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Had the good fortune to make the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Matt (Matt_in_VA), and spent most of each day at the track.
The big story of this year's Rolex 24 has to be the uncertainty about the rain (which wasn't supposed to be much of a factor.... but very much was). That uncertainty caused quite a few cars to come in on the very first lap for rain tires, and the debates about "wet or drys" continued for most of the race. Because of the rain, there was no 'rabbit' at the start.... everyone seemed to be trying to stay within their comfort zones while they tried to figure out what to do with the track surface.
There was a deluge at a little after 3 AM that silenced the discussion about tires for a while.... but it was one of the few times I've heard drivers almost asking for a red flag. It was clearly a scary time.
Hats off to the Ganassi/Sabates guys for their "hat trick". Three times in a row is one hell of an accomplishment. The Franchitti/Montoya/Pruett/Rojas "01" Lexus powered Riley did an outstanding job, with Montoya and Pruett both turning in notable drives. GT (and 9th overall) was won by the #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, 7 laps better than the quickest Porsche. TRG Porsches were 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
The Rolex 24 was an extremely close contest for 21 and 1/2 hours.... at that point there were still 4 cars on the lead lap. Three of them had difficulties one after the other within about 15 minutes, sealing the victory for the Ganassi #01 car (unless it broke). From that point on, just about everyone was happy to try to hold what they had.... and they did.
Here's the pics promised.....
The Pirelli guys brought an army of tire changers & equipment
Some of the 'classic' 24-Hour cars
Can you tell what race series this guy likes?
Some car pics:
Here's your overall race winner
...and 2nd overall (one of the drivers was Alex Gurney, Dan's son) Pontiac Riley
The #09 Porsche was, I believe, the first V-8 Porsche to be campaigned at Daytona (the engine is based on the Cayman motor). Finished 15th overall.
at 10pm there was a fairly lengthy fireworks display set off on the lake that parallels the back straightaway..... pretty dumb idea IMO, as the smoke on the back straight got pretty dense, and the fireworks themselves had to be a significant distraction to drivers trying to concentrate at 200+ mph
I'ntl Horseshoe at night
Did I mention that it rained?
Yellow lights are GT cars, white lightss are DPs
almost dawn
the Finish...
formation finish for the paparazzi
#70 GT winner celebrating a bit too close to the Daytona 500 logo, much to the displeasure of the approaching track official....
The victory celebration....
A most enjoyable long weekend. It is a shame that because of a couple of egos, there are two separate endurance sports car series here in the USA. I'd really like to see the diesel Audis, the Panoz's, and the Saleen sports car (and the like) compete at Daytona. I've been going to the 24-hour most years since 1969, and nothing matches the electricity of the years when Ferrari, Porsche, and Ford were bringing their factory prototypes. The Daytona Prototype is a nice car, and I think the drivers and teams like it, but it doesn't have the pizzazz that the old Lolas, Porsches, or Ferraris had..... and the DPs don't have the marque 'identity' (with the exception of the Porsche Fabcar).
Still, I'm looking forward to going back yet again
Originally Posted by canberra,Jan 30 2008, 05:46 PM
A most enjoyable long weekend. It is a shame that because of a couple of egos, there are two separate endurance sports car series here in the USA.
There is always excitement in the air when the big-dog well known names compete. I'm looking forward to the diesel battle at Sebring between Peugeot and Audi. And I love the Aston vs Vette battles. Would love to see the Ferrari vs Ford again.
Rolex 24 at Daytona
There is always excitement in the air when the big-dog well known names compete. I'm looking forward to the diesel battle at Sebring between Peugeot and Audi. And I love the Aston vs Vette battles. Would love to see the Ferrari vs Ford again. 
