86 GT 1:50.881
67 GT 1:51.169
65 GT 1:51.176
70 GT 1:51.205
66 GT 1:51.277
88 GT 1:51.463
33 GT 1:51.541
87 GT 1:51.619
30 GT 1:51.643
69 GT 1:51.781
40 GT 1:51.867
85 GT 1:51.880
64 GT 1:51.900
63 GT 1:51.941
26 GT 1:52.142
57 GT 1:52.301
42 GT 1:52.303
68 GT 1:52.508
97 GT 1:52.640
07 GT 1:52.643
31 GT 1:52.651
14 GT 1:52.745
52 GT 1:52.773
89 GT 1:52.952
32 GT 1:53.219
34 GT 1:53.306
44 GT 1:53.391
43 GT 1:54.557
21 GT 1:54.769

Wide-Open Battle Expected for 47th Rolex 24 At Daytona



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 20, 2009) - A wide-open race is expected for Saturday's 47th Rolex 24 At Daytona, when Grand-Am Road Racing's top competitors join stars of NASCAR, the IndyCar Series and international sports car racing battling for top overall honors in America's premier sports car event.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has a star-studded two-car roster in quest of an unprecedented fourth consecutive triumph in the event, but a long list of contenders has lined up for the opening round of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 campaign.

All of the 20 Daytona Prototypes entered are capable of challenging for top overall honors in the event, which also features 31 entries in the GT class. The Rolex 24 takes the green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The opening portion of the race will be televised live on FOX (3-4:30 p.m.), with SPEED resuming coverage from 4:30 - 10 p.m. ET and covering Sunday's activities from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET.

Defending Daytona Prototype co-champions Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas return in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley, with Pruett and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular and 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya seeking their third consecutive victory in the event. Dario Franchitti was also part of the 2008 winning car, but shifts to the team's No. 02 Target/TELMEX Lexus Riley with 2006 Rolex 24 winner Scott Dixon and Alex Lloyd. That car pairs the two most recent Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champions - Dixon (2008) and Franchitti (2007) -- with the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights champion.

A number of powerful entries with compelling story lines look to end the Ganassi domination of the event.

Jimmie Johnson, riding a three-year championship streak in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, joins 2007 Daytona Prototype champs Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty plus 1996 Champ Car titlist Jimmy Vasser in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley. The team is seeking its first victory in the Rolex 24, while Johnson is looking to step up after finishing twice in the event.

Penske Racing celebrates the 40th anniversary of its victory in the 1969 Rolex 24, won by Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons, with its first full assault in the event since 1973. Two-time Rolex 24 winner Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas - Penske's regular drivers in 2009 Daytona Prototype competition - share the No. 16 Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Porsche Riley with Penske IndyCar Series driver Ryan Briscoe. Last year, Briscoe was part of a joint venture between Penske Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing which took third in the Rolex 24.

Brumos Racing, which dominated the Rolex 24 in the 1970s, has a solid two-car lineup with Darren Law, David Donohue, Antonio Garcia and 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice in the No. 58 Porsche Riley, joined by five-time Rolex 24 winner Hurley Haywood, Joao Barbosa, JC France and Terry Borcheller in the team's No. 59 car.

Childress-Howard Motorsports makes its Rolex 24 debut with three-time winner Andy Wallace joined by NASCAR's Casey Mears, IndyCar's Danica Patrick and Rob Finlay in the No. 2 Pontiac Crawford.

Michael Shank Racing captured both front-row starting positions for the 2008 Rolex 24, and ended last year's campaign by winning the final two races. Pole winner Ozz Negri returns in the No. 60 Ford Riley, joined by Mark Patterson, Ryan Hunter-Reay and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular Colin Braun. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular AJ Allmendinger partners with John Pew, Michael Valiante and Ian James in the team's No. 6 entry.

SunTrust Racing, the 2005 Rolex 24 winner, rolls out a new combination with the No. 10 Ford-powered Dallara driven by two-time event winner Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli, Brian Frisselle and Pedro Lamy.

A trio of motorcycle champions shares the No. 09 Spirit of Daytona Racing AMA Pro Racing Porsche Coyote. Scott Russell, a five-time Daytona 200 By Honda winner, co-drives with motocross legend Jeff Ward and Jason Pridmore, joined by Rolex Series veteran Guy Cosmo.

Orbit Racing begins a full season in the Daytona Prototypes with NASCAR veterans Kyle Petty and Bill Lester joined by IndyCar Series driver Darren Manning and Leo Hindery Jr. in the No. 45 BMW Riley.

Krohn Racing returns both driver lineups from the team that placed two cars in the top 10 of the 2008 Rolex 24, although the team is now running Ford-powered Lolas. Ricardo Zonta, Nic Jonsson and Darren Turner pilot the No. 76, with team owner Tracy Krohn joined by Eric van de Poele in the No. 75.

A pair of BMW-powered Rileys were among the fastest cars in pre-season testing. Christophe Bouchut, the 1995 Rolex 24 winner, joins 2008 GT winner Raphael Matos, team owner Scott Tucker and Ed Zabinski in the No. 55 Supercar Life LevelFive Motorsports machine. Alegra Motorsports, the 2007 Rolex 24 GT winner, moves up to Daytona Prototype with Carlos de Quesada, Jean-Francois Dumoulin, Ryan Dalziel, Tomas Enge and Chapman Ducote in the No. 22.

Among other entries, Doran Racing debuts McDonald's sponsorship on the No. 77 Ford Dallara for Matteo Bobbi, Memo Gidley, Brad Jaeger and Fabrizio Gollin. Mark Wilkins, a two-time Rolex Series winner in 2008, teams with Burt Frisselle, David Empringham, Alex Figge and John Farano in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley. Jordan and Ricky Taylor, sons of the two-time Rolex 24 winner, share the No. 13 Beyer Racing Pontiac Riley with Jared Beyer.

Porsche Onslaught Looks to Detail Mazda in GT Class

While the SpeedSource Mazda team looks to score its fourth consecutive GT class victory in this weekend's Rolex 24, it must withstand a 17-car challenge presented by Porsche teams for the GT season opener.

Also challenging in the GT class are Pontiac, including the 2008 class champion, plus entries from Ferrari, Corvette and Ford.

Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, David Haskell and Jonathan Bomarito share the No. 70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 that captured class GT honors in the 2008 Rolex 24 in addition to winning the last two runnings of the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona in July. Adding depth is the team's No. 69 FXDD entry - winners of the 2008 Sahlen's Six Hours of Watkins Glen - driven by Emil Assentato, Jeff Segal, Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb.

Dempsey Racing will field the No. 40 Mazda for Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster, Charles Espenlaub and Jep Thornton, while Dane Cameron, Doug Peterson, Bryan Sellers and Dion von Moltke share the No. 30 Racers Edge Motorsports entry.

Highlighting the Porsche assault are five-car entries by both TRG and Farnbacher Loles Racing.

TRG, GT winners of the 2002 Rolex 24 and overall winners of the event in 2003, has the No. 67 Porsche of two-time Rolex 24 winner Jorg Bergmeister, Andy Lally, Justin Marks, Patrick Long and RJ Valentine; the No. 66 of 2005 overall winner Emmanuel Collard, Spencer Pumpelly, Tim George Jr., Ted Ballou and Richard Leitz; and the No. 65 of Craig Stanton, John Potter, Bryce Miller and Marco Holzer. The team will also field the No. 63 and 68 entries, in addition to supporting the No. 31 Battery Tender/Matt Connolly Motorsports entry.

Farnbacher Loles Racing took GT class honors in 2005, with winners Wolf Henzler and Dominik Farnbacher returning for this year's event. Henzler is joined by 2007 GT champ Dirk Werner, Leo Keen and Richard Westbrook, while Farnbacher shares the team's No. 86 with Eric Lux, Matthew Marsh and Kevin Roush. Former NFL tight end Steve Johnson leads the No. 88 entry, with the team also entering the No. 85 and No. 89 machines. Farnbacher Loles will also support the No. 64 JLowe Motorsports GT3 of 1996 overall winner Jim Pace, joined by Jim Lowe, Tim Sugden and Johannes van Overbook.

Wright Motorsports fields the No. 33 for Sascha Maassen, BJ Zacharias, Phillip Martien and Patrick Pilet, while Gotham Competition has the No. 26 for brothers Jerome and Joe Jacalone, joined by Gerardo Bonilla, Randy Pobst and Shane Lewis.

Other Porsche teams include the No. 14 Autometrics Motorsports entry, led by Jack Baldwin; Ross Bentley in the No. 44 Bullet Racing entry; and Victory Junction-Orbit Racing's No. 34 for Lawson Aschenbach and Lance Willsey.

Leading the Pontiac charge is the No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R driven to last year's title by Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards. They will be joined by Formula One veteran Jan Magnussen this weekend.

Other top Pontiacs include the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R of three-time 2008 winners Andrew Davis and 2004 class winner Robin Liddell, joined by Jeff Bucknum; the No. 32 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R; and the No. 21 Battery Tender/Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO.R.

Three Corvettes are entered, a pair of Team Sahlen cars for Joe, Wayne and Will Nonnamaker plus Joe Sahlen, plus the No. 97 Stevenson Motorsports entry.

Master-Coast 2 Costa Racing entered a pair of Ferrari 430 Challenge cars for a lineup including 2002 Rolex 24 winner Max Papis.

Completing the GT entry is the Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang, with veteran NASCAR road racer Boris Said joined by Tom Nastasi and Australian Paul Morris.

Practice for the Rolex 24 begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, with qualifying set for 3:45 p.m. and night practice at 6:30 p.m. Final qualifying begins Friday at 11 a.m., followed by the Fresh From Florida 200 KONI Sports Car Challenge race.

Donohue Captures Rolex 24 At Daytona Pole 40 Years After Father's Victory



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2009) - David Donohue edged Timo Bernhard by a scant .001 seconds Thursday to capture the pole position for the 47th Rolex 24 At Daytona, breaking the Daytona Prototype track record in the process.
Donohue turned in a lap of 1:40.540 (127.472 mph) in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley he will share with Darren Law, Buddy Rice and Antonio Garcia. The race will take the green flag at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. FOX will open live network coverage at 3 p.m. Saturday. SPEED will resume coverage at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, continuing until 10 p.m. Sunday coverage on SPEED will run from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Bernhard was at the wheel of Penske Racing's No. 16 Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Porsche Riley, turning a lap of 1:50.541 (127.470 mph) in the Daytona Prototype he shares with Romain Dumas and Ryan Briscoe.

"Actually, winning the pole was a bit of a surprise," said Donohue. "We had a bit of a problem with traffic on what I thought was my fastest lap. We were having an electrical gremlin, so I didn't know how quick I was running. The team told me I was P-1, but I didn't know by how much and what to do with the tires. But I said it before, all that counts is where you are at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday."

Donohue joins his father, the late Mark Donohue, as a pole winner of the event. The elder Donohue won the pole for Penske Racing in 1971. The pair join Dan and Alex Gurney as father-son pole winners for America's most prestigious sports car race.

While Donohue wasn't sure of his position in qualifying, Bernhard thought he was atop the charts.

"I knew I put down a pretty good lap, and when they give me the time I thought it would be good enough for the pole," said Bernhard, overall winner of the 2003 Rolex 24. "Then they told me it was very close, but I was second, but by that time my tires were done. It was a great result for Penske Racing. It's a new series for us in Grand-Am, and we're already very competitive. Looking at it that way, P-2 is a very good result."

Starting from the second row will be Michael Valiante, posting a time of 1:40.651 (127.331 mph) in the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley, and Richard Zonta, with a time of 1:40.892 (127.027 mph) in the No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford Lola.

Scott Pruett, seeking a third consecutive victory in the Rolex 24 and fourth in a row for TELMEX/Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, will start sixth after running a lap of 1:41.016 (126.495 mph) in the No. 01 Lexus Riley.

"That's about what we expected to run in qualifying," said Pruett. "For 24 hours, it's not going to make a difference. The Ganassi guys have done a great job, as always, and we've got a great car for the race. With a little bit of luck, the TELMEX No. 01 car will be fighting for the victory at the end."

Alex Gurney, the 2007 Rolex 24 pole winner, will start 11th in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley co-driven by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, Jon Fogarty and Jimmy Vasser.

The No. 2 Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac Crawford of Danica Patrick, Casey Mears, Rob Finlay and three-time Rolex 24 winner Andy Wallace lost an engine during Friday's practice and failed to qualify. They will start the race 18th, at the back of the Daytona Prototype grid.

In GT, Sylvain Tremblay captured the Rolex 24 pole for the second consecutive year in dramatic fashion, waiting until near the end of the session to turn a track record lap of 1:49.455 (117.100) in the No.70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX. Tremblay and Nick Ham will be seeking their second consecutive GT victory in the Rolex 24, and fourth consecutive triumph at Daytona - all from the pole position. David Haskell and Jonathan Bomarito will co-drive in the Rolex 24.

"We were short by about three- or four-tenths, and I had to do quite a bit of work to make it happen," Tremblay said. "I could see that that last lap had potential. I kept my head down and drove as hard as I've ever driven here to try to get that lap. I know it doesn't mean much for a 24-hour race, but it means a lot to the team, it means a lot to my boys and it means a lot to me."

Tremblay knocked Andy Lally off the pole, after the driver of the No. 67 TRG Porsche GT3 turned in a lap of 1:49.450 (116.998 mph) early in the session.

Martin Ragginger, Jeff Segal and Wolf Henzler rounded out the top five GT qualifiers.

Thursday's qualifying locked in the top 40 positions for the Rolex 24. Final qualifying will be held Friday at 11 a.m., followed by the Fresh From Florida 200 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge race.

Engine

20B Three rotor rotary engine (1,950cc)
Max Power 415HP @ 8500RPM
Max Torque 285 ft-lbs. @ 7600
Max RPM 8800
Dry Sump Lubrication
Bosch 4.3 ECU

3-3.2 Maximum engine RPM, throttle body size/diameter, valve lift and size, and the maximum compression ratio may be specified for each approved engine. Engine air box and inlet air restrictors may also be required.