NEGRI UNCERTAIN FOR ROLEX 24 — MSR veteran Ozz Negri was forced to sit out this weekend’s test after suffering a leg injury during off-season training. The popular Brazilian, who recently won Ford’s “Tournament of Ovals” Facebook competition, was replaced by NASCAR’s Marcos Ambrose at the test.

"We won the race last year and I know we have a great car,” Negri said. “It's tough just to watch. But at the same time, I'm here to support the guys as a team member. I'm just looking forward to getting better and driving the car.”

With the Rolex 24 now less than three weeks away, it’s uncertain if Negri will be ready in time. In any case, Ambrose will be on standby, and could potentially drive alongside John Pew, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Wilson in the defending race-winning entry.

"I'm here for Ozz and Michael Shank Racing and just here to help them get through a difficult time with Ozz's injury," Ambrose said. "As Ozz gets better, and if he's [good] for the race, I'll enjoy watching this team go win the 24-hour. I'm only here to help."

Negri added: "I'm doing absolutely everything I can to get healed in time. I've got to be honest. If I'm not capable of doing it, I can't drag my guys down... We'll know soon."

NEWS AND NOTES

*Alex Tagliani will be joined by Brandon Hartley, Jan Charouz, Scott Mayer and Sunoco DP Challenge winner Ivan Bellarosa in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford for the Rolex 24. The car suffered an incident in the hands of Mayer on Friday but was back on track by Saturday afternoon.

*Fifty-five cars turned laps in the three-day test, with the No. 83 McMahon Raceworks Lotus Evora GT4, along with the Visit Florida Racing and Freedom Autosport Mazda6s being the only no-shows. Both Mazdas, however, are expected for the race.

*Brumos Racing packed up early on Saturday following an unexpected engine failure for its famed No. 59 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Season-long drivers Leh Keen and Andrew Davis will be joined by Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb and Bryan Sellers for the 24.

*MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman confirmed that AF Waltrip will not return to the FIA World Endurance Championship or 24 Hours of Le Mans this year and will instead focus on an increased effort in the Rolex Series.

*There were two AF Waltrip Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am cars testing this weekend, which saw NASCAR star, and MWR driver, Clint Bowyer, make his sports car racing debut.

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