The No. 01 Ganassi car on the way to victory

Defending “Grand Prix of Miami” Champions Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas again made themselves welcome in Miami this afternoon, taking the checkered flag at Homestead- Miami Speedway to capture a fifth consecutive GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series win.

The victory proved prophetic, in that prior to the race Pruett met with fans for an exclusive meet-and- greet in the Homestead-Miami Speedway infield. Responding to a question as to what fans could expect of the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-BMW Daytona Prototype (DP) when the 12 p.m. green flag dropped, Pruett said simply: “We’re going to win it again.”

When the “Grand Prix of Miami” began under sunny skies and 76-degree temperatures, however, victory seemed unlikely. The Pruett/Rojas duo was assessed a drive-through penalty for contact in the early going, and pole-sitting GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing teammates Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty led the two-hour, 45-minute race. In fact, it wasn’t until just six minutes remained in the race that Pruett took the lead from the SunTrust Racing Dallara-Chevrolet of Max Angelelli.

Pruett and Rojas celebrate

“The biggest challenge was driving hard while still being easy on the tires,” Rojas said of having to play catch up while also trying to maintain tread.

In what may be an omen for the rest of the GRAND-AM DP field, in each season (2008, 2010) the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing team has won at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it has gone on to win the overall Championship. Indeed, the challenges presented by running the “Grand Prix of Miami” in the intense midday Florida sunshine long ago earned Homestead-Miami Speedway’s road course distinction as the most demanding effort on the entire GRAND-AM docket.

“The teams got their money’s worth out of their drivers today,” said Pruett.

Patrick Dempsey, he of the Hollywood day job, finished 31st after his No. 40 Mazda RX-8 engine caught fire following a Lap 22 spin. “Dr. McDreamy” and his Dempsey Racing teammates also graciously met with Homestead-Miami guests for a meet-and-greet prior to the race to raise funds for the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer, Hope & Healing, and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Racing the same course alongside the DPs, GRAND-AM’s Grand Touring (GT) division saw Turner Motorsport score its first victory in the No. 94 BMW M3. After a solid opening by Paul Dalla Lana, co-driver Bill Auberlen took the lead at the one-hour mark and never looked back.

The duo cruised to a 5.639-second victory over defending “Grand Prix of Miami” champs Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato, drivers of the Ft. Lauderdale-based No. 69 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8.

In the nightcap at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dalla Lana and Auberlen pulled a rare GRANDAM sweep, following up their Rolex GT victory in the “Grand Prix of Miami” with a win in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge “Kia 200.”

“My favorite day in the world is to win two races in one day,” said Auberlen, after winning the Grand Sport division of the “Kia 200.”

“Coming in my 100th Rolex Series start and seeing Paul win his first two races, it's so sweet.”

How rare was the feat? The Turner Motorsports duo’s double, this time in the No. 96 BMW, was only the second time in GRAND-AM history that drivers scored two victories on the same day; Terry Borcheller and Forest Barber won in both the Daytona Prototype and GS II class in 2003.

Racing the same course alongside the Grand Sports in the “Kia 200,” Ian Baas caught Mathew Pombo at the finish line to win the Street Tuner class driving the No. 171 Volkswagen GTI. The APR Motorsports team won by .022 seconds, leading only the final inches of the race as Baas drafted by Pombo for a last-lap pass.

“We came through the final turn on his back bumper, and I had the torque on him to pull a slingshot,” said Baas. “That was the only time I led in the race.”

Results

Pos	No.	Class	Pic	Drivers	Team/Car	Laps
1	01	DP	1	Pruett / Rojas	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates / BMW Riley	116
2	5	DP	2	Donohue / Law	Action Express Racing / Porsche Riley	116
3	10	DP	3	Angelelli / Taylor	SunTrust Racing / Chevrolet Dallara	116
4	61	DP	4	Frisselle / Wilkins	AIM Autosport / BMW Riley	116
5	9	DP	5	Barbosa / Borcheller / France	Action Express Racing / Porsche Riley	116
6	23	DP	6	Blundell / Valiante	United Autosports with Michael Shank Racing / Ford Riley	116
7	2	DP	7	Popow / Potoliccio	Starworks Motorsport / Ford Riley	116
8	99	DP	8	Fogarty / Gurney	GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing / Chevrolet Riley	116
9	60	DP	9	Negri / Pew	Michael Shank Racing / Ford Riley	115
10	94	GT	1	Auberlen / Dalla Lana	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	112
11	69	GT	2	Assentato / Segal	SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8	112
12	44	GT	3	Potter / Stanton	Magnus Racing / Porsche GT3	112
13	70	GT	4	Bomarito / Tremblay	SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8	112
14	41	GT	5	Cameron / Gue	Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8	112
15	88	GT	6	Lester / Taylor	Autohaus Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	112
16	59	GT	7	Davis / Keen	Brumos Racing / Porsche GT3	111
17	07	GT	8	Gavin / Schaldach	Banner Racing / Camaro GT.R	111
18	42	GT	9	Gidley / Nonnamaker	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	111
19	43	GT	10	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	111
20	67	GT	11	Bertheau / Pumpelly	TRG / Porsche GT3	110
21	49	GT	12	Nonnamaker / Sahlen	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	109
22	63	GT	13	Grupp / Trinkler	Team Spencer Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	108
23	72	GT	14	Grant / Grant / Grant	Grant Racing/901 Shop / Porsche GT3	108
24	3	DP	10	Gilbert / Lewis	SCDE / Chevrolet Riley	107
25	30	GT	15	Heylen / Smith	Racers Edge Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	107
26	57	GT	16	Liddell / Magnussen	Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	96
27	90	DP	11	Edwards / Garcia	Spirit of Daytona Racing / Chevrolet Coyote	88
28	8	DP	12	Dalziel / Forest	Starworks Motorsport / Ford Riley	73
29	31	GT	17	Curran / Said	Marsh Racing / Corvette	61
30	77	DP	13	Frisselle / Richard	Doran Racing / Ford Dallara	27
31	40	GT	18	Dempsey / Foster	Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8	19
32	11	GT	19	James / Nastasi	TPN Racing/Blackforest / Ford Mustang	18

* - Withdrew