2012 Grand Am Series (Rolex)

[85t5mcss]

I wasn't sure if the Ferrari was even running. Very unique. Some of the others were LOUD. The Mazdas definitely are not quiet.

Lots of Mustangs in the CTS race. Kinda nice seeing them both back to back like that. One benefit of the shorter races, I guess.

On TV it looked like they were going all out, but in person it kinda sounded like they were taking it easy in turns 1-3, even when dry. New track maybe? Or possibly that was the limit of the cars grip. Just sounded like delay to the gas coming off the apex on exit. Plenty exciting. I will be back if ticket prices don't go all goofy like Cup has.

[twomanymontes]

NAEC Champions Faced Challenges En Route to Titles

For the inaugural North American Endurance Championship Championship teams, it's a feel-good story all the way around for Starworks Motorsport and Magnus Racing.





For the inaugural North American Endurance Championship teams, it’s a feel-good story all the way around.

Starworks Motorsport, a third-year Daytona Prototype team that nearly captured this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, won the title as a self-described “little guy.”

GT champion Magnus Racing rewrote the definition of perseverance after its No. 44 Porsche GT3 went up in flames less than a month before the July 27 deciding round at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The organizations banked $100,000 and $50,000 respectively based on point totals from the Rolex 24, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and the Brickyard Grand Prix. Starworks’ Ford/Riley defeated 2011 DP champion Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates’ BMW/Riley by five points and Magnus outlasted longtime Rolex team with a six-point victory, SpeedSource’s Mazda RX-8.

Ironically, it was not the team’s season title-contending No. 8 that clinched the NAEC for the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Starworks. That honor – and the Indianapolis victory – went to the team’s No. 2 car shared by Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Popow. Popow also was proclaimed the NAEC’s driver champion.

“It’s amazing to win a major championship in my second year here,” said the Venezuelan. “That gives me confidence to keep going and I’m looking forward to a stronger run next year.”

Starworks owner Peter Baron added significant engineering staff and expertise during the off season and it paid dividends. “Being a smaller team, it officially puts us on the radar that we’ve arrived as a team,” he said.

The winning GT car was badly damaged by fire at Watkins Glen, dis-assembled for parts to send a sister Porsche to the Indy test and then rebuilt bolt-by-bolt for the Brickyard race. Magnus owner–driver John Potter and co-driver Andy Lally then proceeded to win both race and NAEC title.

“It’s unbelievable how hard they worked and it’s a perfect reward for such a great crew,” said Salt Lake City’s Potter. Lally added, “I thought the NAEC was really cool when I first heard about it. To actually win it – combining it with victories at Indianapolis and the Rolex 24 At Daytona – is really epic.”

[twomanymontes]

Indianapolis Made Podium Appearances That Much Sweeter

GRAND-AM's visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was every bit the spectacle advertised beginning with a jam packed Fanwalk and ending with participants and thousands of fans already looking ahead to 2013.




GRAND-AM’s initial visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was every bit the spectacle advertised beginning with a jam packed Fanwalk and ending with participants and thousands of fans already looking ahead to 2013.

“This is amazing,” said Eric Curran, who shared the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series GS-winning CKS Autosport Chevrolet Camaro GS.R with Lawson Aschenbach. “Hats off to GRAND-AM and everybody who put this event together. It's great to be here.”

Aschenbach was equally thrilled – and not just to win a race, the team’s first.

“It's great to just be here at Indy. I've raced here once in Formula 4 in 2005 during the F1 weekend. I had a taste during that year,” Aschenbach said. “But I don't think it really sunk in until we crossed that checkered flag right at the end of the race here and kissing those bricks. An awful lot of history, all of the races and winners and everything that happens here really does mean something.”

Rolex Sports Car Series GT winner, former Rolex Sports Car Series champion and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year Andy Lally expressed similar thoughts.

“I’ve said it 60 times since we took the checkered flag: ‘We won Indy,’” Lally said.

His teammate and owner, John Potter, said, “I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to say. This is so overwhelming.”

Seth Thomas, co-driver of the ST-class winning No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW 328i, said, “I think of all the people that have won here and the history that’s here and we have kind of reined it in. That’s one of the coolest feelings you can have as a driver.”

For Mitchum Motorsports, Indianapolis was the perfect place for the team’s first podium finish – a second in GS for the No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro of Jeff Bucknum and George Richardson.

“I am speechless,” said team principal Chris Mitchum. The winning car was brand-new replacing the Camaro virtually destroyed in a roll-over accident at Watkins Glen. “Our first GRAND-AM podium couldn’t have come at a better place. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground for racers. To be racing across the bricks was amazing and this memory will be with us for the rest of our lives.”

[twomanymontes]

Racing In The Rain Mostly In The Drivers' Hands

Rain tossed competitors curveballs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it’s possible weather could be a factor next week as well when the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series returns to Watkins Glen International.





Rain tossed competitors curveballs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it’s possible weather could be a factor next week as well when the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series returns to Watkins Glen International.

GRAND-AM runs its races rain or shine – at least to a point. Example: At Indianapolis, the Brickyard Grand Prix was started under caution due to standing water on the track. Full-out competition began when the asphalt began to dry.

For that reason, teams don’t make major changes for wet conditions, knowing that ultimately the event will be completed under normal circumstances.

“We don’t commit to doing a full (wet) set-up. Mostly, we just change (to rain tires) and go,” said Brian Pillar, engineer for the DP No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP. “Generally when it rains the race goes yellow and you follow the pace car. Any compromise really hurts you when it dries out. You can change aero pieces which we can undo if the weather clears up.”

Pillar is complimentary of Continental’s wet track tire. “They’ve been very good and they move a lot of water. And they last a really long time.”

Teams rarely, if ever, test when the track is wet, complicating the decision when to switch back to a normal “slick”-type tire.

“The strategy of when to switch tires at Indy was further complicated by the fact that the track dried out on the oval more than in the infield section,” said Ian Willis, head engineer and co-owner of the GT-leading No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari. “If we had the opportunity to test under these conditions, like the first time the track dried out, we would have determined a target lap time to reach when it is quicker to run dry tires.

“If we haven’t tested, it really comes down to the driver and engineer communicating as to when the driver feels that the track is dry enough that they can go faster on slick tires.”

Wayne Taylor Racing's Ricky Taylor believes driving on a damp track – whether on wet tires or slicks – is the most demanding challenge a driver faces. “Rain is the most mentally-draining thing we do,” said Taylor. “It’s exhausting.”

When the track is dry, the racing line is obvious: Follow the rubber for maximum grip. “The rubber is very slippery when it’s wet so you have to drive off-line,” said Taylor. “There is very little grip and it's easy to lose (control of) the car and make mistakes.

“I can say it’s a lot of work.”

[85t5mcss]

NAEC was all shook up at Indy. Both series the expected winner dropped out of the race.

Fans making plans for next year? Yep. Sure am. I will be better prepared for rain or shine, though.

[85t5mcss]

A few pics from grand Am Indy 2012. Brickyard Grand Prix

Lots of pics in the link below.

s26.photobucket.com/albums/c105/85t5mcss/GrandAm%20Indy%202012/

Watrip's Ferrari tangling with a Camaro


My Daughter's favorite car out there. Ended up sliding in the rain at the end of the back stretch and damaging the front end.




My pick for the win-finished 2nd due to late race drama.










Continental Tire Series


RV outside the track burning-not sure what started it


Turner Motorsports CTS

[twomanymontes]

Some great pics Keith! Too bad the rain came.

[85t5mcss]

The rain made it interesting for sure. Most of those were my brothers pics. We had a crappy pOint and shoot with only 4x zoom. That has been corrected for next year. Now we just gotta learn how to use a better camera to get the picture quality.

To many buttons, too much info for a simple minded person like me. Lol

[twomanymontes]

Wayne Taylor has watched his sons Ricky and Jordan race. He’s also shared the thingypit with Ricky, when the now- 23 year old made his GRAND-AM debut in the 2008 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

But never has he competed against one of his boys, something that will happen Saturday when the elder Taylor’s SunTrust Racing faces rival Action Express Racing at Watkins Glen International.

Jordan Taylor has spent most of the 2012 season driving for Chevrolet Camaro GT teams. He won the pole for July’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen behind the wheel of the No. 75 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro but was at liberty for the series’ return to The Glen.

Action Express owner Bob Johnson came calling and will seat Taylor in his No. 5 Corvette DP teamed with veteran David Donohue. The team currently ranks third in Daytona Prototype points behind leaders Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Starworks Motorsport, the recently crowned North American Endurance champions.

The move puts Jordan in direct competition with his father’s No. 10 Corvette DP and co-driver and elder sibling Ricky, the Continental Tire 200’s defending champions.

“I knew some day it would happen,” said Wayne Taylor, a two-time Rolex 24 champion. “What can you do? It’s a sport. They’re (Ricky and Jordan) really close as family and there’s no competition between the two.

“It will be interesting to watch.”

Jordan also downplays any brother vs. brother rivalry. Both are mechanical engineering majors at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

“Ricky has been there (in DP) for a couple years now and obviously has had a lot of success, especially in qualifying last year,” he said. “I’m not expecting too much of myself. I know it will be a big learning curve through the weekend and I just want to do the best I can and do a good job for Action Express.”

The Taylor brothers shared a Daytona Prototype briefly in 2009 but took separate racing paths – DP vs. GT – in recent seasons.

“Ricky was more suited to the prototype and Jordan’s done really good in GT,” said their father.

Saturday’s matchup is by no means unique. The Frisselle brothers, Burt and Brian, previously competed against each other in GRAND-AM. The Nonnamakers – father Joe and sons Will and Wayne – share the controls of a pair of Team Sahlen Mazda RX8s on a regular basis.

“Of course I’ll be monitoring what Jordan is doing but our priority is the No. 10 car,” said Wayne Taylor. “If we can’t win then I’d just as soon it would be Jordan’s car in Victory Lane.”

[twomanymontes]

Two Races, Same Track But Significant Differences At The Glen

This week the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series returns to Watkins Glen to compete on the NASCAR-style layout of 2.45 miles.




Watkins Glen International is located in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York.

Location is about all that’s shared between the track’s early summer Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Saturday’s Continental Tire 200.

One is obvious: endurance race vs. all-out sprint.

More important, the six-hour event is run on The Glen’s 3.4-mile grand prix course which includes the famous “boot” and a number of elevation changes.

This week’s return of GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series’ Daytona Prototype and GT cars heads to a shorter NASCAR-style layout of 2.45 miles. It’s basically an oval run with predominantly right-hand turns. Top speeds are the same – the backstretch and “bus stop” are parts of both courses – but averages are dramatically different.

The “long course” record is 121.716 mph. This week’s qualifying standard is 135.542 mph, making The Glen’s NASCAR course the fastest GRAND-AM visits.

Car set-ups vary with track configuration. Corner to corner speeds are most important on the long track. High-speed stability is key on the NASCAR layout. Teams will set up this week to reduce aerodynamic drag. Corner exit traction and car rotation at lower speeds aren’t so critical as they were in July.

The naked eye can’t usually perceive the difference in speeds. Fans, however, will be able to readily see that track changes equal a different kind of competition. The long course and its 11 turns tend to spread the fields. That’s not always the case with the seven-cornered layout. Over-taking – especially among DP and GT cars – will challenge the drivers in both classes.

“With one-minute laps, you’re in lapped traffic more often and there are less passing spots,” said Ricky Taylor, whose No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Chevy DP swept both Glen races in 2011. “Track position is a big thing.”

GT drivers have to focus on both tight racing against their rivals and oncoming DP traffic.

“Generally, the faster corners have less scope for deviating from the racing line, so it is more and more difficult to let a faster DP go by without putting yourself in harm’s way,” said Jeff Segal, co-driver of the GT points-leading No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD With Ferrari Ferrari 458 Italia. “There are a lot of corners like the climbing esses where the GT cars are working flat-out just to navigate the corner on our own, so we don't necessarily have the ability to let a DP by even if we want to.

“Sometimes the DPs realize this and give us the space we need to get through the corners, but other times they are less patient and things get messy. There definitely needs to be a lot of cooperation in order to have both classes sort through heavy traffic without incident, and this is obviously more challenging as we get closer to the end of the race and there are fierce battles taking place within the classes.”

[85t5mcss]

Good race. Good finish but wished Ronas/Pruett would have come out on top. The first lap, first turn crash with points leader and 2nd place was strange in the GT class. DP faired a little better but was not without difficulties during the race. Several times contact was made because they didn't know another car was not cleared. Spotting on a road course is definitely different than the oval.

[twomanymontes]

I thought that was a great race!! Yes, I would have loved to see Pruett/Rojas take the win, but it was still close racing!

I guess there are a few too many blid spots in race cars. Seemed like almost every car made contact with someone else.

next race Sturday night at 7pm!

[twomanymontes]

Was up till 1 AM last night watching yesterdays race from Montreal. Pruett/Rojas just dominated the DP class taking the win with a 13 second lead! Edwards/Lidell took the GT class from the pole. Some hard licks and damaged cars, but 4th thru 8th was some hard racing! Plus team Sahlen's Dane Cameron put the little Mazda in the 3rd spot, so I'm happy!

[85t5mcss]

Didn't Record it and I fell asleep. I'll be looking for the re-air on Speed.

[twomanymontes]

Stevenson’s Liddell, Edwards Disappointed But Don’t Plan Quiet Surrender

Two victories wrapped around a pair of accidents that cost Stevenson Motorsports its best chance yet of winning a GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT championship.



Call it a mud sandwich, two victories wrapped around a pair of accidents that cost Stevenson Motorsports its best chance yet of winning a GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT championship.

Frustrated, yes. Giving up – especially after its fourth victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last weekend – absolutely not.

The GT manufacturer's championship remains in play with Chevrolet just three points behind Ferrari.

"It definitely gives us something to battle for," said Mike Johnson, Stevenson Motorsports' team manager.

Johnson has finished second in the standings before so if that's the best that can be done, so be it. Stevenson's No. 57 Chevrolet Camaro GT.R trails the AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari's No. 69 458 Italia by 30 points. But it's only one point behind the Turner Motorsport No. 94 BMW.

"We're going to put our best foot forward and fight for second place," said Johnson, conceding that the disappointment of Indianapolis and the Watkins Glen sprint race – "one mistake ours, one mistake someone else's" - has made 2012 "another lost season."

Robin Liddell has been part of the Stevenson organization since 2008 and has won 17 times in GRAND-AM competition. Cincinnati's John Edwards, who also pilots the team's Camaro in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS class, became Liddell's co-driver this year.

"Obviously it is disappointing to have lost so much ground in the previous two races, but rest assured we will continue pushing to maximize our chances at the last two races," said Liddell.

Liddell, a Scot living in England, has his fingers crossed as the series moves to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Sept. 9 Continental Tire Sports Car Festival. Stevenson's car finished fourth last year.

"Hopefully we can have another fine result at Laguna, which is another great track on the schedule and one I have always enjoyed, although granted we haven't had the best success there with Stevenson," he said.

"The Camaro will be strong in the first section of the track but the higher down force cars (Ferrari and Porsche) may be stronger in the downhill (Corkscrew) and turns nine and ten," said Edwards, who drove a Mazda RX-8 for Team Sahlen a year ago and was an early exit. He won the GS race with co-driver Matt Bell.

"I've got some good memories," he said.

Stevenson closes out the year at Lime Rock Park where it won in 2011.

[twomanymontes]

Bell Brothers Having A Blast Competing Against Each Other In Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge

Brothers grow up competing with each other in many sorts of ways and, in the case of Matt and Tim Bell, take their sibling rivalry to the Continental Tire Challenge GS class.





Sports car racing frequently is a family affair.

Fathers mentor sons and in some cases wind up competing against them.

Brothers grow up competing with each other in many sorts of ways and, in the case of Matt and Tim Bell, take their sibling rivalry to the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series GS class.

Matt Bell, who'll celebrates his 27th birthday on Aug. 31, drives the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro for Stevenson Motorsports. Tim Bell, 23, is in the seat of the No. 6 Mitchum Motorsports Camaro.

The elder Bell is the series veteran, finishing third in GS points in 2009. He and partner John Edwards won twice last year but continue to chase the top spot on the podium with two races remaining in 2012.

This is Tim Bell's first season in GS. He finished 10th in ST a year ago, capping the season with a second-place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with B.J. Zacharias.

So far, the rivalry – if you could call it that – has been lopsided in favor of the veterans. The Bell/Edwards combination has finished highest in six of the eight races.

But Tim Bell and co-driver Gunter Schaldach prevailed at Indianapolis with a fourth-place finish – Mitchum's best performance of the year. The team has fashioned three consecutive top-10 finishes and looks forward to reaching the podium at either Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca or Lime Rock Park.

Edwards, as a not completely unbiased observer of the brother vs. brother act, doesn't worry about anything getting out of hand.

"Matt's a very professional driver and he doesn't let family matters interfere with getting the job done," he said, adding, "I couldn't imagine having my sibling in a race with me."

Tim Bell likes competing with his older brother – more so than with other drivers.

"It's been a blast racing against someone you know well," he said. "You can race hard and know he won't take you out. I don't need to worry about what he's going to do if he's in front of me or behind. It's nice to have a close buddy with you."

Both brothers are eying possible moves to NASCAR. Matt Bell competed in a pair of NASCAR Nationwide Series road races earlier this summer finishing 34th at Road America and 36th at Watkins Glen International.

Tim Bell left his Los Altos, California home for North Carolina. He competed in two K&N Pro Series East and West events this year finishing sixth at The Bullring in Las Vegas. So there's a possibility both will end up together again in the future – just in a different type of race car.

[twomanymontes]

Fans The Biggest Winners In GRAND-AM/ALMS Merger

Announcement of the merger of GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series earlier this week is both an historic moment in United States sports car racing and, perhaps more so, a huge step forward for fans of both organizations.

Announcement of the merger of GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series earlier this week is both an historic moment in United States sports car racing and, perhaps more so, a huge step forward for fans of both organizations.

Unification of the sport under one governing body is crucial not only to the sport’s growth but in putting products on race tracks that please participants and are attractive to the ticket-buying public.

Both GRAND-AM and ALMS are successful competitive entities – even if at times working at cross purposes on behalf of their own interests but, the merger creates a common purpose for the sport in general and especially for a diverse group of stakeholders and fans.

“Today’s announcement will transform sports car racing on this continent, along with having world-wide industry implications,” said GRAND-AM President/CEO Ed Bennett. “Aside from the organizations involved, everybody wins: drivers, teams, manufacturers, sponsors, tracks – and most all, the fans.

“This new approach is going to be revolutionary, as we take the best components from two premium brands, combine them and then benefit mutually from the considerable resources both sides will bring to our efforts. This is a bold move – and the right one – for the long-term, optimum growth of sports car racing.”

Added ALMS President/CEO Scott Atherton: “This merger will blend the best assets and attributes of each organization in terms of technical rules, officiating, marketing, communications, personnel, scheduling and broadcasting. The result will be one of the strongest, most competitive and powerful motorsports marketing platforms in the world.”

Both sanctioning bodies will continue to operate separate schedules in 2013 before racing under one banner in 2014 beginning with North America’s premier sports car race, the 52nd annual Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“It has created an even more exciting future for this thrilling form of motorsports, which was met with a very enthusiastic reception from our fans during the IMS debut of GRAND-AM in July,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. president and chief executive officer.

Mark Reuss, president, GM North America said, “The joining of these two series will provide a foundation for Chevrolet to develop technologies and race cars with tremendous relevancy to the production vehicles we sell today and in the future.”

Ford’s Director of Racing Jamie Allison was equally enthusiastic. “(It’s) what the fans have wanted, the teams have wanted, and the manufacturers have wanted for many years. We are a global auto manufacturer, and will look for this new series to align well with our global OneFord platform of vehicles and technologies.”

SPEED’s sports car racing analyst Dorsey Schroeder, who competed for many years in both series, called the merger something that absolutely had to happen if the sport was going to both survive and thrive.

“Unification is the first step in rebuilding sports car racing's prominence in the United States. When I started in this, sports cars were bigger than NASCAR stock cars, and this is the first step in a rebuilding process,” said Schroeder. “There are a lot of talented people on both ends of the fence that can now put their heads together (and) instead of slinging darts at each other, they can actually sit down as friends and work out their differences that exist in such a tough market – in this economy.”

If you missed our live press conference regarding sports car racing in North America, there are two ways to relive the event. You can download the GRAND-AM App for your mobile device by searching GRAND-AM on iTunes or Google Play. The press conference is also available on GRAND-AM TV, which you can view by clicking here: www.grand-am.com/GRANDAMTV.aspx#

[twomanymontes]

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Race Could See Titles Clinched

Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park will produce a full range of emotions – from those hoping to retain or improve their championship leads to others who face title elimination.




September brings the conclusion of the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park will produce a full range of emotions – from those hoping to retain or improve their championship leads to others who face title elimination.

This weekend’s Continental Tire Sports Car Festival could mint several champions but no driver or team comes to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in control of their own destiny.

The “magic number” is 36 – the point lead necessary to close out potential challengers after the checkered flags fall at Mazda Raceway.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and its two drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas hold an 18 point lead over Starworks Motorsport and driver Ryan Dalziel. The team seeks its sixth DP Championship and third in a row and comes off a victory in Montreal.

Grand Touring is the most likely place for champions to emerge on the Monterey Peninsula. AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari and drivers Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal are 29 and 30 points, respectively, ahead of their closest rivals.

Forget any clinching scenarios in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge – at least in Grand Sport where seven points cover the top three teams. Street Tuner is a bit more spread out but its leaders, i-Moto and Pierre Kleinubing, would have to double the 18-point advantage they hold over two challengers.

Last year’s stop at Mazda Raceway saw the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing duo of Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney snap a 10-race winless streak. The Red Dragon team has been kept from the top spot on the podium for 12 races, having last won at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August 2011.
A year ago, the GT winners were Brumos Racing’s No. 59 Porsche GT3 and drivers Andrew Davis and Leh Keen. They stand fifth in GT standings but a distant 44 points behind the class leader.

Stevenson Motorsports and its Chevrolet Camaro GS.R captured GS honors in 2011 with drivers Matt Bell and John Edwards. Stevenson and Bell rank sixth in current GS points.

Freedom Autosport is the defending Mazda Raceway ST winner. The team’s leading entry, the No. 25 Mazda MX-5 of Tom Long and Derek Whitis, shares second in points with Kinetic/Kia Racing’s Nic Jonsson and Andy Lally. Whitis was the class pole winner in 2011.

[twomanymontes]

MONTEREY, Calif. – In preparation for the team’s 99th GRAND-AM Rolex Series race, Alex Gurney drove the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP to the quickest practice lap of the day at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, while Olivier Beretta led the GT class in the second of two Friday practice sessions.

Gurney turned a best lap at 1:21.285 (99.118 mph) around the 2.258-mile circuit in the car he shares with Jon Fogarty to lead the way on Friday. Daytona Prototype points co-leader Scott Pruett – who led the Friday morning session – was second quick in the afternoon at 1:21.657 (98.666 mph) in the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley he co-drives with Memo Rojas.

Ryan Dalziel, who is the closest pursuer to Pruett and Rojas in DP title chase, was third at 1:21.903 (98.370 mph) in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley. Dalziel is once again sharing the ride this weekend with IndyCar star Alex Tagliani.

Returning to Rolex Series competition for the first time since the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, Beretta clocked a best lap at 1:28.031 (91.522 mph) in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458. Beretta’s co-driver is Alessandro Balzan.

Second in GT was Jeff Segal at 1:28.192 (91.355 mph) in the No. 69 FXDD Ferrari 458, followed by Eric Foss in third at 1:28.230 (91.316 mph) in the No. 73 Neo Synthetics/Carbotech Performance Porsche GT3.

Pruett Quick In DP, Ferraris Top Charts In Opening Rolex Series Practice

MONTEREY, Calif. – In the opening Rolex Series practice session for Sunday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda, Scott Pruett topped the Daytona Prototype time charts, while Ferraris flexed their muscle in the GT class on Friday morning.

Daytona Prototype points co-leader Pruett posted a best time of 1:21.836 (98.451 mph) in the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley to get the penultimate weekend of the 2012 Rolex Series season off to a promising start. Pruett co-drives with Memo Rojas.

Second quickest in DP was Alex Gurney in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP at 1:22.242 (97.965 mph). Antonio Garcia was third in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP at 1:22.259 (97.944 mph).

Johannes van Overbeek led the way in GT, posting a best lap at 1:27.721 (91.846 mph) in the No. 03 Tequila Patrón Ferrari 458 he is sharing with Mike Hedlund. Olivier Beretta was second in GT in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458, followed by Bill Auberlen in the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3. Auberlen’s best time was a 1:28.094 (91.457 mph).

[85t5mcss]

Man, I can't wait til 2014.

[twomanymontes]

I finally watched the race from Sunday! That was absolutely awesome!!! Team Sahlen's Mazda RX8 driven by Dane Cameron and Wayne Nonamaker won in the GT class!!! Their first win EVER!!!! After so many 2nd and 3rd place finishes it was great to see them in the winners circle!
The Championship was decided and went to the #69 FXDD Ferrari.

And in the DP class, the Spirit of Daytona takes it's 3rd win of the season! The Championship will be decided next week, and with only a 13 point differance between Pruett/Rojas and Ryan Dalziel, it's going to be right down to the flag drop!

[twomanymontes]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – GRAND-AM Road Racing will help Kansas Speedway cut the ribbon on its new road course Wednesday morning prior to a special compatibility test, preparing for a prospective race event in 2013.

Three teams will test on the new configuration, which includes three turns on the 1.5-mile progressively banked tri-oval and six turns in the circuit infield.

Action Express Racing will have a Corvette Daytona Prototype for Joao Barbosa, while Bill Auberlen will drive the No. 94 BMW M3 from the Rolex Series GT division. Representing the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will be i-MOTO, with a Cybernation Mazda Speed 3 for Ryan Ellis.

Testing begins at 9 a.m. CT. Follow @rolexseries and @kansasspeedway on Twitter and GRAND-AM Road Racing on Facebook for updates throughout the session.

[85t5mcss]

Cant wait to see Rojas/Pruett take it.

And glad to see Kansas opening it's mind up to the sports car racing venues. With the merger and tracks supporting the series it should be a great 2014 for the newly combined series. Can't wait.

[twomanymontes]

Me too! More tracks need to be added before 2014. Road racing needs to go from 12 races to more like 20 a year! Especially since the merger will bring in more teams adn hopefully more classes.

only 1 race to go!!! Boy, it's going to be a boring 4 months till the 24 of Daytona!!!

[85t5mcss]

I think 20 would be a good start with 25 in 2015. I would like to see them keep some of the classics like Mid-O, Road Atlanta, Road America, Glen, Laguna Seca, Daytona, Barber but I would like to see some new additions, too. Bring in more of a fan base and followers. Don't want to get stagnant and rely on the same demographics. There are other people who enjoy racing besides rednecks.