-
Home
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Ganassi Wins Fifth Rolex 24
Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya, Charlie Kimball give CGR fifth Rolex 24 win; Audi Sport Customer Racing/Alex Job Racing (GT), Napleton Racing (GX) take class victories...
Despite challenges from no fewer than a half-dozen contenders, including a perplexing final fuel mileage run to the checkered flag, Chip Ganassi Racing still proved to be in a league of their own, with the defending GRAND-AM champions taking victory in the 51st Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Juan Pablo Montoya held off the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP of Max Angelelli by 21.922 seconds to give Ganassi its fifth overall win in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic in only the team's 10th attempt.
While considered a dominant performance by Montoya and co-drivers Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Charlie Kimball, the No. 01 Telmex Riley-BMW never really missed a beat, logging more than 2,500 miles in a race that saw a record 74 lead changes.
The race came down to a four-way battle between Montoya, Angelelli, the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa and AJ Allmendinger in the defending race-winning No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Riley-Ford, in the closing hour.
However, avoidable contact between Barbosa and Allmendinger shortly after the final restart with 51 minutes to go saw the Portuguese star serve a stop-and-hold-plus-60-second penalty and the open-wheel-turned NASCAR star pit to clean the car's radiator.
Both Montoya and Angelelli made late stops for splashes of fuel, adding some excitement, but no noteworthy change to the overall results.
"I thought we had a decent lead and that we were just going to go out there and drive for two and a half hours," Montoya said. "But then you realize there's a caution and another caution, then another caution.
"I took my time to pass people. When I was told that the 9 [car] was going to get a penalty, I rode behind him for a couple of laps. As soon as he came in, I caught up to the 10 car in half a lap and a lap later, I passed him and drove away."
Allmendinger and co-drivers Justin Wilson, Marcos Ambrose, John Pew and Ozz Negri finished 55 seconds back in third, with the Corvette DP of Angelelli, Jordan Taylor and 2012 IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay settling for a runner-up finish.
It proved to be a record-breaking run for the Ganassi crew, with Pruett's fifth overall win tying him with sports car legend Hurley Haywood for the most all-time Rolex 24 wins.
"This is an incredible day, all the way around," said Pruett, who now has a record ten Rolex 24 class victories. "To win with these guys, to win with Chip, Telmex and BMW... I've gotten to know Hurley real well over the years by racing with him. Having him there at the end was pretty special."
Montoya and Rojas, meanwhile, picked up their third 24-hour victory, while Ganassi IndyCar pilot Kimball celebrated his first Rolex 24 crown in his sports car racing debut.
The weekend belonged to Ganassi, which swept the front row in qualifying and ran 1-2 for parts of the race. The team's No. 02 Target entry of Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Joey Hand and Jamie McMurray, however, retired with drivetrain issues with less than four hours to go.
It appeared both the armada of Corvette DPs, along with the Ford-powered Rileys from Michael Shank Racing and Starworks Motorsport, were unable to match the pace of the Riley-BMWs.
GRAND-AM issued new Balance of Performance adjustments for 2013, which saw the Ford engines lose 300 rpms and the Chevrolet-powered entries gain 100 rpms but run a mandated air restrictor. A slightly larger diamater restrictor was given to the GM teams on Friday, but according to drivers and teams, including WTR's Angelelli, didn't make any significant difference.
"We were hoping, with our strategy, to make it to the end and get the win," Angelelli said. "But the 01 car was in a different league. They were in [the] 'A' class. We were in [the] 'B' class."
MSR's No. 60 Riley-Ford undoubtedly had the comeback of the race, having made up seven laps following a first-hour tie rod failure and a fuel filter issue overnight, to finish a respectable third overall and in class. Thir recovery was aided by a revised wave-by procedure used under full-course cautions.
"We weren't going to beat the 01 car, so I thought we had a chance to compete for second," Allmendinger said. "Fortunately, [Barbosa] got a penalty, so we could podium. It's one of those racing things. At that point, with an hour to go, it's go time."
Action Express Racing's Barbosa and co-drivers Christian Fittipaldi, Mike Rockenfeller and Burt Frisselle came home in fourth, with the similarly prepared Coyote-chassised Corvette DP from Spirit of Daytona completing the top-five after battling electrical issues overnight and a header problem with two hours to go.
Another contender, the No. 2 Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford of Ryan Dalziel, Alex Popow, Allan McNish and Sebastien Bourdais lost 15 laps due to a throttle linkage and brake line failure in the 22nd hour, relegating the pre-race favorites to a sixth place finish overall after a strong early run.
The debuting 8Star Motorsports team battled differential and gearbox issues, which ultimately resulted in retirement for the team's Corvette DP in the final hour.
Juan Pablo Montoya held off the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP of Max Angelelli by 21.922 seconds to give Ganassi its fifth overall win in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic in only the team's 10th attempt.
While considered a dominant performance by Montoya and co-drivers Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Charlie Kimball, the No. 01 Telmex Riley-BMW never really missed a beat, logging more than 2,500 miles in a race that saw a record 74 lead changes.
The race came down to a four-way battle between Montoya, Angelelli, the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa and AJ Allmendinger in the defending race-winning No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Riley-Ford, in the closing hour.
However, avoidable contact between Barbosa and Allmendinger shortly after the final restart with 51 minutes to go saw the Portuguese star serve a stop-and-hold-plus-60-second penalty and the open-wheel-turned NASCAR star pit to clean the car's radiator.
Both Montoya and Angelelli made late stops for splashes of fuel, adding some excitement, but no noteworthy change to the overall results.
"I thought we had a decent lead and that we were just going to go out there and drive for two and a half hours," Montoya said. "But then you realize there's a caution and another caution, then another caution.
"I took my time to pass people. When I was told that the 9 [car] was going to get a penalty, I rode behind him for a couple of laps. As soon as he came in, I caught up to the 10 car in half a lap and a lap later, I passed him and drove away."
Allmendinger and co-drivers Justin Wilson, Marcos Ambrose, John Pew and Ozz Negri finished 55 seconds back in third, with the Corvette DP of Angelelli, Jordan Taylor and 2012 IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay settling for a runner-up finish.
It proved to be a record-breaking run for the Ganassi crew, with Pruett's fifth overall win tying him with sports car legend Hurley Haywood for the most all-time Rolex 24 wins.
"This is an incredible day, all the way around," said Pruett, who now has a record ten Rolex 24 class victories. "To win with these guys, to win with Chip, Telmex and BMW... I've gotten to know Hurley real well over the years by racing with him. Having him there at the end was pretty special."
Montoya and Rojas, meanwhile, picked up their third 24-hour victory, while Ganassi IndyCar pilot Kimball celebrated his first Rolex 24 crown in his sports car racing debut.
The weekend belonged to Ganassi, which swept the front row in qualifying and ran 1-2 for parts of the race. The team's No. 02 Target entry of Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Joey Hand and Jamie McMurray, however, retired with drivetrain issues with less than four hours to go.
It appeared both the armada of Corvette DPs, along with the Ford-powered Rileys from Michael Shank Racing and Starworks Motorsport, were unable to match the pace of the Riley-BMWs.
GRAND-AM issued new Balance of Performance adjustments for 2013, which saw the Ford engines lose 300 rpms and the Chevrolet-powered entries gain 100 rpms but run a mandated air restrictor. A slightly larger diamater restrictor was given to the GM teams on Friday, but according to drivers and teams, including WTR's Angelelli, didn't make any significant difference.
"We were hoping, with our strategy, to make it to the end and get the win," Angelelli said. "But the 01 car was in a different league. They were in [the] 'A' class. We were in [the] 'B' class."
MSR's No. 60 Riley-Ford undoubtedly had the comeback of the race, having made up seven laps following a first-hour tie rod failure and a fuel filter issue overnight, to finish a respectable third overall and in class. Thir recovery was aided by a revised wave-by procedure used under full-course cautions.
"We weren't going to beat the 01 car, so I thought we had a chance to compete for second," Allmendinger said. "Fortunately, [Barbosa] got a penalty, so we could podium. It's one of those racing things. At that point, with an hour to go, it's go time."
Action Express Racing's Barbosa and co-drivers Christian Fittipaldi, Mike Rockenfeller and Burt Frisselle came home in fourth, with the similarly prepared Coyote-chassised Corvette DP from Spirit of Daytona completing the top-five after battling electrical issues overnight and a header problem with two hours to go.
Another contender, the No. 2 Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford of Ryan Dalziel, Alex Popow, Allan McNish and Sebastien Bourdais lost 15 laps due to a throttle linkage and brake line failure in the 22nd hour, relegating the pre-race favorites to a sixth place finish overall after a strong early run.
The debuting 8Star Motorsports team battled differential and gearbox issues, which ultimately resulted in retirement for the team's Corvette DP in the final hour.
Road Atlanta
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTO-RACING
-
LE MANS: Driver Lineups For LM24 Finalized
Seats at Delta-ADR, Morand Racing, JMW Motorsport and others confirmed… -
PHOTOS: V8 Supercars COTA Gallery
UPDATED: View more than 150 photos from Austin as V8 Supercars Austin… -
GT: Black Falcon Mercedes Wins Rain-Soaked Nurburgring 24
Sean Edwards, Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Nicki Thiim… -
DAGYS: A Bright Future For V8 Supercars In America
John Dagys reflects back on the successful inaugural Austin 400 and… -
GT: Sofronas, Lee Win Sunday's WC GT, GTS Races At COTA
GMG Racing's James Sofronas takes Audi R8 LMS to third Pirelli World… -
MILLER: Carpenter's Simply A Great Story
Regardless of what his detractors might say, Ed Carpenter's mighty… -
V8: Whincup Dominates Austin 400
Red Bull Racing Driver wins three of the four 100km sprints in V8… - More News
