Legendary German sports car and Formula One driver Jochen Mass, who will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 53rd edition of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 24-25, 2015 at Daytona International Speedway, toured the DAYTONA Rising construction site.
Mass is visiting the “World Center of Racing” this week to compete in the Historic Sportscar Racing events and the Classic 24 Hour vintage race, which scheduled to go green on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Said Mass: “It’s an amazing venue. It’s taking race entertainment to a different level.”
On his tour, Mass made his way to the west end of the frontstretch grandstands where there will be 40,000 new seats available on three different concourse levels for the 2015 Rolex 24. Mass found what he believes will be a great seat to view the entry and exit to the road course during the Rolex 24.
“I think up here is definitely the best because you can see everything,” Mass said. “You see the pit entry and exit. You see the action. You see the first corner, it’s quite spectacular. You can see the cars coming back onto the track banking. I would definitely sit up here.”
The complete DAYTONA Rising project – including seating for 101,000 – will be ready for sports car fans for the 2016 Rolex 24.
Between 1977-87, Mass made five starts in the Rolex 24 At Daytona posting a best finish of third in 1985 and 1986 driving Jim Busby’s Porsche 962. In 1977, Mass put the first turbo-charged Porsche 935 on pole for the Rolex 24; in 1987 he won his second pole driving Bruce Leven’s Porsche 962.
Fans will have the first opportunity to sit in those new seats at the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 24-25 and hear Mass’ starting command, “Drivers start your engines.” Fans can purchase a two-day grandstand seat for $40 for the season-opening IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship event or $30 for Sunday only.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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