Fittipaldi Tops Charts In Opening Tudor Testing At Daytona
The 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona will be held on Jan. 25-26, opening a new era in North American sports car racing with the first unified sanction since 1997. The TUDOR Championship is the result of a merger of the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n.
Fittipaldi turned a lap of 1:38.630 (129.940 mph) on the 3.56-mile circuit in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP co-driven by Joao Barbosa and Sebastien Bourdais to lead 15 teams in the premier Prototype (P) class.
“It was very interesting today to see different cars running together at different speeds, from four different classes," said Fittipaldi, winner of the 2004 Rolex 24. “All in all, it was a very good day. We managed to put into practice everything we learned since our last test here. The car felt very strong, but we still have a long way to go before the race."
Among the Friday newsmakers at the Roar was Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, which announced its lineups for the Rolex 24, which the team has won five times. Five-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Pruett will be joined by regular co-driver Memo Rojas, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Jamie McMurray and 2013 Indy Lights champion Sage Karam in the No. 01 Telcel/Target Ford EcoBoost/Riley. IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan will co-drive the No. 02 Target/Telcel entry, joined by NASCAR driver Kyle Larson and ALMS veteran Marino Franchitti.
Nick Tandy was first in the GT Le Mans (GTLM class, running 1:45.564 (121.405 mph) in his first time at the wheel of the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR.
“It was a very good day, and it’s nice to be on top," said Tandy, who won the GT class in the 2013 season-opening Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in a Porsche.
Also announcing its Rolex 24 lineup was the SRT Motorsports GTLM team. Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 IndyCar champion, joins full-season drivers Dominik Farnbacher and Marc Goossens in the No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R, while two-time European Le Mans Series champion Rob Bell will share the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R with full-season teammates Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer.
Colin Braun led Prototype Challenge competitors with a lap of 1:42.468 (125.073 mph) in the No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA FLM09 co-driven by Jon Bennett and Mark Wilkins.
Spencer Pumpelly was fastest in the GT Daytona group with a lap of 1:47.981 (118.688 mph) during the afternoon session in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS. His co-driver, Nelson Canache Jr., led the morning session with a lap of 1:48.444 (118.181 mph).
In Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge testing, Bill Auberlen led the Grand Sports competitors with a lap of 1:56.451 (110.055 mph) in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3, while Eric Foss led the Street Tuner competitors, running 2:05.813 (101.865 mph) in the No. 56 Murillo Racing BMW 328i).
Testing for both series continues on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. ET, and includes an evening session from 6:30-8 p.m.
| Pos | No. | Class | PIC | Name | Time | Diff | Laps | Make |
| 1 | 5 | P | 1 | Action Express Racing | 1:38.630 | 0.000s | 29 | Corvette DP |
| 2 | 90 | P | 2 | Spirit of Daytona | 1:39.264 | 0.634 | 24 | Corvette DP |
| 3 | 10 | P | 3 | Wayne Taylor Racing | 1:39.410 | 0.780 | 27 | Corvette DP |
| 4 | 99 | P | 4 | GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing | 1:40.020 | 1.390 | 29 | Corvette DP |
| 5 | 31 | P | 5 | Marsh Racing | 1:40.964 | 2.334 | 31 | Corvette DP |
| 6 | 1 | P | 6 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 1:41.054 | 2.424 | 21 | HPD ARX-03b |
| 7 | 2 | P | 7 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 1:41.079 | 2.449 | 26 | HPD ARX-03b |
| 8 | 42 | P | 8 | OAK Racing | 1:41.102 | 2.472 | 29 | Morgan |
| 9 | 60 | P | 9 | Michael Shank Racing w/ Curb/Agajan | 1:41.252 | 2.622 | 14 | Riley DP |
| 10 | 0 | P | 10 | DeltaWing Racing Cars | 1:41.488 | 2.858 | 16 | DeltaWing DWC13 |
| 11 | 6 | P | 11 | Pickett Racing | 1:41.513 | 2.883 | 26 | ORECA |
| 12 | 01 | P | 12 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:42.298 | 3.668 | 19 | Riley DP |
| 13 | 9 | P | 13 | Action Express Racing | 1:42.445 | 3.815 | 17 | Corvette DP |
| 14 | 54 | PC | 1 | CORE Autosport | 1:42.468 | 3.838 | 25 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 15 | 87 | PC | 2 | BAR1 Motorsports | 1:43.226 | 4.596 | 25 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 16 | 38 | PC | 3 | Performance Tech Motorsports | 1:43.396 | 4.766 | 25 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 17 | 25 | PC | 4 | 8Star Motorsports | 1:43.472 | 4.842 | 26 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 18 | 8 | PC | 5 | Starworks Motorsport | 1:45.005 | 6.375 | 20 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 19 | 4 | GTLM | 1 | Corvette Racing | 1:45.743 | 7.113 | 29 | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R |
| 20 | 3 | GTLM | 2 | Corvette Racing | 1:45.792 | 7.162 | 22 | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R |
| 21 | 911 | GTLM | 3 | Porsche North America | 1:45.994 | 7.364 | 21 | Porsche 911 RSR |
| 22 | 93 | GTLM | 4 | SRT Motorsports | 1:46.292 | 7.662 | 26 | SRT Viper GTS-R |
| 23 | 91 | GTLM | 5 | SRT Motorsports | 1:46.485 | 7.855 | 20 | SRT Viper GTS-R |
| 24 | 7 | PC | 6 | Starworks Motorsport | 1:46.716 | 8.086 | 21 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 25 | 52 | PC | 7 | PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | 1:47.071 | 8.441 | 28 | ORECA FLM09 |
| 26 | 97 | GTLM | 6 | Aston Martin Racing | 1:47.752 | 9.122 | 17 | Aston Martin Vantage V8 |
| 27 | 55 | GTLM | 7 | BMW Team RLL | 1:47.788 | 9.158 | 28 | BMW Z4 GTE |
| 28 | 45 | GTD | 1 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 1:48.444 | 9.814 | 23 | Audi R8 LMS |
| 29 | 556 | GTD | 2 | Level 5 Motorsports | 1:48.475 | 9.845 | 28 | |
| 30 | 56 | GTLM | 8 | BMW Team RLL | 1:48.614 | 9.984 | 28 | BMW Z4 GTE |
| 31 | 22 | GTD | 3 | Alex Job Racing | 1:48.676 | 10.046 | 15 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 32 | 48 | GTD | 4 | Paul Miller Racing | 1:49.086 | 10.456 | 21 | Audi R8 LMS |
| 33 | 27 | GTD | 5 | Dempsey Racing | 1:49.100 | 10.470 | 21 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 34 | 35 | GTD | 6 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 1:49.306 | 10.676 | 27 | Audi R8 LMS |
| 35 | 46 | GTD | 7 | Fall-Line Motorsports | 1:49.371 | 10.741 | 34 | Audi R8 LMS |
| 36 | 33 | GTD | 8 | Riley Motorsports | 1:49.379 | 10.749 | 28 | SRT Viper GT3-R |
| 37 | 57 | GTLM | 9 | Krohn Racing | 1:49.432 | 10.802 | 30 | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| 38 | 009 | GTD | 9 | TRG-AMR | 1:49.576 | 10.946 | 25 | Aston Martin V12 Vantage |
| 39 | 18 | GTD | 10 | Muehlner Motorsports America | 1:49.640 | 11.010 | 29 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 40 | 63 | GTD | 11 | Scuderia Corsa | 1:49.739 | 11.109 | 29 | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| 41 | 555 | GTD | 12 | Level 5 Motorsports | 1:49.780 | 11.150 | 30 | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| 42 | 30 | GTD | 13 | NGT Motorsport | 1:49.789 | 11.159 | 21 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 43 | 49 | GTD | 14 | Spirit of Race | 1:49.868 | 11.238 | 34 | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| 44 | 72 | GTD | 15 | SMP/ESM Racing | 1:49.930 | 11.300 | 24 | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| 45 | 23 | GTD | 16 | Team Seattle/Alex Job | 1:50.110 | 11.480 | 28 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 46 | 44 | GTD | 17 | Magnus Racing | 1:50.287 | 11.657 | 32 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 47 | 73 | GTD | 18 | Park Place Motorsports | 1:50.304 | 11.674 | 25 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 48 | 71 | GTD | 19 | Park Place Motorsports | 1:50.331 | 11.701 | 20 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 49 | 81 | GTD | 20 | GB Autosport | 1:50.433 | 11.803 | 21 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 50 | 19 | GTD | 21 | Muehlner Motorsports America | 1:50.473 | 11.843 | 24 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 51 | 32 | GTD | 22 | GMG Racing | 1:50.589 | 11.959 | 32 | Audi R8 LMS |
| 52 | 58 | GTD | 23 | Snow Racing | 1:50.689 | 12.059 | 4 | Porsche 911 GT America |
| 53 | 94 | GTD | 24 | Turner Motorsport | 1:50.731 | 12.101 | 18 | BMW Z4 |
| 54 | 50 | P | 14 | Highway to Help | 1:51.099 | 12.469 | 6 | Riley DP |
| 55 | 64 | GTD | 25 | Scuderia Corsa | 1:52.320 | 13.690 | 30 | Ferrari 458 Italia |
| 56 | 02 | P | 15 | Chip Ganassi Racing | – | – | 7 | Riley DP |