Miami Resident, University of Miami Grad Segal Eyeing First Ferrari Victory

University of Miami grad Jeff Segal looks to give the new Ferrari 458 Italia its first Rolex Series victory when he joins Emil Assentato in the No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD entry in the Grand Prix of Miami.

Segal and Assentato won here two years ago in a SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, and finished second in the most recent Rolex Series race at Barber Motorsports Park when Segal charged from eighth to second in the final 45 minutes.

“I was really proud to get onto the podium with the new Ferrari, and in only our second race no less,” Segal said. “If we hadn’t got split from the GT leader on the last yellow at Barber, I think we could have made a play for the win.”

A second Ferrari fielded by a South Florida team will join the lineup at Miami. Extreme Speed Motorsports, based in Stuart, will have the No. 03 Tequila Patron Ferrari for Ed Brown and Guy Cosmo. The team finished 13th at the Rolex 24 in its only GRAND-AM appearance.

The last Ferrari victory in the Rolex Series was in the 2003 season finale at Daytona International Speedway, when GT champions Cort Wagner and Brenti Martini recorded their eighth triumph of the year in a Ferrari 360T.

Segal and Assentato won the 2010 GT class championship.

Stock Cars to Sports Cars, Ortiz Eyes Double-Duty Weekend

Bryan Ortiz raced nearly three full seasons in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge before moving to stock cars in 2010. Now racing as part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program in the K&N Pro Series East, the 23-year-old Puerto Rican is set for a double-duty weekend in stock cars and sports cars.

On Thursday, Ortiz will be at Richmond International Raceway to compete in the Blue Ox 100, Round 3 of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He flies to Miami early the next morning, to race in Saturday’s KIA 200 in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“It will be a big challenge, going from one day to another on two completely different tracks and cars,” said Ortiz, who will share the No. 49 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R at Miami with fellow Puerto Rican Roly Falgueras. “But it will be a good one. I love going back to my roots on the road courses, and I’m grateful Roly gave me the opportunity to drive with him.”

Ortiz and Falgueras finished 27th in the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona International Speedway in the 2012 CTSCC season opener, a race won by Roush Performance teammates Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson.

“Roly is a great driver and we have a great team with Roush,” Ortiz said. “I will be amazed if we’re not in the front at the end of the race at Homestead.”

Ortiz made his Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge debut in 2005 at age 16, the year he won his second Formula Renault championship. He ran seven races in 2007, finishing fourth at Mid-Ohio, and won a pole and had a best finish of seventh at Barber for Turner Motorsport in 2008. He raced with Rehagen Racing in 2009.

“It’s definitely awesome to be able to come back to GRAND-AM,” Ortiz said. “This series has grown so much, with the level of competition and the quantity of cars. It’s ex-citing, like NASCAR road course racing with amazing competition.”

Lally Has First Crack At 100th Podium in Kia 200

Andy Lally will have two chances in Miami to achieve his 100th career GRAND-AM podium. His second-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park was his 29th visit to the podium in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

Lally can hit the century mark in Saturday’s Kia 200, when he shares the No. 10 Kia Forte Koup with Nic Jonsson. Lally, the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year, will have another chance on Sunday joining John Potter in the Magnus Racing Porsche in the Rolex Sports Car Series Grand Prix of Miami.