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GRAND AMERICAN ROAD RACING ASSOCIATION |
17/10/2003 |
Ten Daytona Prototypes Entered |
Prototypes Proving A Success |
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Ten Daytona Prototypes Entered In Champions Weekend Event
The Daytona Prototype concept was first introduced at Daytona International Speedway in January 2002. Just over a year later, six of the new cars took to Daytona's 3.56-mile road course for their racing debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Now, the first season of Daytona Prototype racing will draw to a close at Daytona International Speedway with a record number of entries on tap for the Grand American Champions Weekend presented by Brumos Porsche, October 30 - November 1. Ten Daytona Prototypes are entered in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series finale, which will serve as the debut race for new entries from Essex Racing, SpeedSource and PAP Parts.
Essex Racing and SpeedSource will be racing the latest Ford-powered Daytona Prototypes from the Multimatic stable. Essex Racing has entered the No. 5 Quantum Motorsports/Speed Secrets Ford Multimatic with the father-son duo of Joe and Justin Pruskowski on its driver lineup.
SpeedSource, which has campaigned the Rolex 24 class-winning Ford Multimatic under its banner since the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, has entered the Mears Motor Coach-sponsored car into the Champions Weekend race as the No. 9 Daytona Prototype of Paul Mears Jr. The South Florida-based team will also run it's newest arrival from Multimatic as the No. 70 entry with Selby Wellman and Sylvain Tremblay taking turns at the wheel.
Also making its racing debut at Champions Weekend will be the PAP Parts No. 7 BMW-powered FABCAR, the first FABCAR to be fitted with a BMW engine. The trio of drivers slated to race the No. 7 entry include Duncan Dayton, Steve Southard and Chip Vance.
Although the Doran-Lista Racing No. 27 Toyota Doran JE4 has contested three races already, the Champions Weekend will mark its first appearance at Daytona International Speedway. Didier Theys will return to the track where he captured the 2002 driver championship one year ago, partnering with Bill Auberlen in search of Doran-Lista's first win with No. 27 Toyota.
The other five Daytona Prototypes on the entry list are no stranger to the Speedway's 3.56-mile road course, as they all competed there in both the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Paul Revere 250 earlier this season. Among the quintet of race cars, three will be battling it out for the North American Road Racing Championship.
The Bell Motorsports No. 54 Chevy Doran JE4 enters the Champions Weekend with a narrow three-point lead over second place and four points over third. Drivers Terry Borcheller and Forest Barber were victorious at Daytona in the Paul Revere 250 last July and hope to return to Gatorade Victory Lane not only as victors, but champions.
Their biggest threat will come from the Brumos Racing No. 58 Red Bull Porsche FABCAR of David Donohue and Mike Borkowski. Coming off some bad luck at the VIR 400, which cost them the points lead, the Red Bull pair is determined to give it their all in their quest for the team and driver championships.
However, Donohue and Borkowski are not the only Brumos Racing drivers with a shot at the championship title. Hurley Haywood and J.C. France, drivers of the Brumos Racing No. 59 Porsche, enter the finale only one point behind their teammates and with a four-point deficit to the leader.
While the Bell Motorsports and Brumos Racing entries are fighting it out for the championship, G&W Motorsports and Cegwa Sport will be searching for their first win of the season.
G&W Motorsports' development of the No. 8 BMW Picchio DP2 has made the car a front-runner in recent events. Darren Law had the car out front during the Paul Revere 250, but an off-track excursion by his co-driver took the team out of the race. Law will return the No. 8 BMW to Daytona for one final race in hopes of finally scoring that elusive first Daytona Prototype victory.
Cegwa Sport will also be looking for its first win during the Champions Weekend race, as Darius Grala and RJ Valentine come back to Daytona in the No. 3 Toyota FABCAR.
The 10 race cars entered in the Grand American Champions Weekend presented by Brumos Porsche is the largest Daytona Prototype field to date, but its only a glimpse of what excitement is in store for the 2004 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
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