Jamie McMurray paced Prototype testing for Chip Ganassi Racing on Saturday in practice for the Rolex 24. Photo courtesy IMSA Media
The variety of international talent that comes together for the Rolex 24 At Daytona was very evident Saturday in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship testing at Daytona International Speedway, as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and a Formula One test driver led the respective Prototype classes in the second day of Roar Before the Rolex 24 testing.
Jamie McMurray, winner of the 2010 Daytona 500, paced the Prototype (P) drivers with a lap of 1:38.980 (129.481 mph) in the No. 01 Telcel/Target Ford EcoBoost/Riley. Sam Bird, runner-up in the 2013 GP2 championship and test driver for the past three seasons for the AMG Mercedes Formula One team, led Prototype Challenge (PC) with a lap of 1:42.010 (125.635 mph) in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport ORECA FLM09.
McMurray was not aware that he was fastest in practice after getting out of the car he shares with defending Rolex 24 winners Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas and reigning Indy Lights champion Sage Karam. The team is looking to give Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates its sixth Rolex 24 victory since 2006.
“Today we’re really trying to get the car comfortable for everyone,” McMurray said. “The car is different from the one we raced here last year, with traction control, and it drives differently with the turbocharger. Absolutely, this would be a huge race to win. I’ve won the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400, and even won in go-karts here. It would be awesome to win the Rolex 24.”
David Brabham ushered in the Daytona Prototype era in the Rolex 24 by winning the class in 2003, driving for Multimatic Motorsports. This year, he will drive an LMP2-spec car in its Daytona competition debut as part of the No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b/Honda with Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel for Extreme Speed Motorsports.
“It’s kind of cool to be racing in the first TUDOR Championship race, after being involved here in the very beginning of the DPs here,” Brabham said. “The DPs have come a long way since then. Obviously, I’m used to the P2, having raced the HPD since 2007 and I know the car very well. It’s difficult to say what’s going to happen in the Rolex 24. The two cars have strengths in different areas and perform quite the opposite. It will be a fascinating battle as it goes on.”
Two-time Rolex 24 winner Wayne Taylor is making his return to racing for the event, joining his sons, Ricky and Jordan Taylor, and long-time associate Max Angelelli in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP.
“It’s great to be driving with them, and that’s a big motivating factor for me,” Taylor said. “But we’re having loads of little issues that are not making it easy. My biggest challenge is that I have to focus on the driving. That’s very tough – given all the details of running the race team – and I don’t want to detract from the guys. The DP is completely different from the last time I drove here in 2011. It’s got a lot more technology, including paddle-shifters, carbon fiber brakes and a six-speed gearbox.”
It was also a day of firsts for Bird, who co-drives with Mirco Schultis, Renger van der Zande and Eric Lux.
“This is my first time stateside, my first endurance race and my first time in a PC car,” said the 26-year-old London driver. “So far, I’m really enjoying it. I hope I get many more opportunities to race in America.
Bird finished second in the 2013 GP2 championship for Russian Time, winning five races. He has also been a test driver for the AMG Mercedes Formula One team for the past three seasons.
“My fastest lap today was only my second lap here,” Bird said. “I haven’t gotten a clean lap yet. I hope to be pushing it into the 41s pretty soon. It’s nice to have a fast one-off lap, but that really doesn’t mean much in a 24-hour race. This form of racing is completely new to me, but I’m loving it and hope to get many more opportunities to do this.”
Corvette Racing and SRT Viper are ready to square off for the first time in more than a decade in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Jan Magnussen led competitors in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in Saturday’s session, running a lap of 1:46.010 (120.894 mph) in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.
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Antonio Garcia, the 2009 Rolex 24 winner who will co-drive that car along with Ryan Briscoe, cautions not to count out any of the competitors in GTLM.
“It’s not only Corvette and Viper,” Garcia said. “I think everybody else will be there – with BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin. We can’t forget about any of the factories here. We are all very strong, as we showed last year in the ALMS. I think the completion will be real hard this year in the TUDOR Championship.”
The No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage shared by Stefan Mucke, Darren Turner, Pedro Lamy, Richie Stanaway and Paul Dalla Lana was second, 1:46.157 (120.727 mph), followed by the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Robin Liddell with a time of 1:46.165 (120.718 mph).
“What we do in the Roar is very important towards the race,” Garcia said. “So far, we’re running according to plan, to get as much information that we can to be prepared for the race.”
The Corvette and Viper teams last faced each other in the Rolex 24 in 2000, when an SRT Viper fielded by the French ORECA team took the overall victory by 30.879 seconds over Corvette – the closest finish in event history at that time. Corvette Racing won overall in 2001, its last factory appearance in the event.
“It’s going to be a great show,” said Jonathan Bomarito, who co-drives the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R with Kuno Wittmer and Rob Bell, fourth fastest in practice with a lap of 1:46.310 (120.553 mph). “We’re still trying to get used to the differences in the cars and classes. I’ve won here before, but this is the first time here for SRT as a team with the Viper GTS-R. I know this class will be a good battle again, and we’ve got as good a shot as anyone. The guys are doing a great job, and we’re going to go for it.”
BMW Team RLL is competing at the Rolex 24 for the first time, with a two-car lineup including IndyCar regular and 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona winner Graham Rahal – son of team owner and 1981 Rolex 24 winner Bobby Rahal.
“We need a little power to be competitive with the Corvettes, Vipers and Porsches, but we’ll do OK,” Rahal said. “We’re going to focus on the strengths of the car and improve it, and see if we can find some time in the infield to make up for it. It’s been a busy couple of days, but it’s nice to get back in the BMW Z4. For me, this test is vital, because I haven’t driven a GT car here in years. The more time I can get behind the wheel the better.”
Jan Heylen led competitors in the GT Daytona (GTD) category, running 1:48.228 (118.417 mph) on the final lap of the afternoon session in the No. 58 Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT America co-driven by Madison Snow and Marco Siefried.
“We have been making good progress on the setup for this new Porsche 911 GT America over the last two days,” Heylen said. “All the drivers have been with a few tenths of each other as we work on brake balance, suspension adjustments, and get used to the new paddle shift. In the end, my fast lap was a combination of a rare clean lap with no traffic problems, and our weekend setup progress.”
Norbert Siedler was second fastest with a lap of 1:48.253 (118.389 mph), set during the night session in the No. 71 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America co-driven by Jim Norman, Shane van Gisbergen and Craig Stanton.
Leh Keen was third with a lap of 1:48.269 (118.372 mph) in the No. 22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America co-driven by Cooper MacNeil, L.P Dumoulin and Shane van Gisbergen.
The final day of Roar Before The Rolex 24 testing begins at 9 am ET with a Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge session. The TUDOR Championship machines return for the first of two Sunday sessions at 10:15 am.
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