Pre Rolex Material Rolex 04/02/2001   Looking Back To The 38th And On To The 39th   Just a reminder of some of the people involved a year ago, and the misfortunes that befell them. Ask any driver who is fortunate enough to be in a competitive car whether he can win the race and the answer will be a resounding “Yes.” Ralf Kelleners must have been licking his lips at the prospect of a Rolex watch, but the race and the season were abject disappointments for the German. Nothing seemed to go right in February, and that run of misfortune carried all the way through the Grand Am season. This time, he has David Brabham, Allan McNish and Eric van de Poele as his partners, and they don’t come stronger than that. Egos won’t get in the way of this quartet. But Kelleners and co. will have to take on this group, who will have two R&Ss this time. The Reynard story occupied the team in January 2000, and once the decision had been taken not to race the 2KQ, there was time to prepare only one R&S. That seemed like enough until engine trouble at dawn made it slower and slower. This time the team are as well prepared as they could possibly be, they’ve got a new chassis, handling seems to be the best ever from the MKlll – and it could be 1999 all over again. Wallace and Leitzinger take a step back from the Cadillac – to go forward. Good move. And Dyson have got this secret weapon up their sleeve. He drove for them in 2000, but most people think back longingly to a Ferrari drive from the Italian, in 1996. “One of the most stirring drives the Florida enduro had ever seen,” was Janos Wimpffen’s description in Time And Two Seats. He was catching Wayne Taylor at six seconds per lap, but Bill Riley had it worked out perfectly. Wayne Taylor took the win by just over a minute. This time, it will be Papis in the trusty R&S. Ron Fellows doing his ‘Poirot’ impression. “I drove flat out for eleven and a half hours,” so the last hour was no different from the rest of his driving in the 38th edition of the race. He chased Wendlinger mightily, but 30.9 seconds split them at the flag. No Oreca Vipers this year, so who can challenge the C5-Rs? The Saleen? The 911 GT1s? The ’99 winning 911 GT2? Chamberlain’s Vipers? None of them? Will Ron be going for the overall win again this time? Chamberlain have a phenomenal record in 24 hour races. Last year they were only beaten by factory ‘Vettes and Vipers and the Dyson R&S, as they come home sixth and seventh overall. This one was sixth, Alison Duncan / Stephen Watson / Christian Vann / Raffaele Sangiuolo at the wheel. The latter returns, but his co-drivers have yet to be sorted out, although four Chamberlain pilots are currently listed for the two cars. They won’t go for outright pace, but they will be around at the end. Saleen and Corvette hammer each other to pieces and Chamberlain clean up? Hurley Haywood. An incomparable record at Daytona, with wins in ’73, ’75, ’77, ’79 and 91. The Champion Lola Porsche has had a restrictor break and now it is close enough to the ultimate pace to be in contention in the last quarter. He drove the 74 Ranch Resort R&S last time, but Robinson Racing were distracted by their Reynard and didn’t have a great run, after driveshaft problems. Dirk Muller was expected to drive the Champion entry, but he’s gone off to BMW and will have to be patient before he goes racing in 2001. Bob Wollek has won four times here, so he can’t match Haywood if #38 wins. George Robinson. The Ranch Resort R&S found real success in the Grand Am in 2000. Ironically, a chassis like the Reynard he might have driven here last year did finish ahead of his #74, but he found the anticipated lack of success at Sebring and sent the Reynard home. He’d already lost the wing in testing, so he’s firmly back with his Judd powered Riley & Scott. He wants a Mklll C for 2001, but the Mklll is still good enough to win, and he’s got a strong driving squad. He’s worth an outside bet. Jim Downing is too. An accident eliminated his entry in 2000, but he was heading for second in SR approaching half way. Chris Ronson was injured, but he’s back for another try in the same car. Mazdas run and run, and in many ways this is the ideal 24 hour car. 20th at three hours, 15th at six hours, 10th at 12 hours are all likely advancements. Then what? Rob Dyson – looking remarkably youthful. Must be something to do with Andy Hartwell’s camera work. Still loves driving, still gets out there and does it for two or three shifts, but proves that he still wants to win at the highest level by entering his new Mklll C in some ALMS events. The Mklll should be good enough on this occasion if it has a trouble free run. Unlike other SRP runners, he has two chances to win. No other SRP runners except for Intersport have two cars entered. That’s commitment. Another almighty scrap with Risi, just like ’99, in prospect. Hans-Jörg Hofer. Another man to commit to sportscar racing. His cars ran at Daytona, Sebring and then the full FIA GT Championship. Amazingly, he didn’t get a Le Mans entry. Can anyone explain that? His Rolex entry last year was 36 laps down on the class leader at one point, but dragged itself back to second at the flag, only two laps behind the winning Haberthur GT3R. If a driveshaft hadn’t broken, it would have been a comfortable win. ‘Ifs’ don’t count in motor racing though. David Murry. Just about to start out his short-lived career with Skea Racing International. That ended in a legal dispute, but not before they’d come home second at Le Mans. No clear plans for Skea this year, but Murry has found a home with Kelly Moss Racing for the ALMS, with G&W for the Rolex 24. A blown tyre last year was just one of those things, a water hose rubbing on a sway bar was just one of those new car things. Scott Schubot. Time for the Creighton Lola to deliver. The Philip Creighton R&S hit debris last year and ended up very near the bottom of the final time sheet. That’s racing luck, which is due to change. John Burton is back at Daytona for the third time. He has a score to settle too. Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport