2006
Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
January
26-29
This year's Rolex 24 was a disappointing
event to say the least. Some changes in the Grand Am rulebook have
sped up the GT class cars, and with the newly repaved infield section,
GT3 Cup cars are able to match the times that the more powerful GT3RS's
were turning a few years back. After the Test Days a few weeks
prior, we were content that when we returned for the race, we would be
able to put down times competitive with the 996 based GT3 Cup
cars. The GTO.R machines were strong as always, but the big surprise
was how much faster the 997 Cups were over the 996-based cars. It
was so significant, that the minimum weight was raised between the Test
Days and the race.
Cory Friedman
was our lead driver for the event, and he was joined by four stand-out
PCA racers. Patrick Small has been racing in the club ranks since
2000, and in 2005 he ran a few Grand Am races with a best finish of 8th
in Mexico. Tory Herring has been a consistent top-3 qualifier and
podium finisher in PCA. Mac McGehee has been Club Racing for four
years, and he ran a pair of Rolex Series events last season in
preparation for his first Rolex 24. 2004 was Bill Martin's first season
in racing, but in a very short time, he has built an incredible resume
of pole positions and race wins. This driver line-up brought a
solid understanding of what it takes to do well in an endurance
event. Our objective for the race was to be consistent and stay
out of trouble, and we felt that this would lead us to a top-10 finish.
It
became apparent that things were not going to go as planned in the very
first practice session. Patrick was driving when he was bumped by
a DP braking into turn-1. This was an unfortunate place to get
hit, as the contact sent Small off course and into a barrier. The
car sustained have damage to the chassis, and could not be raced.
Our team is not that easily defeated, and we brought out last season's
#14 Autometrics Motorsports/KeenCap Porsche to replace the damaged
racer. Grand Am rules do not allow a "spare car," so we
were forced to run the new car as #15. The crew worked frantically
swapping good parts from the crashed 14 car for use on the 15 car.
Proper preparation for a 24-hour race takes about 3 weeks. We had
just over a day. All the new parts, including the fresh engine,
were installed in the new car, and we ran a few laps in the final
warm-up. We had a phenomenal crew for this event, and if we
hadn't, this race would have been over before it really even got
started.
Cory would start from the
back of the 66-car grid because we did not qualify, but our position as
a Hoosier PaceSetters Team ensured we would be allowed to race. He
immediately began moving up the GT charts, and continued improving
through his stint. When Cory got out after his single-stint, he
had moved from 35th up to 11th in class. Mac was the second driver
in the car. He ran consistent laps, and stayed in the car past the
2-hour mark. Bill followed Mac, and he had an impressive
session. His lap times were faster than they had been at testing,
and it finally seemed that things were going to plan. Bill moved
into the top-40 overall, hen he handed the car over to Tory. Our
momentum quickly shifted at the 4-hour mark when after only 5 laps in
the car, Tory drove by with the car smoking. He pulled off the
circuit, and it took awhile before the wrecker could get the car back to
the garage for us to look at. Unfortunately, this delay was
irrelevant, as engine was in very bad shape. There was oil all
over the engine and we had significant leak-down. This engine
could not be run anymore, so we retired from the race. We have not
been told the cause of the problem, but we assume something in the
bottom end let go. It seems that it is a problem that was not
caused and could not be prevented by the drivers or crew.
This
was by far our most problematic attempt at the Rolex 24 so far, though
it was not due to lack of effort. We can not say enough about the
dedication from everyone on the team, including the crew and
drivers. Competition at this level opens the possibility for innumerable
problems. We typically deal with the issues and continue, but in
this case, we could not. We are all frustrated by the outcome, but
it could not be helped. On the positive side, Patrick was
uninjured in the crash, and we hope that future attempts at the 24 will
be more successful. |
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