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Porsche Wins Mistake-Free Rolex24 At Daytona

Daytona Beach, Fla. – The Action Express Racing Porsche Riley team didn’t come into the Rolex24 at Daytona as one of the favorites, but a flawless performance by the car and the drivers carried the start-up team to victory in the 48th edition of America’s longest endurance race.

Driving the winning car was acclaimed sports-car racers Ryan Dalziel, Terry Borcheller, Joao Barbosa and Mike Rockenfeller.

Among the factors affecting the winners and the other 43 entrants was the adverse weather that prevailed through the weekend. Rain drenched the field at the start and when it subsided two hours later, the temperatures stayed cool and Sunday dawned with dark clouds accompanied by unseasonably low temperatures and wind.

The victorious Porsche ran strong throughout and by the ninth hour of competition, the car had caught the leaders and Barbosa put it into the lead for the first time on lap 248.

In total, the winners led 316 of the 755 laps, including the final 131 circuits around the 3.56-mile road course.

During the race, the Porsche quartet battled with the likes of a pair of Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley’s and Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley’s and the Crown Royal Racing BMW Riley. Little by little attrition took its toll and the Action Express team started to breathe easier as all but one Ganassi car fell by the wayside.

When the checkered flag dropped Sunday, the winners held a 52-second advantage over the runner-up CGR car of Scott Pruett, Max Papis, Justin Wilson and Memo Rojas. The latter group was seeking its fourth win in the last five races, and it earned its fifth consecutive top-two finish.

“The competition is better than it was in 2004 when we won it in the last 15 minutes,” Borcheller said. “To win against the best teams and drivers is really special.”

Said Dalziel, who had a previous second place, “We went into this race with a major unknown, but we knew we had reliability. The important thing is we never went off the track, didn’t have any mechanicals and our pit stops were flawless. This win was a huge achievement for a new team.”

Rockenfeller stated, “We were struggling with the handling, but the team changed everything on the set-up before the race. We didn’t know what to expect, but the car turned out to be perfect.”

Barbosa, who drove for Brumos Racing in 2009, said, “Most of the crew is a carry over from Brumos, but we had to adapt a new engine to the car. We were down on power, but we were really good through the infield. It was a tough race — a 24-hour sprint affair.”

Second went to the CGR foursome of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Justin Wilson and Max Papis. Wilson had the lead Sunday morning when he heard a large pop in the engine, and the team directed him to the garage for an inspection. Not finding a problem, he returned to the track, losing time to the new leaders.

By the end, the team made up its lost ground but couldn’t overtake the leaders.

Said Wilson about the incident, “It sounded like a small explosion, and it was disappointing to end our run like that. It seems like we are always first or second though.”

Pruett stated, “This race is so tough and draining, and when you don’t go back to the top of the podium, it is frustrating. This team worked hard to get us here. We didn’t decide on the engine (BMW) until the 10th hour, but the changeover has gone flawlessly.”

Third place went to the Crown Royal/NPN Racing BMW pf Lucas Luhr, Scott Tucker, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Richard Westbrook. They were four laps behind the winners.

A Krohn Racing Ford Lola finished fourth 20 laps in arrears and the Crown Royal XR of Michael Shank Racing ended up fifth 29 laps back.

One favorite falling from competition was the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings team of Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Jimmy Vasser and NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. The team performed well but suffered drive-line problems, as did many teams. They dropped out Sunday afternoon with mechanical woes.

Johnson drove three stints or approximately six hours.

The SunTrust Racing Ford started from the pole, but it, too, made several lengthy pit stops, and ended up in sixth place far behind the victors.

A second CGR BMW of Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Jamie McMurray dropped out after midnight with a blown engine. They led 139 of the initial 249 laps and seemed destined for victory until the engine gave up.

Veteran driver Hurley Haywood’s retired from professional racing this weekend. His race ended on the 582nd lap when his Brumos Porsche had an engine problem. “I am disappointed for it to end like this, although we did lead for a long time,” the 61-year old driver said. “Since my Brumos team members are big fans of Jimmie Johnson, I raced him hard (for them) just prior to bringing the car in.”

Haywood won five times at Daytona, driving his first race here in 1969 and winning the Rolex24 on three occasions.

Regarding his final race, he stated, “When I came in everyone was crying. I wasn’t that emotional, but I will probably be so in a few days when my retirement sinks in.”

The GT class victory went to the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, David Haskell and Jonathan Bomarito.

Their Mazda finished four laps ahead of a pair of TRG Porsches.

The Rolex Sports Car Series races next at the Homestead-Miami Speedway the first weekend of March.

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