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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Audi Set To Make History At Rolex 24
Audi makes Rolex 24 debut with two new R8 GRAND-AM cars...
APR Motorsport, along with Oryx Racing, not pictured, will go down in the history books for being the first teams to run Audis in the famed Rolex 24. (Photo: John Dagys)
This weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona won’t only mark the 50th running of one of world’s greatest endurance races, but also the first time a fabled automaker will be represented in the twice-around-the-clock Florida classic.
Having conquered the 24 Hours of Le Mans ten times and recording nine victories in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Audi will make its Rolex 24 debut in the form of two customer Audi R8 GRAND-AM cars, part of a recent push by GRAND-AM to expand its GT category to new GT3-based machinery.
APR Motorsport and Oryx Racing will not only go down in the history books for fielding the first-ever R8s in America, but both will be targeting a solid finish in the Rolex Sports Car Series season-opener.
“There's a lot of history being made here,” says APR Motorsport President and CEO Stephen Hooks. “As much motorsports history Audi has, they've actually never raced at Daytona. A lot of people don't realize that. So there's a lot of firsts here, all coming on the 50th anniversary of the race. It's the first time Audi is here. It's the debut of the car. It's been very good so far.”
Hooks, who founded APR in 1997, which has grown into the nation’s leading aftermarket and tuning company for Audis, has expanded its motorsports efforts into the Rolex Series after a five-year run with Audis and Volkswagens in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
APR was the first U.S.-based team to purchase the mid-engined sports car in what Hooks said was a two-year process in getting the R8 legal for competition in the Rolex Series GT category.
While similar to the R8 LMS, which has won more than 100 races worldwide since its introduction in 2009, the GRAND-AM variant has some notable differences, including a thicker roll cage, reduction in horsepower and lack of ABS and traction control.
Leading APR’s charge at the Rolex 24 will be Emanuele Pirro, who holds a rich history with the German brand. The veteran Italian, a five-time winner at Le Mans and two-time American Le Mans Series champion, has been with the four-rings since its touring car days in the ‘90s.
Pirro, who drove a Lancia Beta to the Rolex 24 class victory in 1981, his very first race outside of Italy, returns to the famed Daytona high banks for the first time in 31 years and no doubt has a two-fold mission.
“I still have very special memories about that race, but this one is all new and we have to learn a lot, “Pirro says. “Daytona is important but we must do well. It's the first time it in the American market, which has so much history in the prototype field. There's a responsibility to introduce the R8 in the best possible way. We're trying to do our best.”
Pirro will be joined in the cockpit of the No. 51 APR machine with Ian Baas, Nelson Canache and full-season drivers Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman, which turned its first laps earlier this month at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test.
“It's definitely a special brand within the racing world,” von Moltke says. “I think it's time that U.S. enthusiasts get to see this car out in action against the Camaros, the Porsches and Ferraris now. Everyone is super excited. There's a lot of motivation do to well for the brand and all of the Audi fans out there. We'll do everything we can.”
For Oryx Racing, which transitions from a partnership with Dyson Racing in the ALMS to its entirely own program for 2012, the move to Audi came as a logical choice, as team principal Humaid al Masaood explains.
“The new GT cars in general were attractive,” al Masaood says. “While there were a lot of options, we felt that Audi's brand would be great to represent. After talking with them, we were very excited to work with them. They really want to big effort into this program, so we felt that suited us well.”
While the program came together relatively late, Al Masaood and season-long co-driver Steven Kane, who will be joined by Saeed Al Mehairi for the Rolex 24, realize the challenges in what will be their debut in one of the world’s toughest endurance races, but have made realistic goals for the year.
“We've got a good car, a good team. I think we can factor well,” Al Masaood says. “There's no reason why we can't be competitive. This is going to be a big race, 24 hours, we'll get a good chance to learn the car. But we've got lots events and we already know some of the tracks from ALMS, so that's good. I feel like we have a good chance to do well.”
No doubt, starting the season with the longest, and most physically and mentally demanding race of the year, has always been a challenge for competitors, especially with more than 40 GT-class cars taking the green flag tomorrow.
But given the Audi’s track record, including class victories in the 24-hour races at Nurburgring and Spa, the R8 GRAND-AM is likely to begin another new chapter in the short, but highly successful, history of its customer sport program.
“It's 24 hours. You can't win the thing or remotely win anything for [completing] the first 23 hours and change,” Hooks says. “We're looking to run a reliable and clean race. We expect to be good. We think the pace will be there once we get to the race. Our goal will be to win. At the end of the day, that's what we're here to do.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Having conquered the 24 Hours of Le Mans ten times and recording nine victories in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, Audi will make its Rolex 24 debut in the form of two customer Audi R8 GRAND-AM cars, part of a recent push by GRAND-AM to expand its GT category to new GT3-based machinery.
APR Motorsport and Oryx Racing will not only go down in the history books for fielding the first-ever R8s in America, but both will be targeting a solid finish in the Rolex Sports Car Series season-opener.
“There's a lot of history being made here,” says APR Motorsport President and CEO Stephen Hooks. “As much motorsports history Audi has, they've actually never raced at Daytona. A lot of people don't realize that. So there's a lot of firsts here, all coming on the 50th anniversary of the race. It's the first time Audi is here. It's the debut of the car. It's been very good so far.”
Hooks, who founded APR in 1997, which has grown into the nation’s leading aftermarket and tuning company for Audis, has expanded its motorsports efforts into the Rolex Series after a five-year run with Audis and Volkswagens in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
APR was the first U.S.-based team to purchase the mid-engined sports car in what Hooks said was a two-year process in getting the R8 legal for competition in the Rolex Series GT category.
While similar to the R8 LMS, which has won more than 100 races worldwide since its introduction in 2009, the GRAND-AM variant has some notable differences, including a thicker roll cage, reduction in horsepower and lack of ABS and traction control.
Leading APR’s charge at the Rolex 24 will be Emanuele Pirro, who holds a rich history with the German brand. The veteran Italian, a five-time winner at Le Mans and two-time American Le Mans Series champion, has been with the four-rings since its touring car days in the ‘90s.
Pirro, who drove a Lancia Beta to the Rolex 24 class victory in 1981, his very first race outside of Italy, returns to the famed Daytona high banks for the first time in 31 years and no doubt has a two-fold mission.
“I still have very special memories about that race, but this one is all new and we have to learn a lot, “Pirro says. “Daytona is important but we must do well. It's the first time it in the American market, which has so much history in the prototype field. There's a responsibility to introduce the R8 in the best possible way. We're trying to do our best.”
Pirro will be joined in the cockpit of the No. 51 APR machine with Ian Baas, Nelson Canache and full-season drivers Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman, which turned its first laps earlier this month at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test.
“It's definitely a special brand within the racing world,” von Moltke says. “I think it's time that U.S. enthusiasts get to see this car out in action against the Camaros, the Porsches and Ferraris now. Everyone is super excited. There's a lot of motivation do to well for the brand and all of the Audi fans out there. We'll do everything we can.”
For Oryx Racing, which transitions from a partnership with Dyson Racing in the ALMS to its entirely own program for 2012, the move to Audi came as a logical choice, as team principal Humaid al Masaood explains.
“The new GT cars in general were attractive,” al Masaood says. “While there were a lot of options, we felt that Audi's brand would be great to represent. After talking with them, we were very excited to work with them. They really want to big effort into this program, so we felt that suited us well.”
While the program came together relatively late, Al Masaood and season-long co-driver Steven Kane, who will be joined by Saeed Al Mehairi for the Rolex 24, realize the challenges in what will be their debut in one of the world’s toughest endurance races, but have made realistic goals for the year.
“We've got a good car, a good team. I think we can factor well,” Al Masaood says. “There's no reason why we can't be competitive. This is going to be a big race, 24 hours, we'll get a good chance to learn the car. But we've got lots events and we already know some of the tracks from ALMS, so that's good. I feel like we have a good chance to do well.”
No doubt, starting the season with the longest, and most physically and mentally demanding race of the year, has always been a challenge for competitors, especially with more than 40 GT-class cars taking the green flag tomorrow.
But given the Audi’s track record, including class victories in the 24-hour races at Nurburgring and Spa, the R8 GRAND-AM is likely to begin another new chapter in the short, but highly successful, history of its customer sport program.
“It's 24 hours. You can't win the thing or remotely win anything for [completing] the first 23 hours and change,” Hooks says. “We're looking to run a reliable and clean race. We expect to be good. We think the pace will be there once we get to the race. Our goal will be to win. At the end of the day, that's what we're here to do.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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