Pruett and Rojas win at Road America
So did the winless streak for co-drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.
Pruett and Rojas ended the Corvette DP run of five-straight Rolex Series wins by taking the checkered flag in the Rolex 250 Driven by VISITFLORIDA.com. It snapped a nine-race winless streak for the defending Daytona Prototype co-champions.
“Even thought we haven’t been to Victory Lane, it hasn’t taken the fight out of us," said Pruett, whose No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley hadn’t won since New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2011. “We’ve worked real hard: The dyno guys, BMW, TELMEX, everybody has been doing whatever they can to get the last drop of performance out of that car."
That hard work paid off when it counted.
A late caution-lap crash by race leader Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 SunTrust Corvette DP opened the door for Pruett’s first 2012 triumph.
Taylor’s trouble came as he exited Turn 5 with a little less than 15 minutes left. Taylor hit the wall, while warming his tires for a restart, leaving the No. 10 machine with a broken right-rear suspension and forcing him to give up the lead.
Pruett took full advantage and “drove like it was qualifying" when the race resumed, claiming his 38th Rolex Series win, his 37th in the DP class. Pruett and Rojas extended their lead in the Daytona Prototype driver standings to five, 205-200, over co-drivers Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio.
“He just went down into Turn 5 and all of the sudden he was accelerating up the hill, the car spun from out underneath him and he hit the fence on the inside," said Pruett, who alongside Rojas, won for the second straight year at Road America. “It happened very fast, so it looked like something potentially broke on the rear."
Ford/Rileys filled out the remainder of the DP podium, with Potolicchio and Dalziel finishing second in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport entry. John Pew and Ozz Negri Jr. finished third in the No. 60 LiveOn machine.
GT belonged to a familiar Ferrari. Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato drove the No. 69 FXDD Ferrari 458 to its third GT win of 2012 and grew their lead in the GT driver standings to 21 points, 220-199, over Robin Liddell, who finished sixth.
“We weren’t the fastest car on track," said Assentato, who started the winning Ferrari from the pole after Friday’s qualifying session was rained out. “There were a lot of faster laps out there by other guys, but still it’s a great car with a great team, and Jeff did a great job bringing it to the finish."
The No. 94 Turner Motorsport BWM M3 of Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana finished second in GT, followed by the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/Mazda/ModSpace/Castrol Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito.
Next up for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series is the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen next Sunday, July 1, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y. It will be the second round of the 2012 North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com.
Results
| Pos | No | Class | Drivers | Car | No. |
| 1 | 01 | DP | Scott Pruett, Auburn, CA; Memo Rojas, Mexico City, Mexico | BMW Riley | 49 |
| 2 | 8 | DP | Enzo Potolicchio, Venezuela; Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL | Ford Riley | 49 |
| 3 | 60 | DP | John Pew, North Palm Beach, FL; Oswaldo Negri Jr, Miami, FL | Ford Riley | 49 |
| 4 | 5 | DP | Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; David Donohue, Malvern, PA | Corvette DP | 49 |
| 5 | 7 | DP | Scott Mayer, Franklin, WI; Colin Braun, Harrisburg, NC | Ford Riley | 49 |
| 6 | 9 | DP | Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Joao Barbosa, Portugal; JC France, Daytona Beach, FL | Corvette DP | 47 |
| 7 | 69 | GT | Emil Assentato, Locust Valley, NY; Jeff Segal, Miami, FL | Ferrari 458 | 47 |
| 8 | 94 | GT | Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; Paul Dalla Lana, Toronto, ON Canada; Billy Johnson, Mooresville, NC | BMW M3 | 47 |
| 9 | 70 | GT | Sylvain Tremblay, Parkland, FL; Jonathan Bomarito, Monterey, CA | Mazda RX-8 | 47 |
| 10 | 42 | GT | Dane Cameron, Suwanee, GA; ayne Nonnamaker, Massillon, OH | Mazda RX-8 | 47 |
| 11 | 59 | GT | Leh Keen, Charleston, SC; Andrew Davis, Bogart, GA | Porsche GT3 | 47 |
| 12 | 57 | GT | Robin Liddell, England; John Edwards, Cincinnati, OH | Camaro GT.R | 47 |
| 13 | 31 | GT | Eric Curran, Holyoke, MA; John Heinricy, Holly, MI | Corvette | 47 14 |
| 15 | 88 | GT | Jordan Taylor, Apopka, FL; Paul Edwards, Ft Collins, CO | Camaro GT.R | 47 |
| 16 | 73 | GT | Patrick Lindsey, Santa Barbara, CA; Eric Foss, Dallas, TX | Porsche GT3 | 47 |
| 17 | 40 | GT | Joe Foster, Lawrenceville, GA;Patrick Dempsey, Flowery Branch, GA | Mazda RX-8 | 47 |
| 18 | 51 | GT | 12 | Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, FL; Jim Norman, Tampa, FL | Audi R8 GRAND-AM |
| 19 | 43 | GT | 13 | Joe Nonnamaker, Massillon, OH; Will Nonnamaker, North Canton, OH | Mazda RX-8 |
| 20 | 10 | DP | 7 | Max Angelelli, Monaco; Ricky Taylor, Apopka, FL | Corvette DP |
| 21 | 90 | DP | 8 | Antonio Garcia, Spain; Richard Westbrook, England | Corvette DP |
| 22 | 44 | GT | 14 | John Potter, Salt Lake City, UT; Andy Lally, Newport, NY | Porsche GT3 Cup |
| 23 | 2 | DP | 9 | Alex Popow, Venezuela; Lucas Luhr, Germany | Ford Riley |
| 24 | 15 | GT | 15 | John Ware Jr, Bristol, RI; Timmy Hill, Thomasville, NC; Kevin O'Connell, Newport Beach, CA | Mustang Boss 302 R |
| 25 | 99 | DP | 10 | Jon Fogarty, Bend, OR; Alex Gurney, Irvine, CA | Corvette DP |
| 26 | 67 | GT | 16 | Steven Bertheau, Aurora, IL; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA | Porsche GT3 Cup |