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Rolex 24 – Event Round Up Whatever the ins and outs of the Rolex 24 in its current format, it’s a huge achievement for a team to get a car through an event like that: the sheer, grinding effort from all concerned, especially in such variable weather, in such traffic, with so many potential obstacles in the way, is to be admired. It’s clearly great fun for the drivers, who by and large relish the challenge of racing in such traffic. Here are some of the remarks made afterwards. We’ll have plenty of images in due course, but Regis has had to rush off to the next challenge at Sebring, so we’ll need a few days to sum up the event photographically.
Scott Pruett: "Your last one is always your best. This was tough. The conditions were pretty treacherous because it was rain, then it was dry, then it was a little bit of wet again. That makes for a really tough race. I can't say enough for all of the Ganassi guys." Dario Franchitti: “I know that by Friday, I'm really going to be run down because we've got a really full week, but I just couldn't turn down an opportunity like this. Chip actually asked me last year, but I couldn't do it because I had a conflict -- and then they went out and won the race. This is a race I've watched for a very long time, so to win it means a lot to me." Chip Ganassi Racing becomes the first team ever to win three consecutive Rolex 24s, while Scott Pruett took consecutive wins, and his third overall win (a total of eight class victories, a record). Over the last two years, the #01 Ganassi Riley has led 720 laps out of a possible 1363 (53%) on their way to the two victories, with 252 this year and 468 in 2007. Juan Montoya becomes the first driver in Rolex 24 history to win each of his first two starts in the 24-hour race. Sylvain Tremblay: “Our biggest mechanical problem is my ears. I had fluid in my ear yesterday and couldn't hear anything. We also lost the driver's side mirror, which is a problem, especially here, but our spotters did a great job. The car was flawless. "It was pretty special. I've dreamt of this since I've started racing. To win at Daytona has been a dream of mine for a long, long time. When I first talked of getting a Mazda running against the Porsches, it seemed like a joke back then. There was so much that had to happen, so many pieces we had to build. Then we had to convince other people to believe in our dream, and pull on from there. "Today is really the culmination of a lot of work from a lot of different people who all had a dream – to come here and race against the best. I must say, in all the years I've been racing, the GT field was by far the stiffest, strongest field I've ever seen in any GT race anywhere in the world. I'm proud of the accomplishment of my teammates. It's a dream come true." SpeedSource’s achievement brought an end to Porsche’s 14 year run of class victories at the Rolex 24. Kevin Buckler: “We finished second, third and fourth, which was unbelievable. We had three cars in the top-four, I’m sure that’s never been done. We were one cooling system away from finishing 1-2-3, but I’ve got to say that I don’t feel bad, because the Mazda performed flawlessly. The team did a good job and they deserved to win. We’re in this for the championship hunt. We got our points, we were careful and we’re going to go to Homestead, the next race. I just can’t be prouder of the performance from everyone. I’m honored to be the leader of the ship, but I’m really just a cog in the wheel this weekend.” (Buckler on the #64 entry): “The guys got tangled up in an unfortunate wreck. This goofball was driving the Ferrari all over the track throughout the race. I don’t know who it was, but he ran RJ (Valentine) off the track and he got into a little accident. I kind of expected that they would have a shot at the win and was really rooting for them. This was really disappointing for me because this was an all star lineup, a group of my friends and they deserved better.”
"My guess is that if we would have changed the gearbox under yellow instead of green, we probably would have won, but you make your best decisions and run with it. It was a little bit chaotic. We were all arguing for about 15 minutes on if we should stay out because Jon was in the car and was gaining on Rojas. We left him out there but then the problems started to get worse and we made the decision to switch." Jimmy Vasser: “It's almost better to finish fourth on something like this. Second, you were kind of close. We were there pretty much all night long, just sticking to the plan, taking care of the car. Typical story, it's a long race and to get bit like that as late as we did, it kind of stinks. On a positive note, we gave the team some points for the championship. I would put money on these guys again for getting a repeat in the Rolex Series. This is a great group of people and a great group of sponsors in Lowe's and GAINSCO. I don't get to drive cars that much any more, so it is good to get back in the rhythm and get the fight back in your soul." Alex Gurney: “This is the Rolex 24. This is a big race. It's very difficult to get through it all without making any mistakes. I'm really proud of being able to race with all these guys. They all did an excellent job. I had a lot of fun. It's a bit of a bummer that we could not pull out a win. We were watching the board all the time to see the No. 01 up there and us right below to know that any little thing that could go wrong might put us up front. We were hoping, but it didn't work out, but we're in good shape for the championship." Kevin Doran: "We did one with Holbert that was bad, but I think this one was the worst. But I'm proud of our team. The guys kept digging and the drivers kept going. We were actually on pace the whole race; we just couldn't keep it out of the garage. We had tripod boot failures. We had two or three tire failures, one of which took a lot of the bodywork off the car. Debris off the tires wiped out the wiring for the transponder. That took a long time to fix because it's not very accessible. "We had a brake problem that
was strange. Debris got in the cockpit between the brake pedal and the floor,
causing the brake pedal to not give the drivers any stopping power. Then when
Memo (Gidley) had that crash, it damaged the splitter and the nose. At the end
the gearbox was running hot. We stopped to cool it off three times and we did
some preventative things to get it to last. Our Roush/Yates engine was flawless.
It hasn't had a hiccup in really two and a Memo Gidley: "I ran over oil and I couldn't stop; I went straight into the tires in Turn 5. This race we had a lot of problems. This race is won by the team that has the least amount of problems. We had to replace a half-shaft about two hours into the race, and that sort of set the stage for our day. Fabrizio Gollin: "It was the strangest Rolex 24 that I've ever done. I think this race was very important for the Doran Racing team. Some things were very new, and I think this race is very important for the future. It's difficult not to have problems when you're working on new things. We were unlucky too. I hope for the Doran team to have helped improve the car a lot, and now Kevin can fight for the win. I hope to come back to race with him again too!" Gabriele Gardel: "My first Rolex 24 was amazing. I'm really happy to be here. We were fast even with all the trouble. The team almost built a new car in 24 hours. I can't say enough about how hard this team worked.” Steve Southard (car owner, #3 Riley): "First, we are obviously happy that Shane was not more seriously injured. It was a very violent impact. We are currently looking at what caused the accident. Richie is examining scenarios. Unfortunately, until we get the car to the shop and can properly exam every component and study the data, we can't be sure what happened to the car. “As for the race, we put a strategy together to shuffle the driver lineup a little based on experience and when the drivers would get their first stint. Shane being the most experienced, we knew we wanted him to start. We put Bill (Lester) in late in the day because he was the second most experienced and we felt he could go out for his first stint in the dark without any problem. Ted (Christopher) and Alex (Barron) have less experience here or in these cars so we decided to have them run doubles in the daylight so they could be more comfortable when they had to get back in at night. Everyone went through their first couple of stints really well. I think if we had continued to run without problem we would have had a good result. We had a really great driver lineup but race situations present themselves and things happen. Unfortunately, a whole series of events happened and we'll never know what might have been. We just have never had that good of luck at Daytona. I am very happy looking ahead. We have a good driver combination in Shane and Bill and a car that works pretty well. I think we are going to have a good shot at doing well this year." Shane Lewis’s accident is described in the team’s release. The race-ending accident took place just minutes after the 20-hour mark. Lewis was preparing to enter the "Bus Stop" chicane on the backstraight of the 3.56- mile, 17-turn course when, according to communications immediately following the incident, the car failed to respond to Lewis' input on the steering wheel. The No. 3 veered quickly off course and dug deep into the rain-softened soil just off the race circuit. The quick deceleration tore the nose from the car and drug (?) it to a violent stop causing heavy damage. Lewis stepped from the car moments later and was taken to the infield medical center. After reporting some neck and back pain Lewis was transported to Halifax Medical Center. Johnny Mowlem: “Mike, Tom, Lance and I all did the best we could to keep moving forward and after four hours, we were running a strong fifth place. Then we had a gearbox problem and we spent about an hour and a half changing the gearbox.” “It really didn’t help much (that I got a lap back on the leaders in the last stint) because we lost another 55 laps with the gearbox failure!” Justin Wilson: “I’d been in the car for about 2hrs 45 minutes when it happened. I was pushing hard and trying to manage a high water temperature problem, and I ran about 6 inches wide coming out of Turn 1. I caught a hole, broke the suspension and spun across the grass. Up to that point the car was in pretty good shape and Mike and the guys did a great job as always. I’m just really disappointed that this cost us a possible podium.” The team repaired the #60 pole car and brought it home, but there then followed a drama for the #6 Michael Shank entry, as the team’s release explains. As he (Burt Frisselle) was preparing to turn the machine over to Ian James to resume the battle up front, a sickening cloud of white smoke emerged from the rear of the car at speed on the banking, signaling a severe mechanical issue and the end of a run for victory as Frisselle made a mammoth save to keep the machine from hitting the wall. Burt Frisselle: “It just breaks your heart to run up front all night and into the morning, and then to have something like this happen, it just kills me.” Dramas for the likes of Gainsco, AJR and Michael Shank Racing meant that the Krohn Rileys came home to a good pair of finishes (fourth and seventh). Oliver Gavin: “It’s been a real epic battle for everyone in the team. It sort of ran reasonably smoothly in the sense we didn’t have any big problems, but we had lots of little things – puncture, bodywork damage, wipers not working, windshield steaming up, the rain, the tyres not being particularly good straight out of the pits, when you had to be really, really careful. Darren Turner: “I don’t think I’ve ever driven for so long in a car before but it was cool to have been able to lead the field a couple of times on my debut. It didn’t go too badly but I’ve got some big blisters on my feet now from having been in the car so long and from having to stamp so hard on the brake pedal [carbon brakes are not permitted in this series]. “For Krohn Racing it’s brilliant, and the guys did such a great job on the race strategy. We had problems; it wasn’t like it was a clean run – punctures which resulted in bodywork damage, windscreen wiper motors not working when there was a fair bit of rain out there; but they all dealt with it really well and did a mega job. “I love it because it’s a battle, a proper battle out there. Looking at the state of the car now, I didn’t even know half the rear bodywork was missing and the guys have patched it up the best they can but it’s a completely battle-worn, battle-scarred car. This is what racing’s about.”
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Chip Ganassi:
"It's hard to put into words what winning does to you and what it feels like.
You can't touch it, you can't feel it, but it sure does feel good. One thing a
lot of people don't consider is the conditions that these guys had to drive in.
They were just miserable. Particularly between three and six this morning. The
track was very wet, your vision is limited... just to keep these cars on the
asphalt was a huge task, and I want to give credit where credit is due to the
guys that drove in those conditions in Dario and Memo. They drove in the
conditions that were the most horrific out there. Just to stay in the game under
those conditions is a huge challenge." 
Bob Stallings:
"We had a championship lineup of drivers and they did exactly what was asked of
them all day long. Everybody on the team did an amazing job but
unfortunately our gearbox didn't. 