Rolex 24 – Thursday Round Up
Relatively Few Dramas

Here we gather together a range of the more interesting comments after the first day of track action at Daytona. With a couple of exceptions, it was a largely incident-free day, although only 42 cars went out for the evening session: there was a hint of rain about.

Tracy Krohn and Richard Lietz were two drivers who did have incidents, in the #75 Krohn Racing Riley and the #81 Synergy Racing Porsche, but both cars will be repaired for the race.

‘Sheer speed is rarely a factor in the Rolex 24,’ was one statement in one team’s press release – ironically, from the Gainsco team, which was on pole here last year. They weren’t this time (see comments below). Pole at this event is probably of less significance than at almost any other endurance race – but any team would be much happier to come through day one unscathed and moderately quick, than quick, in the wall and thrashing. However, the Michael Shank Riley Fords are the ones which are fast and troublefree – and 1-2 on the grid, with Marc Goossens third in the Pontiac-powered, upgraded, Matthews Riley.

GT was Mazda from Ferrari from Porsche and Porsche (TRG’s Pumpelly from Orbit’s Mowlem), then the Matt Connolly Pontic GTO.R. No surprise to see the SpeedSource Mazda fastest, but second was the Ferrari 430 that Grand-Am didn’t seem to want to list as a runner – and as this is written, remarkably it still hasn’t…

The Pirelli rubber was well received all round, although some drivers pointed out that they need a couple of laps to warm up, and until then, extreme caution is needed, which seems perfectly normal. Will some drivers get it wrong leaving the pits?

Michael Shank: “I’m happy, but the team is focused on winning this race, so we’ll take about three minutes to celebrate being on the front row with both cars, and then it’s back to work and getting ready for our next practice session. This is the fifth time this team has been here for this race, and I really want to win that Rolex watch. That’s what we came down here to do so being on pole is a great thing, but we came to win the race, not the pole.”

Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology: “We’re thrilled to have not one, but two Ford-powered Daytona Prototypes on the front row for the 24-hour race. Michael Shank Racing is in its first year with Ford and to have them start first and second is just awesome. We’re proud of the showing that the Roush-Yates engines had today and look forward to the same result on Sunday. Mike and his team and the AIM Autosport group join Doran Racing as part of the Ford family in the Rolex Series, and it looks like we’re off to a great start to the season.”

Joey Hand (12th in the AJR Crawford): "I tried my best to give them everything I could. It [the car] went about as fast as it could. We were a little late on tire pressures. On the last lap [had Hand not had to pit], it would have been the quickest lap. But, we just did not time it right on the pressures. Everybody is learning about these Pirelli tires. We'll catch on. We're coming closer and that's a big thing. Every time I get into the car it gets better."

Alex Job: "Joey had a good run. He gave it all we had today. We're in good company. The No. 99 Gainsco is right in front of us and the No. 9 Penske is right behind us. Obviously, we would've liked to have gone quicker. We definitely did not have anything for the Fords. But, it's a long race. Qualifying is great for bragging rights, but, in reality, it doesn't mean anything for winning this race. Now that qualifying is done, we are going to concentrate on prepping the car for the race."

Pat Long: "Now that we've got qualifying out of the way, we can focus the rest of the practice time on having a real consistent race car. I feel like the team is prepared and we've got as much experience as a group as any team out here. So, now we're going to push forward and go for a win. I think Joey did a good job of qualifying to bring the lap time to a low 42. We've still got a little bit to find, but we are headed in the right direction."

Bill Auberlen: "This team has worked so hard since we left here from the test. The car is running and driving much better than it is showing right now - that is why I am still smiling right now. I know that we have a car that is way better than we had here last time. We have a driver lineup that is unbelievable. So, between the driver lineup, the team and how I feel the car is, I think we're on target for where we need to be."

Andy Wallace: "It's always nice to be at the front, but the most important part is not where you qualify, it's what you have to race with. We're still fine tuning the car. We don't have it exactly where we want it yet. But, we're homing in on it. Obviously, it's very competitive out there - just a couple of tenths here or there makes a huge difference in where you start. With a 24 hour race and the fact that it takes a little while for these tires to warm up, maybe it's not so bad not being on the front two rows. But, we're O.K." 

Alex Gurney (11th in the Gainsco Riley): "We have been chasing what we think are brake problems since the November test. It could be a combination of still just not quite getting used to the new Pirelli tires but we haven't got to the bottom of it. I had a few clear laps but that was all I could manage. We still have a mountain to climb speed wise but that may play into our hands with this race."

Jon Fogarty: "You never want to qualify any where other than on pole, and that's because we are all racers at heart, but it really doesn't mean much and we are working for a race, we're not working for pole for qualifying for the 24. We are doing a lot of things outside of just making the car qo quick to prepare ourselves, and we are going to focus on the race. If we wanted to go for ultimate lap time, we know how to get the car there, but ultimately we are going to focus on a car that is good for the race."

Marc Goossens (third in the Matthews Riley): “Qualifying was pretty good. The car was good, but we still have a couple of small handling issues to work on. The handling was a big improvement over the morning and the car is getting better every time we go out. The car will be durable. The combination of the Riley chassis and Pontiac motor will be there come Sunday.”

Max Angelelli (fourth in the SunTrust Riley): “I’m very happy, no regrets. This is the maximum I could do – maybe one more tenth, but no more than that. It’s a good starting position. We are on the outside. I’ve always been on the outside. I’ve been the bridesmaid here every year. That’s fine. We’re looking good for the race. The car is perfect. I wouldn’t have changed anything we’ve done in our preparation. This is our race car. It’s a 24-hour race. We will start racing in the second half, and in the last quarter we’re going to push it.”

Ian Willis (#61 AIM Autosport team manager – fifth fastest): “We're picking up where we left off last year! The session went as planned for us. We chose to run a limited number of laps and so after the tires came in Mark (Wilkins) was able to run some very solid, fast laps. We did our best lap without the benefit of a draft and the one opportunity we had to draft the No. 7 car was spoiled when they pulled off. At that point we called Mark in and parked it. We know what need to do come race time and this qualifying put is in a good position for what is hopefully a clean start.”

Colin Braun was fastest overall in #61, in the evening session

Sylvain Tremblay (fastest in GT): “The main thing for us is validation of all of our hard work. You need to have a fast car to win here. Obviously, the fastest car doesn’t always win after 24 hours, but it definitely doesn’t hurt. Also, because of the depth of the field, we really felt that starting up front and staying up front is key for us, especially early on.”

Christian Montanari (second fastest): “Honestly, we were really surprised, me and the team. I think we did a very good job today. It is my second time in Daytona at the Rolex 24. First time with Ferrari, first time in GT and my first time with the team. I think we did a very good job today. We’ll see for the race, because it’s very long.”

Spencer Pumpelly (fastest Porsche driver, third in GT in TRG’s #67): “I got a big tow on that lap, but I also got some traffic on that lap, too, so it all balanced out. We have a pretty good car. I brought it in early because we lost the clutch, but I think I got my lap. I don’t think there was another faster one in it. There might have been that lap again, but that was it.”

Kevin Buckler: “All in all, qualifying went really well. We put one car into the show today. We needed to make the top five, and Spencer Pumpelly in the (No.) 67 did a great job. He was the fastest Porsche. Martin Ragginger, the new Porsche Junior driver in his first time here at Daytona did a great job with the (No.) 62 car. Bryce Miller did a nice job, too.”

The other TRG cars qualified seventh (#62 – Martin Ragginger), 11th (#66 – Bryce Miller, below), 22nd (#63 – Duncan Ende), 29th (#65 – Tommy Archer), 35th (#68 – John Mayes) and 37th (#64 – Johannes van Overbeek).

van Overbeek: “The J Lowe car felt great. Unfortunately, we never got a lap in. We had a gearbox problem that we’re resolving now. It’s too bad for the guys, and they worked hard, but we’ll get it fixed tonight, make sure it works properly and go out and re-qualify tomorrow. We’re here to race, not qualify. If we never run the car until the race and end up winning, I’d take that any day over running every session, qualifying on the pole and crapping out after the first hour. For this race of all races, qualifying isn’t everything. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time a car that qualified on the pole actually won the race, so no worries.”

Jan Heylen (sixth fastest, Synergy Porsche #80): “I really thought we could be a little bit closer to the front because the car is really good but traffic didn’t play my way and before I could get the time I wanted, the session was done. Obviously though it’s a long race, so it’s not crucial where you start, but you always want to be up front! This team has been working really hard and we’re looking forward to getting a good start and keeping a strong pace starting on Saturday.”

Richard Lietz had suffered a heavy off in the #81 Synergy Porsche, but team owner Cole Scrogham expects to have it ready for the race.

Frank Stippler (tenth fastest in GT, fastest of the Farnbacher Loles cars, #88): "In general, I'm pleased with the qualifying right now. Overall, we are in the middle of the field; I think this is okay for a 24-hour qualifying. The other drivers are really competitive. I heard that it is the strongest 24-hour competition in the GT class that was ever here, so I'm happy to be part of it."

In the other Farnbacher Loles Porsches, Jörg Hardt, the only German driver in the No. 89 (Italian) Porsche, qualified 12th in class, 2007 GT driver champion Dirk Werner was 13th in the No. 86 (GT Champion) car and Wolf Henzler 14th in the No. 87 (Power) Porsche. Tim Bergmeister was 28th in the No. 83 (Fitness) car, and Ross Bentley and Chris Bingham qualified the Nos. 83 and 84 (Team Seattle) Porsches 30th and 33rd, respectively, in the 42-car GT field.

Two cars never appeared on track – the Dennis Spencer Mazda and the second Nonnamaker Team Sahlen Porsche. Friday sees those outside the Top 30 try to make up ground, but the top group is set for the start.