Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 22-25, 2009

Second Row Qualifying was the Highlight of our 2009 Rolex 24 Effort.

Autometrics Motorsports focused our efforts on a single, strong entry for the 2009 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.  Team drivers Mac McGehee and Cory Friedman were joined by decorated sportscar veteran Jack Baldwin and World Challenge competitor Claudio Burtin for the January Test Days.

The car was good out of the trailer and improvements came quickly, so we ran the car only as much as was necessary to keep the car fresh for the race.  Porsche Motorsports provided Martin Ragginger, one of the Factory Junior Team drivers for the 24.  Martin had only a handful of laps in the car prior to qualifying, but he liked the set-up, only requesting a few minor aero changes.  Our goal for both qualifying and the race was top-5, and we were optimistic that we could achieve that goal at least in qualifying.  Ragginger’s first lap at speed was the fastest we’d ever posted at Daytona, and a few more tenths would likely achieve our goal.  After around two more hot laps, the tires would be too hot to make another attempt at a quick time.  Martin only need one more lap, though, as his time was easily the fastest ever turned by a GT car.  The plan was to run one more lap, but when he saw the lap time, Ragginger did a double-take and blew the entry to the international horseshoe.  The excitement both in the pits and in the car was incredible.  Martin announced over the radio that it was an “optimum lap,” and the car “can not go any quicker.”  We believed him.

We still were at the top of the timesheet when Martin got out of the car, but about halfway through the session, Andy Lally dropped us to second by a tenth.  The team anxiously watched the timing feed to see if the position would stand, and it did until the checkered flag lap.  The Speedsource Mazda was certainly a threat for fast lap, and we got nervous when we saw how deep he went into turn one on the final lap.  The concern was founded, as he bumped Lally off the pole by a few hundredths, and we were relegated to third position on the inside of the second row.

Qualifying less than two tenths of a second off of the pole is something we are all very proud of.  Being at the front of the GT field during the pre-race ceremonies was very exciting.

Speed is not nearly enough to ensure success at the Rolex 24. 

Everything was going very well at the start of the race.  Martin was running in the top-5 for most of his opening double-stint, and we even led for a short time.  After our first tire change, the second Speedsource Mazda ran behind Ragginger as he put heat in the stickers.  The Mazda is lighter and capable of braking later than a Porsche, and in combination with our cold tires, the Mazda misjudged a braking zone and hit our 14 car sharply in the right rear.  Martin spun out on paved run-off, but he was able to keep the car from hitting anything.  A tail light was missing, but most of the impact was absorbed by the tow hook.  The Mazda was not so fortunate, going behind the wall to replace a radiator.  We lost some track position, but nothing more.  Cory was the second driver to go in the car, and his stint unfolded much like Martins, running just outside the top-5.  We had a problem with a rear hub, but it had limited impact as we took care of it with a scheduled stop.
Things were still looking good past the four-hour mark with daylight fading.  Jack Baldwin took the controls.  It was while Jack was in the car that our promising effort fell apart.  The wheel hub failed, requiring our first trip to the garage.  The repair was reasonable, and a top-10 was still very possible.

Well into the night our problems escalated.  Mac was standing-by but wasn’t scheduled to drive for more than an hour when we got a very unusual response from Jack.  A rock or some other large piece of debris hit him directly in the eye, forcing an immediate pit stop and driver change.  Everything appeared to go pretty smoothly, but we later found out that Mac’s belts were not completely tightened as he left the pit box.  The combination of not being quite ready to drive yet along with cold tires and tightening the belts going into the chicane caused problems.  Mac went through the grass in the bus-stop and tore off the center radiator.  Another trip to the garage ensured we wouldn’t get a result we could be content with.

The trips back to the garage did not end there.  We had contact with another car that damaged the suspension on the right rear, and a few more radiators had to be replaced.  The car was still fairly healthy when the sun came up on Sunday morning, so we put Martin back in the car for a run at fastest race lap.  He came within half a second of that, and we thought the car had the speed to make it happen, but circumstances did not allow it.

A spin in the kink and a smoked clutch finally finished our race with just over two hours remaining.
This year’s GT field was full of stacked entries.  Porsche exhausted its full roster of Factory and Junior Team driver, and all of the series’ regulars were in strong cars.  We believe we were among the contenders early, but this race offers unlimited opportunities for disaster.  The optimism and confidence from the beginning of the weekend faded with each of our disasters, and no one was satisfied with our result.