “Red Dragon” and joined Gurney in leading 32 of the race’s 97 laps. The team’s second consecutive and third overall win of the 2011 season even seemed likely in the final hour of the timed 2-3/4-hour race only to have a poorly timed caution flag close the pits a few seconds and half a lap too early as Gurney was set to make the #99’s final stop.  |
“It was an interesting race with the different strategies, and we had a car capable of winning, but it just didn’t go our way 100% of the time today,” said Fogarty. “I’m still proud of the guys, and Alex did an awesome job. He had some issues with the car, something came apart in rear suspension, and he definitely had to fight the last half hour of that race. I just kept it clean in the opening stint, but just a tough race and a battle of strategies to a certain extent.” This was the final race for the team with the proven Riley XX chassis Saturday, the same car the team has relied on, through two slightly different versions, since entering the Rolex Sports Car Series season in 2005. A new 'DPG3' Riley chassis will be the car of choice next season. “The Riley has been a fantastic race car in both iterations,” said Fogarty. “Just look at the record. Per the rules, much of the development has stopped in the last few years for the Riley, which has been a little frustrating as the Coyote and Dallara continue to find pace, but we still more often than not had a car more than capable of winning. That has been the way since the start, and as a driver that is exactly the car you want to be in. I am looking forward to having the Riley chassis under us again as we head into 2012. It may look different next year, but beauty is more than skin deep.” Mark Blundell and Zak Brown ended United Autosports' partial Grand-Am season in seventh place, but a mere 5.157s behind the race winners. Blundell moved up one place to fourth on the opening lap in the #23 Riley - run in conjunction with Michael Shank Racing - and was briefly in third after the first full course caution (of which there would be eight during the race). With Brown fighting a fever all weekend, the English half of the team did most of the running and was in the mix all the way until the final caution bunched the 29-car field for a three minute dash to the flag; which saw the #23 slip two places to seventh after being nudged off the track in the closing laps. “I’m very happy with today’s overall performance," said Blundell. "Zak got stronger with every session over the past two days while the team did a great job once again. Our race pace was strong throughout and we were right in the mix up until the checker. Unfortunately I was given a nudge by the #9 car in the closing laps which caused me to lose out on a possible top-four so I feel disappointed for the team. I have really enjoyed racing in Grand-Am. It’s been very competitive and I believe it’s an underrated series in the motorsport world. There are some top flight drivers and teams competing providing close wheel-to-wheel racing. Achieving a top-four at Daytona was brilliant and I must thank Zak for giving me the opportunity.” “Mark drove a fantastic race and the final result doesn’t show just how competitive we were today," added Brown. "I was recently asked what the racing highlight of my year has been and by far and away, it was the Rolex 24 at Daytona. We’ve had four races in partnership with Mike Shank. He’s been great as has the team to work with. After having a lot of fun in Grand-Am this year, I’d love to do more and we are working on that.” Michael Shank Racing driver John Pew was confirmed as the 2011 Trueman Award winner, which goes to the top Pro-Am racer in the Daytona Prototype ranks.  “It’s nice to get the recognition as the top Pro-Am driver, although my core goal is to do as well as I can, no matter who it is I am up against,” said Pew, who often handled qualifying duties in the #60 Riley that he shared with Ozz Negri.
“Qualifying is exciting because it is just 15 minutes of just getting everything you can out of the car. No pit stops, no GT traffic, just one session to find that perfect lap on the tires and in clean air. It’s a very straight forward way to benchmark your performance, and even though I’ve had a few qualifying sessions that I wasn’t happy about this year, overall I think we continued to improve that area over last season.” “John is being modest when he says that,” suggested Team Owner Mike Shank. “For him to go up against the best of the best and have the performances that he has had, really is just incredible for someone who hasn’t been racing all his life. He’s also stepped it up with his racecraft as well. We leaned on him pretty hard at New Jersey--it was almost 140 degrees in that car, and he did two nearly full stints for us. Guess all that karting in the Florida summer does pay off!” Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli both led in the #10 SunTrust Dallara, but the car broke exiting the pits after its final stop and the team failed to finish. Ronnie Bremer and Robin Liddell took the GT victory - combining to lead 34 laps to win the second straight race for the #57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro. “It was a great way to end the year,” Liddell said, “especially as we managed to help secure the manufacturer’s championship for Chevrolet with the Camaro at this last race. We needed to beat the Mazdas to do that as we came into the last race one point behind and for much of the race it looked as though it was beyond a reality but we just kept our heads down, fought forward and managed to take advantage of others mistakes, several collisions, and the opportunities presented to us on the restarts. One by one we picked off the cars ahead so that in the end we were able to make it two in a row and get the Camaro back up on top.  |
“Obviously it has been a disappointing season for us but, critically, the Stevenson Motorsports team has never given up and just kept regrouping and believing in themselves that they could get the job done despite the challenges; and with both the unwavering faith shown by John and Susan [Stevenson] and the hard work by the guys at the shop, we have again shown that the team is one of the top teams in GT. “I want to thank my teammates Jan and Ronnie who have both driven superbly which is especially hard when you are not in the car every weekend. They kept me honest and had the car at the sharp end all the time. Also I want to thank Chevrolet for their support and assistance throughout and for providing us with such great product. Given this team’s spirit and drive I am sure they will be back in 2012 and this time surely they will bring home the bacon!” Team Manager Mike Johnson: “It sure feels great ending the season with two wins, but we all can't help thinking about what could have been this year. Most wins, most poles, most laps led, but we simply could not overcome the part failures, accidents and everything else that seemed to go wrong when things were looking so good. When you look at our stats, it's hard to imagine we finished 9th in points, but they don't give a lot of points for DNF's! “I am very proud of our team and despite the obstacles placed in our path this season we still ended up winning the manufacturers championship for Chevrolet, which feels great. We never gave up and our drivers were able to find a little something extra when they needed it. As usual, our pit stops were fantastic all year and we had some great performances.” Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato took second in the #69 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8. “Our car was really, really good,” said Segal. “Big credit to the SpeedSource team, they definitely gave us a great piece for the last race here, so I was really happy about that. Unfortunately I put myself in a position where I was coming from behind, I threw the car a little bit wide on one of the restarts, and got tangled up with another Mazda, which was unfortunate, it damaged the car a little bit and I lost some time. “The final restart was really messy - we had a lot of slow cars, a lot of lapped cars in there. I had been eyeing the pit exit road for some time. I actually used it in a Continental Tire Challenge race a couple of years ago, and it worked pretty well. So I had that in my bag of tricks. They got stacked up in Turn 1 and I just went right through, went far left, smashed the gas pedal and away I went, but I just kind of ran out of time to get that first place position. “Last race of the season, everybody wants to win it. I knew there was going to be some desperate driving. We were determined to get back up there and I was sure that we could win that race. I think another lap and we would have had it.” It turned out that this may well have been the duo's final race in the RX-8; “Next year I think big changes are in store,” said Segal. “Looks like we will be in a Ferrari, Emil and I, and the rest of the program should all shake out shortly. Really excited about it, I think that is going to be a good piece for the GT class, and looking forward to trying to be a two-time champion next year.” Andrew Davis and Leh Keen finished fourth to capture the championship in Brumos Racing's first season in the GT class. Davis had faced the daunting task of getting the #59 Porsche GT3 through the field from 19th place, but drove an excellent opening stint and made up many places; and would even go on to lead the race for a dozen laps. The team then used the numerous yellow flags to their full advantage and, during the critical final stop, got the #59 back on track ahead of the #70 Castrol Edge Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito, the only car standing between them and the championship. Keen faced considerable pressure but held his position, ending the race in fourth place and taking the 2011 Rolex GT Championship for Brumos and its drivers in the process.  |
“I’m so proud and so honored to be a Brumos driver and to follow in Hurley Haywood’s footsteps,” said Davis, who was celebrating his first championship. “With Brumos’ legacy of winning GT championships, it’s almost unbelievable that Leh and I were able to bring home our own championship for the team. For Dan Davis and Hurley to have faith in us and give us this opportunity, it means a tremendous amount. I have to thank all of our crew members who have worked so hard and fought through thick and thin all season long. I also appreciate all the employees back at Brumos in Jacksonville who are always cheering for us. They may not be here at the track, but they are always there in spirit and willing us along. To say I am the 2011 Rolex GT Champion is awesome, but to be able to say I did it as a Brumos driver is unbelievable.” It was championship number two for Keen, but that didn't diminish the celebrations one bit; “Wow, that was amazing – and I’m not talking about just this race, but the whole year,” he said. “It is so special to be part of this Brumos group. At the beginning of the year Dan and Hurley told us we were part of the family now, and I now know what that truly means. There were many things that made it more difficult for us in our first year, but that just shows how hard our team worked to get it done. For me, to win in a Porsche is also special. I started my career and won most of my races in a Porsche, and the Brumos Porsches were always my favorites. To win this championship and win another championship for Brumos and be a part of that organization is spectacular.” “To say I am proud would be an understatement,” said Hurley Haywood. “At the beginning of the year Brumos put together a kind of dream team, but the recipe was unproven. We worked hard to get it right and the end result got us to the team and the drivers’ championship. My main responsibility was working with the drivers and they certainly did not let me down. If I have to give up my seat, I can’t think of two guys I would rather give it to than Andrew and Leh. Every single person on our crew did a tremendous job and made a noticeable contribution to the success of this effort, beginning with the first race in Daytona. I am really happy to see Brumos bring another championship home to Jacksonville.” Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor came up two points shy in their bid to make history in the #88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Lester spun and lost a lap in the opening minutes, and the team fought back to regain the lead lap and finish eighth. The final points positions looked like this: DP: Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas 385; Max Angelelli/Ricky Taylor 353, David Donohue/Darren Law 318.
GT: Leh Keen/Andrew Davis 319, Jordan Taylor/Bill Lester 317, Jonathan Bomarito/Sylvain Tremblay 315. The end-of-season Rolex Champions Banquet takes place in Las Vegas on September 26th, before preparations begin for the 2012 season with three official test sessions; the first of which takes place at Barber Motorsports Park on October 17th and 18th. The new season then begins with the 50th running of the Daytona 24 Hours on January 28th. | 
