SportsCars

Ganassi 01 BMW wins Rolex 24, Pruett ties Haywood

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Montoya brings the No. 01 Ganassi BMW home to victory

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates was clearly the team to beat throughout the 51st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. A couple teams, however, came close to doing just that over the final few hours of the twice-around-the-clock race around the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course.

In the end, however, the No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley team of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charlie Kimball gave CGRFS its fifth victory in 10 attempts at the Rolex 24. In the process, Pruett joined Hurley Haywood – who served as the event’s grand marshal – as the only drivers to claim five overall Rolex 24 victories.

“It's just an incredible day all the way around, winning with these guys, winning with Chip, with TELMEX and with BMW," Pruett said. “Then at the end of it, having gotten to know Hurley real well over the years by racing with him and just as a friend – and to have him there at the end – was pretty special. It was a very special thing."

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and drivers Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Charlie Kimball

Despite the strength of the No. 01, the DP lead changed hands six times over the final 90 minutes between Montoya, Max Angelelli in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP and AJ Allmendinger, whose No. 60 Michael Shank Racing team rallied all the way back from a seven-lap deficit early in the race.

A dramatic final hour saw both Montoya and Angelelli try to stretch their fuel loads to the finish, while Allmendinger was effectively removed from contention for the victory with an unscheduled pit stop after contact with Joao Barbosa in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP.

Montoya and the Ganassi team blinked first as Montoya surrendered the lead to Angelelli when the No. 01 came to pit lane for a splash with seven minutes to go. Angelelli came into the pits on the next lap and moved Montoya back to the front in a race-record 77th lead change.

The Colombian crossed the stripe 21.922 seconds ahead of Angelelli, who teamed with Jordan Taylor and Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 10 machine. Allmendinger and co-drivers Ozz Negri, John Pew, Justin Wilson and Marcos Ambrose placed third in the No. 60. Allmendinger, Negri, Pew and Wilson were the race’s defending champions.

The GT race came down to a battle between European luxury manufacturers Audi, Ferrari and Porsche. Similar to the action in DP, the GT race also saw a number of lead changes over the final hours and fuel concerns coming to the checkered flag.

The GT winners were the Audi No. 24 driven by Filipe Albuquerque (P), Edoardo Mortara (F/I), Dion von Moltke (USA), Oliver Jarvis (GB)

Filipe Albuquerque drove the No. 24 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Audi R8 GRAND-AM into the GT lead for the final time with a little more than 40 minutes remaining. He went on to win by 1.476 seconds ahead of Rene Rast in the No. 52 Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport Audi R8. Albuquerque and co-drivers Oliver Jarvis, Edoardo Mortara and Dion von Moltke gave Audi its first victory in GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series competition.

“It is the first one for Audi at Daytona and I am a part of, hopefully, a long run here," said team owner Alex Job. “The win was a real team victory. My team, combined with the Audi Sport Customer Racing technical support staff – and of course a group of great drivers – made it all work. The Audi clearly had the speed and it was positioned to win."

Rast combined with Frank Stippler, Marc Basseng and Ian Baas to finish second in the No. 52. Markus Winkelhock may have given Audi a top-three sweep had his No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Audi R8 GRAND-AM not run out of fuel on the final lap. That moved No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari 458 Italia teammates Emil Assentato, Nick Longhi, Anthony Lazzaro and Mark Wilkins to third in GT. The debut race for the new Rolex Series GX class was all about the No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman. Shane Lewis started from the class pole position and combined with co-drivers Jim Norman, David Donohue and Nelson Canache to lead the class for almost the entire race.

“For us it was a race of preparation," Donohue said. “Our guys did a superior job when this program was conceived in early November of building a car, making it reliable and keeping the stock parts – which are surprisingly many, many stock parts on this car – where they needed to be. The proof is in the pudding."

Second in GX went to the No. 22 Bullet Racing Porsche Cayman GX.R team of Darryl O’Young, Daniel Rogers, James Clay, Seth Thomas and Karl Thomson. The No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman GX.R team of Lee Davis, Ryan Eversley, Jeff Mosing, Eric Foss and John Teece took third in class.

QUOTES

Here's what some of the drivers had to say following a historic day (and long night) at Daytona International Speedway:

“This was an incredible day all around. At the end of it, having known Hurley (Haywood) real well over the years by racing with him and just as a friend and then to have him there was a very pretty special thing. … One thing when you get together with a group like this with Memo, Charlie and Juan, you don't try to be Superman. We've got some very incredibly talented guys that can step in and close it out. I'm proud to be part of the team, and it was exciting to finish up on top." — Scott Pruett, No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley

“One of the cool things about doing the Rolex 24 with Chip — you're a favorite every time you come here. You always have a chance of winning. Everybody that comes here with Chip finds that out. It's fun and it's exciting. I feel bad for the guys in our No. 02 because they had a ton of speed and they could have easily won, too." – Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley

“We were hoping on our strategy to make it on fuel and stay out until the end. That's why we took on no tires on our pit stop. Montoya — in that car — was A Class, we were B Class. Today Jordan and Ryan did a great job and the crew never made a mistake." — Max Angelelli, No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP, finished second

“We knew Montoya would be tough to beat. On that last restart, I got around Juan on the outside into turn one, and I knew I had to go. I went side-by-side with Joao but got pushed off, and that filled the radiator with dirt and we had to pit. That was disappointing, but it was 'go time,' no hard feelings there. I felt we weren't going to beat Montoya, but thought we might get second. Ganassi Racing did its homework like we did last year. When it's your year, you've got to capitalize on it." — AJ Allmendinger, No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford/Racing, finished third

“I knew that I had to do a splash and dash, but I didn't know if I had to push. I started to have problems with my gears. I had to use the clutch to upshift, which was not good, I was losing time. Then when I saw 'Winkie' (Markus Winkelhock) and Rene (Rast) behind me, they were really fast and I knew I would not last long with me having these problems. When I saw the white flag, I had a moment in corner one. I had been doing this for 24 hours, but the last corners were so hard to do, it felt like I could miss it. Unbelievable. First time at Daytona, first win." — Filipe Albuquerque, No. 24 Audi Sport Customer Racing/Alex Job Racing Audi R8, GT winner

“This is unbelievable. That drive by Felipe (Albuquerque) over the last two and half hours was the best drive I've ever seen in a race car driver by far. We thought we were down and out. We were down by a lap and we thought we had no chance. But Felipe put us here, with great support by Alex Job and Audi." — Dion von Moltke, No. 24 Audi Sport Customer Racing/Alex Job Racing Audi R8, GT winner

“It was a heck of a finish. The last two or three hours I pushed like a sprint race. I had a lot of fights with Ferraris, Audis and Porsches. Everything was fair, but the Audi won by two or three seconds. It's a bit frustrating, but we had a great race. It was great fun, and hopefully, next year again." — Rene Rast, No. 52 Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport Audi R8, finished second in GT

“It's been a long time. I won this race in 2009, albeit a different class. New class with new cars — I was in the inaugural DP race, but didn't win that one. Napleton Racing's Ron Barnaba and Mike Colucci are long-time old friends, and Shane Lewis picked this early on and handed it off to me. Also Jim Norman and Nelson Canache did a great job." — David Donohue, No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman, GX winner

“This is unbelievable. Two 24-hour wins in one month (he earlier won at Dubai), and there's nothing sweeter than winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Awesome." — Shane Lewis, No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman, GX winner

Full Results

POS NO. CLASS PIC DRIVERS TEAM CAR LAPS
1 01 DP 1 Dixon, S, Kimball, C, Montoya, J, Pruett, S, Rojas, M Chip Ganassi / Felix Sabates BMW / Riley 709
2 10 DP 2 Angelelli, M, Hunter-Reay, R, Taylor, J VelocityWW Corvette DP 709
3 60 DP 3 Allmendinger, A, Ambrose, M, Negri Jr, O, Pew, J, Wilson, J Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley 709
4 9 DP 4 Barbosa, J, Fittipaldi, C, Frisselle, B, Rockenfeller, M Action Express Racing Corvette DP 708
5 90 DP 5 Garcia, A, Gavin, O, Taylor, R, Westbrook, R Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP 697
6 2 DP 6 Bourdais, S, Dalziel, R, McNish, A, Popow, A Starworks with Alex Popow Ford / Riley 696
7 99 DP 7 Fogarty, J, Gidley, M, Gurney, A, Law, D GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP 695
8 5 DP 8 Barbosa, J, Fittipaldi, C, Frisselle, B, Nasr, F, Piquet Jr, N Action Express Racing Corvette DP 688
9 44 GT 1 Armindo, N, Lally, A, Lietz, R, Potter, J Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 / N/A 678
10 52 GT 2 Baas, I, Basseng, M, Rast, R, Stippler, F Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport LTD.UK Audi R8 Grand-Am / N/A 678
11 23 GT 3 Bleekemolen, J, Faulkner, D, Holzer, M, MacNeil, C Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3 / N/A 678
12 24 GT 4 Albuquerque, F, Jarvis, O, Mortara, E, von Moltke, D Audi Sport customer racing/AJR Audi R8 Grand-Am / N/A 678
13 63 GT 5 Balzan, A, Frezza, M, Pier Guidi, A Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 / N/A 678
14 69 GT 6 Assentato, E, Cosmo, G, Lazzaro, A, Longhi, N, Wilkins, M AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari Ferrari 458 / N/A 678
15 56 GT 7 Aguas, R, Bowyer, C, Kauffman, R, Waltrip, M AF – Waltrip Ferrari 458 / N/A 677
16 13 GT 8 Biela, F, Haase, C, Plumb, M, Winkelhock, M Audi Sport Customer Racing/Rum Bum Racing Audi R8 Grand-Am / N/A 677
17 03 GT 9 Brown, E, Hedlund, M, Sharp, S, van Overbeek, J Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari 458 / N/A 673
18 17 GT 10 Baldwin, J, Burtin, C, Farnbacher, M, Ragginger, M, Renauer, R Burtin Racing with Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche GT3 / N/A 672
19 62 GT 11 Bachler, K, Maassen, S, Seefried, M, Snow, M, Snow, M Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3 / N/A 668
20 51 GT 12 Bell, M, Empringham, D, Farano, J, Figge, A, Lacey, D APR Motorsport LTD.UK Audi R8 Grand-Am / N/A 667
21 42 DP 9 Cameron, D, Nonnamaker, W, Pagenaud, S Team Sahlen BMW / Riley 664
22 59 GT 13 Davis, A, Keen, L, Lieb, M, Sellers, B Brumos Racing Porsche GT3 / N/A 663
23 72 GT 14 Cole, C, Dumoulin, J, Phipps, G, Skeen, M, Vess, M Park Place Motorsports Porsche GT3 / N/A 657
24 45 GT 15 Boden, M, Carter, A, Espenlaub, C, Plumb, H, Putman, C Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 / N/A 656
25 73 GT 16 Graeff, D, Hart, J, Lindsey, P, Long, P, Pumpelly, S Park Place Motorsports Porsche GT3 / N/A 653
26 16 GX 1 Canache, N, Donohue, D, Lewis, S, Norman, J Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman (Prep 1) / None (N/A) 635
27 78 GT 17 Camarillo, R, Fuentes, M, Peralta, C, Perez De Lara, R Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 / N/A 634
28 94 GT 18 Auberlen, B, Dalla Lana, P, Johnson, B, Martin, M, Said, B, Turner Motorsport BMW M3 / N/A 631 1:50.618
29 80 GT 19 Collins, K, Fogg, P, Haacker, T, Walsh, J TruSpeed Motorsports Porsche GT3 / N/A 627
30 22 GX 2 Clay, J, O'Young, D, Rogers, D, Thomas, S, Thomson, K Bullet Racing Porsche Cayman (Prep 1) / None (N/A) 625
31 66 GT 20 Bergmeister, J, Farnbacher, D, Keating, B, Wittmer, K TRG Porsche GT3 / N/A 622
32 38 GX 3 Davis, L, Eversley, R, Foss, E, Mosing, J, Tecce, J BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman (Prep 1) / None (N/A) 614
33 61 GT 21 Fisichella, G, Papis, M, Segal, J, Vilander, T R.Ferri/AIM Motorsport Racing with Ferrari Ferrari 458 / N/A 614
34 3 DP 10 Davidson, A, Lamy, P, Minassian, N, Potolicchio, E, Sarrazin, S 8 Star Motorsports Corvette DP 612
35 19 GT 22 TBA, T Muehlner Motorsports America Porsche GT3 / N/A 610
36 57 GT 23 Edwards, J, Liddell, R, Magnussen, J, Milner, T Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R / N/A 595
37 02 DP 11 Dixon, S, Franchitti, D, Hand, J, McMurray, J, Pruett, S Chip Ganassi / Felix Sabates BMW / Riley 594
38 64 GT 24 Longo, C, Matos, R, Negrao, X, Serra, D Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 / N/A 576
39 30 GT 25 Cisneros, H, Edwards, S, Giermaziak, K, Pilet, P MOMO/NGT Motorsport Porsche GT3 / N/A 535
40 50 DP 12 Beck, F, de Quesada, C, Defoor, B, James, I, Pace, J Highway to Help BMW / Riley 517
41 6 DP 13 Cumming, C, Goncalvez, J, Valiante, M, Yacaman, G Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley 508
42 67 GT 26 Collard, E, Dumas, R, Jonsson, N, Krohn, T TRG Porsche GT3 / N/A 451
43 8 DP 14 Bellarosa, I Mayer, S Starworks Motorsport Ford / Riley
44 43 DP 15 Nonnamaker, W, Nonnamaker, J, Sahlen, J Team Sahlen BMW / Riley 422
45 20 GT 27 Figueiredo, N, Junior, C, Lunardi, C, Mauricio, R, Visconde, M Dener Motorsport Porsche GT3 / N/A 386
46 21 GT 28 Barrichello, R, Figueiredo, N, Giaffone, F, Kanaan, T, Mauricio, R Dener Motorsport Porsche GT3 / N/A 352
47 27 DP 16 Anassis, E, Massari, A, Peterson, D BTE Sport Ford / Riley 304
48 77 DP 17 Bennett, J, Braun, C, Lowe, J, Tracy, P Doran Racing Ford / Dallara 286
49 68 GT 29 Breukers, I, Lewis, B, Michaelian, J, van de Laar, R TRG Porsche GT3 / N/A 284
50 18 GT 30 Thomas, M Muehlner Motorsports America Porsche GT3 / N/A 228
51 32 GT 31 Christensen, M, Engelhart, C, Tandy, N, Willsey, L Konrad Motorsport/Orbit Porsche GT3 / N/A 181
52 31 GT 32 Aschenbach, L, Curran, E, Davis, B, Said, B Marsh Racing Corvette / N/A 136
53 70 GX 4 Bomarito, J, Franchitti, M, Hinchcliffe, J, Tremblay, S Mazdaspeed/Speedsource Mazda6 GX (Prep 2) / None (N/A) 51
54 25 GX 5 Carbonell, A, Long, T, O'Doski, R, Whitis, D Freedom Autosport/Speedsource Mazda6 GX (Prep 2) / None (N/A) 45
55 87 GT 33 Ave, T , Heylen, J, Peterson, D Vehicle Technologies Dodge Viper / N/A 44
56 00 GX 6 Miller, J, Nunez, T, Pigot, S, Terada, Y, Vautier, T Visit Florida Racing/Speedsource/Yellow Dragon Motorsports Mazda6 GX (Prep 2) / None (N/A) 33
57 93 GT 34 Auberlen, B, Marsal, M, Martin, M, Priaulx, A, Schaldach, G Turner Motorsport BMW M3 / N/A 0