GRAND-AM: SunTrust Quickest In Opening Practice At Daytona

GRAND-AM

GRAND-AM: SunTrust Quickest In Opening Practice At Daytona

Max Angelelli tops time charts in DP; Turner Motorsport BMW of Bill Auberlen paces GT...

John Dagys | Posted January 26, 2012 Daytona Beach, FL

SunTrust Racing topped the time charts in opening practice for the 50th Rolex 24. (Photo: John Dagys)

SunTrust Racing picked up where it last left off earlier this month, on the top of the time sheets at Daytona. The No. 10 Corvette DP of Max Angelelli led the way with a 1:41.952 lap time, nearly eight-tenths slower than the Italian's pace-setting time from the Roar Before the 24 test. However, it was still good enough to lead the way Thursday morning, as GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series teams prepare for the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Angelelli edged out the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-BMW of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Joey Hand and Graham Rahal by 0.134 seconds. The No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP wound up third, a further one-tenth behind, while the sister No. 02 Ganassi machine slotted in fourth.

Michael Shank Racing's lead bullet, the No. 60 Riley-Ford, completed the top-five.

TRG led the way in GT, thanks to a late 1:49.867 lap time put in by Spencer Pumeplly in the No. 67 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. The No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 of Bill Auberlen had led the way for the majority of practice until Pumpelly's late flyer.

The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Porsche of Sascha Maassen was third in class with a 1:50.078 lap time.

There were three stoppages during the 90-minute session, the first for oil on track, reportedly put down by the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP.

The other two black flags were for the stopped Racers Edge Motorsports Dodge Viper and an accident by the Oryx Racing Audi R8 GRAND-AM, which spun off in Turn 5.

Fifty-eight of the 59 entries posted time, with the brand-new No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Riley-Ford suffering engine issues.

Practice 2 is on tap for 1:30 p.m. ET.
RESULTS: Practice 1

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Dagys

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

DAGYS: A Bright Future For V8 Supercars In America
John Dagys reflects back on the successful inaugural Austin 400 and…
V8: Nissan Coming To Grips With New Altima
John Dagys explores Nissan's new factory venture in V8 Supercars…
V8: COTA Saturday Notebook
John Dagys explores some of the storylines from Saturday’s…