Living up to its billing as a dress rehearsal for the 53rd Rolex 24 At Daytona, Saturday’s second day of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 featured four sessions of TUDOR United SportsCar Championship practice, including a special 90-minute nighttime session.
Jordan Taylor ran the fastest lap of the day, going 1:39.181 (129.218 mph) in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP shared by his brother Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli. The three-day test wraps up with a pair of Sunday practice sessions beginning at 10:20 a.m. ET.
“These days you need to have the fastest car because when you get to the final hour [of the race] you need to race everyone,” said Taylor. “Five years ago we wouldn’t focus on a lap-time car; we’d just make it as comfortable as possible. Now you need to work on lap times and race pace because you know you’re going to come to that last hour having to race for the win.”
Sebastien Bourdais ran the second-fastest lap of the day in the closing minutes of night practice, running 1:39.310 (129.050 mph) in the defending champion No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP. He was followed by Ozz Negri the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Ligier JS P2/Honda, 1:39.342 (129.009 mph).
“This is the type of racecar that throughout the last 10, 11 years of car racing I’ve done, I’ve always wanted to try driving,” added AJ Allmendinger, Driver – No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Ligier JS P2/Honda. “So when Mike [Shank] and I were talking and he said he was going to make this move, for me, I was pumped up to do it just for the pure excitement of trying to drive one of these cars.”
Other class leaders were Colin Braun in Prototype Challenge (PC), running 1:41.769 (125.932 mph) in the No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA FLM09; Earl Bamber in GT Le Mans (GTLM), 1:44.316 (122.857 mph) in the No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR; and Marc Goossens in GT Daytona (GTD) at 1:47.373 (119.360 mph) in the No. 33 TI Automotive/ViperExchange.com Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R.
“I’ve always liked Daytona, but there are a lot of good drivers out there and a lot of people working hard right now to come back here in two weeks and get the pole,” Goossens added. “Hopefully we have something for them, but most importantly we need to be there at the end of the race and try to get that watch.”
An unfamiliar name to North American sports car fans led the day’s final night practice in the GTD class. Christopher Zoechling – a 26-year-old German Porsche Supercup driver – ran a lap of 1:47.495 (119.224 mph) in a Porsche 911 GT America from Konrad Motorsport.
Porsche Motorsport North America is celebrating Alex Job Racing’s first 25 years in sports car racing this weekend.
“From his experience in the automotive retail business to his success as a driver and mechanic, Alex has all the tools to run a productive motorsports operation, and his championships over the 25 years of Alex Job Racing have proven he can put that rubber to the road,” said Porsche Motorsport North America president and CEO Jens Walther. “And we’re proud that he has chosen Porsche as his preferred marque.”
“Last year – the first year of Porsche North America returning to America with CORE autosport – it set a very high standard winning Daytona and Sebring, winning the [Tequila Patrón] North American Endurance Cup and the manufacturer championship,” added Earl Bamber, Driver – No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR. “Those were quite a few boxes ticked last year so we have a bit to do to try and better what we did last year.”
Byron DeFoor escaped injury when he flipped the No. 50 Fifty Plus Racing Endures for a Cure Dinan/Riley after encountering a mechanical problem entering Turn 1 in the morning session. Other drivers evaluated and released from the infield care center after on-track incidents were Francois Perrodo, driver of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia and Jerome Mee, driver of the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09.
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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