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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Sunoco Rolex 24 Challenge To Return
After a nail-biting 2011 campaign, the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge is ready to launch again for its fourth season...
2011 Sunoco Rolex 24 Challenge winner Felipe Nasr scored a podium finish in his Rolex Series debut. (Photo: John Dagys)
After a nail-biting 2011 campaign, the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge is ready to launch again for its fourth season.
With the excitement of last year's Challenge, and of course the amazing Rolex 24 podium finish for Challenge winner Felipe Nasr fresh in our minds - the competition is set to start to find the next star to race in a competitive Daytona Prototype in the 2013 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
This year sees several changes within the Challenge, starting with the point system.
The points awarded from second through eighth finishing positions have been changed in order to keep more racers in contention throughout the year. Although every year has seen a very close finish between the top contenders in each eligible series, narrowing the gap between the points is expected to have more racers in the running to win the Challenge.
The new points system awards 100 points for first, 85 for second, 75 for third, 65 for fourth, 55 for fifth, 45 for sixth, 35 for seventh, 25 for eighth, 10 for ninth and five for 10th. In addition, winning the pole and setting the fastest race lap will each be worth an additional 20 points.
For the second year in a row, the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship will be eligible to enter the Challenge. This year Classes 1 and 2 will be eligible classes. Classes 3 and 4 will be eligible for the sister challenge - the Sunoco GRAND-AM 200 Challenge. Classes 1 and 2 will be split and points awarded to each class separately. Last year's Challenge saw Britcar racer Javier Morcillo in solid contention before finishing third in the final standings due to reliability issues and incidents.
"We are delighted to again have Britcar Endurance as part of the Sunoco Daytona Challenge," said Anders Hildebrand, Managing Director of Anglo American Oil Company. "Last year, Javier Morcillo had a taste of success before car gremlins halted his march towards Daytona. He came to the race - although he had to pay for his own ticket to get there - and I could see how intoxicated he became by the Daytona atmosphere. I wish all Britcar racers good luck this year and who knows Javier or one of the other fast Britcar boys will sit next to me on the Virgin flight to Daytona."
This year, Morcillo is back in Britcar with the Challenge victory in his goals.
"I´ll be competing in my second Daytona Sunoco Challenge this year, and it's a big part of my season," Morcillo said. "After visiting the Daytona race in January and seeing what Felipe won, winning the Challenge will be my first thought every morning. Achieving that will be very difficult, as you have to get a perfect season to be able to win it, have the best car, the best team and the best of luck, so it's got to be one of the toughest prizes ever. I was third in 2011 and it's not crazy to dream of winning it this year. I can guarantee that I'll give my 100-percent towards that dream."
This year the final point-scoring round for Britcar will be at Snetterton on Aug.18-19. The Silverstone 24 hour will not count towards the Challenge this year due to racers swapping teams and cars at the event.
Returning to using Sunoco race fuels this year is the SPEED EuroSeries. Sunoco will provide and service all fuel requirements for SPEED EuroSeries competitors at the 6 events of the season. This association means that 2012 SPEED EuroSeries racers will again be eligible for the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge and to win a drive at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
SPEED racer Rob Garofall came achingly close to winning the Challenge when the SPEED Series ran in the UK in 2009. Rob, driving a Norma M20F alongside Simon Phillips, narrowly failed to win the prestigious Daytona ride at the final race of the 2009 season.
Oli McCrudden, organiser of SPEED - the only international series for CN sports prototype cars authorised by the FIA - said, "The Daytona drive competition is one of the most sought after prizes in motorsport and gives our drivers yet another incentive to be part of the 2012 SPEED program."
There is still a possibility that another organisation will join the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge to replace British GT and British F3.
More information on the challenge can be found at www.sunocodaytonachallenge.com. Full details on the entrants will be released after each series' first round at the end of March.
This year will also see the second running of the Sunoco GRAND-AM 200 Challenge, with details to be released shortly.
With the excitement of last year's Challenge, and of course the amazing Rolex 24 podium finish for Challenge winner Felipe Nasr fresh in our minds - the competition is set to start to find the next star to race in a competitive Daytona Prototype in the 2013 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
This year sees several changes within the Challenge, starting with the point system.
The points awarded from second through eighth finishing positions have been changed in order to keep more racers in contention throughout the year. Although every year has seen a very close finish between the top contenders in each eligible series, narrowing the gap between the points is expected to have more racers in the running to win the Challenge.
The new points system awards 100 points for first, 85 for second, 75 for third, 65 for fourth, 55 for fifth, 45 for sixth, 35 for seventh, 25 for eighth, 10 for ninth and five for 10th. In addition, winning the pole and setting the fastest race lap will each be worth an additional 20 points.
For the second year in a row, the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship will be eligible to enter the Challenge. This year Classes 1 and 2 will be eligible classes. Classes 3 and 4 will be eligible for the sister challenge - the Sunoco GRAND-AM 200 Challenge. Classes 1 and 2 will be split and points awarded to each class separately. Last year's Challenge saw Britcar racer Javier Morcillo in solid contention before finishing third in the final standings due to reliability issues and incidents.
"We are delighted to again have Britcar Endurance as part of the Sunoco Daytona Challenge," said Anders Hildebrand, Managing Director of Anglo American Oil Company. "Last year, Javier Morcillo had a taste of success before car gremlins halted his march towards Daytona. He came to the race - although he had to pay for his own ticket to get there - and I could see how intoxicated he became by the Daytona atmosphere. I wish all Britcar racers good luck this year and who knows Javier or one of the other fast Britcar boys will sit next to me on the Virgin flight to Daytona."
This year, Morcillo is back in Britcar with the Challenge victory in his goals.
"I´ll be competing in my second Daytona Sunoco Challenge this year, and it's a big part of my season," Morcillo said. "After visiting the Daytona race in January and seeing what Felipe won, winning the Challenge will be my first thought every morning. Achieving that will be very difficult, as you have to get a perfect season to be able to win it, have the best car, the best team and the best of luck, so it's got to be one of the toughest prizes ever. I was third in 2011 and it's not crazy to dream of winning it this year. I can guarantee that I'll give my 100-percent towards that dream."
This year the final point-scoring round for Britcar will be at Snetterton on Aug.18-19. The Silverstone 24 hour will not count towards the Challenge this year due to racers swapping teams and cars at the event.
Returning to using Sunoco race fuels this year is the SPEED EuroSeries. Sunoco will provide and service all fuel requirements for SPEED EuroSeries competitors at the 6 events of the season. This association means that 2012 SPEED EuroSeries racers will again be eligible for the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge and to win a drive at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
SPEED racer Rob Garofall came achingly close to winning the Challenge when the SPEED Series ran in the UK in 2009. Rob, driving a Norma M20F alongside Simon Phillips, narrowly failed to win the prestigious Daytona ride at the final race of the 2009 season.
Oli McCrudden, organiser of SPEED - the only international series for CN sports prototype cars authorised by the FIA - said, "The Daytona drive competition is one of the most sought after prizes in motorsport and gives our drivers yet another incentive to be part of the 2012 SPEED program."
There is still a possibility that another organisation will join the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge to replace British GT and British F3.
More information on the challenge can be found at www.sunocodaytonachallenge.com. Full details on the entrants will be released after each series' first round at the end of March.
This year will also see the second running of the Sunoco GRAND-AM 200 Challenge, with details to be released shortly.
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