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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Rolex 24 Notebook
News and notes from the eve of the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona...
Final preparations were being made Friday to the 59-car Rolex 24 starting grid. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
HAND COMES FULL CIRCLE — After enjoying a career-defining 2011 season, Joey Hand returns to Daytona in search of his second consecutive Rolex 24 crown with Chip Ganassi Racing. Hand will again team defending Rolex Series champions Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Ganassi IndyCar driver Graham Rahal in the team’s BMW-powered Riley.
“One year ago, this is the weekend that started off a career year for me,” Hand said. “It started with Chip Gansssi Racing, winning this race, then winning Sebring [with RLL] and the championship in ALMS and having the opportunity to test the DTM car.”
That test led to the 31-year-old California native landing one of the six coveted seats with BMW’s factory DTM program, which will see Hand compete alongside a limited-season American Le Mans Series campaign with the championship-winning BMW Team RLL squad.
It will no doubt make for a busy jet-setting year for Hand, but the focus remains the same for this weekend’s 50th Rolex 24.
“My goal for the weekend is to start off the same way,” He added. “It would be cool if I had one Rolex on this arm that had West Coast time where I live, and one Rolex on this arm with Euro time where I'll be racing DTM most of the time. That's my goal is to walk out of here with a Rolex on each arm. It's that simple.”
U.S. DTM HOPES STILL ALIVE — While much hasn’t been said about the proposed American-based DTM championship, originally penciled in for a 2013 launch, BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt confirmed that talks are still alive and well to bring the high-spec touring cars to GRAND-AM race weekends in the future.
“From BMW's side, I can say we're in full support of the idea to bring BMW and the DTM cars over to America and have a series over here,” Marquardt said. “At the same time, we're obviously concentrating in Europe with introducing a complete new set of regulations and completely new cars.
“But... we’re also pushing real hard in getting a series over here. I think we're making really good progress. Everybody involved is doing their best. There are a few things that need to be sorted out, but I'm still quite positive that we're moving in the right direction. It's just taking a little bit of time.”
YOUNG VETERAN COLIN BRAUN — The words “young” and “veteran” are often contradictions, but not for Colin Braun, who makes his eighth consecutive Rolex 24 start this weekend. The 23-year-old rejoins Krohn Racing, teaming with Tracy Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Ricardo Zonta in the team’s Proto-Auto Lola-Ford.
“My first time competing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona was when I was 16 years old,” Braun explained. “I was teamed with a couple of other 16 year olds and we called ourselves “Team 16”. I know it’s not real original but it stated who we were.
“We raced in a Porsche 911 GT car and finished seventh in class. That got us all some attention and I signed to be a driver for Tracy Krohn for the full 2006 season later that year. I’ve raced the Daytona Prototypes since then.”
Of note, Krohn Racing is currently the only team entered for both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans, having received an auto-invite for the twice-around-the-clock French classic for its class victory at the Petit Le Mans last year.
“One year ago, this is the weekend that started off a career year for me,” Hand said. “It started with Chip Gansssi Racing, winning this race, then winning Sebring [with RLL] and the championship in ALMS and having the opportunity to test the DTM car.”
That test led to the 31-year-old California native landing one of the six coveted seats with BMW’s factory DTM program, which will see Hand compete alongside a limited-season American Le Mans Series campaign with the championship-winning BMW Team RLL squad.
It will no doubt make for a busy jet-setting year for Hand, but the focus remains the same for this weekend’s 50th Rolex 24.
“My goal for the weekend is to start off the same way,” He added. “It would be cool if I had one Rolex on this arm that had West Coast time where I live, and one Rolex on this arm with Euro time where I'll be racing DTM most of the time. That's my goal is to walk out of here with a Rolex on each arm. It's that simple.”
U.S. DTM HOPES STILL ALIVE — While much hasn’t been said about the proposed American-based DTM championship, originally penciled in for a 2013 launch, BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt confirmed that talks are still alive and well to bring the high-spec touring cars to GRAND-AM race weekends in the future.
“From BMW's side, I can say we're in full support of the idea to bring BMW and the DTM cars over to America and have a series over here,” Marquardt said. “At the same time, we're obviously concentrating in Europe with introducing a complete new set of regulations and completely new cars.
“But... we’re also pushing real hard in getting a series over here. I think we're making really good progress. Everybody involved is doing their best. There are a few things that need to be sorted out, but I'm still quite positive that we're moving in the right direction. It's just taking a little bit of time.”
YOUNG VETERAN COLIN BRAUN — The words “young” and “veteran” are often contradictions, but not for Colin Braun, who makes his eighth consecutive Rolex 24 start this weekend. The 23-year-old rejoins Krohn Racing, teaming with Tracy Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Ricardo Zonta in the team’s Proto-Auto Lola-Ford.
“My first time competing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona was when I was 16 years old,” Braun explained. “I was teamed with a couple of other 16 year olds and we called ourselves “Team 16”. I know it’s not real original but it stated who we were.
“We raced in a Porsche 911 GT car and finished seventh in class. That got us all some attention and I signed to be a driver for Tracy Krohn for the full 2006 season later that year. I’ve raced the Daytona Prototypes since then.”
Of note, Krohn Racing is currently the only team entered for both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans, having received an auto-invite for the twice-around-the-clock French classic for its class victory at the Petit Le Mans last year.
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