Ryan Dalziel grabs pole

The catch-phrase “position is everything,” accurately reflects the action today at Daytona International Speedway as competitors at the 2012 Rolex 24 At Daytona qualified for the grid in advance of Saturday’s start of the historic 50th edition of the classic endurance race.  As the traditional season-opening motorsports event in America, the Rolex 24 At Daytona always delivers plenty of excitement, and when taken in combination with golden anniversary celebrations, this weekend’s race is in a league of its own.

Oswaldo Negri, Jr. (Miami, FL) is all too familiar with “taking pole” at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, having done so in 2008 (while setting a lap record), and again in 2010.  Negri is driving the #60 Ford Riley DP for Michael Shank Racing, and although the car is showing great balance, it did not have quite enough top speed to put the native of Brazil on the front row.  “The car is good but we need more straight line speed,” said Negri.  “We’re not as fast as we want to be on the tri-oval, but we are working on it pretty hard.  We have a solid driver lineup with A. J. Allmendinger (Denver, Colo.), Justin Wilson (UK) and John Pew (North Palm Beach, Fla.).  We need to keep it on the track and come into the pits only for fuel and tires.  The last four years I have qualified on the front row twice.  That’s pretty cool for bragging rights, but at the end of the day on Sunday all I want is a trophy in one hand and a new Rolex timepiece in the other.”

Ryan Dalziel beat all the imitation Chevy Corvette bodied cars to take pole in his Riley Ford

While already a Rolex 24 At Daytona champion, having won in 2010, today Ryan Dalziel (Orlando, Fla.), earned his first career pole in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series while driving the #8 Starworks Motorsports Ford Riley.  The 2011 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series DP Champion, Dalziel, who is a native of Scotland, was not surprised with the DP qualifying position – even though he was at the wheel of the last new Riley to be delivered, which was run for the first time during the second practice today.

“Pole proves to us that we have a fast car,” said Dalziel, who has been the only driver in the car thus far.  “I felt pretty confident coming out of the car and I’m really excited for all my teammates.  We triple and quadruple checked everything.  We were the only team last year not to have a mechanical failure, and we’ve carried the same team over.  Now we just have to concentrate for the next day and a half on making the car reliable.” 

A mere 0.121 seconds was all that separated Max Angelelli (Monaco) from taking the DP pole position.  “I cannot hide my disappointment,” said the Italian in reference to the #10 SunTrust Racing Corvette having led in pre-practice.  “I wasn’t expecting P2.  I still feel our car is really fast and that for the Rolex 24 At Daytona we will be the car to beat.  The new cars, we have no idea what can happen.  I’m expecting issues for everybody.  We feel pretty strong with our SunTrust Corvette.  It is 24 hours, and Daytona … anything can happen.  We are really focused on not having major problems, or something we can fix quick – within five minutes.”

Andrew Davis

In the GT class, the qualifying session has set the stage for the revival of a classic rivalry – between Porsche and Ferrari.  Andrew Davis (Bogart, Georgia), the 2011 Grand-Am Sports Car Series GT champion, set the pole with a time of 1:49:342 at the wheel of Brumos Racing’s #59 Porsche GT3, with Jeff Segal (Miami, Fla.) taking P2 in the AIM Autosport Team‘s #69 Ferrari 458 with a time of 1:49:357.

“It was intense session,” said Davis who missed winning pole in 2006 by a hundredth of a second.  “I pushed as hard as I could after having struggled during the practice earlier today.  From all the testing, including the Roar [Before the Rolex 24], it’s the best the car has done.”

Davis emphasized that the important thing about Daytona is the race, not qualifying.  “Everyone wants a good qualifying because it’s a feather in their cap, but it’s a 24-hour race so we want to be there in the end and get that Rolex on the podium.  The best place to start is up front, but qualifying will be a distant memory after 24 hours, so I’ll enjoy this for now.”

For Jeff Segal, it was “a nail biter” in the car during qualifying.  “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.  “The level of talent and the preparation this year is phenomenal.  We’ve got an excellent car and I think it shows in our qualifying P2.  We’re hoping to bring the car home in good shape on Sunday.  I didn’t know what to expect [in qualifying], except that it wasn’t going to be separated by much.  When Ferrari comes to Daytona they come to win.  We’ve had a lot of support, and there’s been a tremendous amount of development, last minute updates.  We expected the car to be good, to be fast…that’s why we signed on.  If we do our part, keep the car clean, we have a good chance.”

The historic 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona gets underway on Saturday, January 28 at 3:30 p.m. when Grand Marshal A.J. Foyt issues the command “Drivers, start your engines.”  Among the special events planned to celebrate the 50th Anniversary is the Rolex 50 Years of Champions display which will feature over 30 of the championship winners at a charity gala to benefit the Halifax Health Foundation this evening, Thursday, 26 January, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.  After a procession of the championship cars from the Ocean Center to Daytona International Speedway at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, January 27, weather permitting, the cars will be on display throughout the weekend.

Results

Pos	No.	Class	Pic	Drivers	Team/Car	Time	Speed
1	8	DP	1	Dalziel / Luhr / McNish / Popow	Starworks Motorsport / Ford Riley	1:41.119	126.741
2	10	DP	2	Angelelli / Briscoe / Taylor	SunTrust Racing / Corvette DP	1:41.240	126.590
3	02	DP	3	Dixon/Franchitti / McMurray / Montoya	Chip Ganassi Racing / BMW Riley	1:41.463	126.312
4	99	DP	4	Fogarty / Gidley / Gurney	GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing / Corvette	1:41.519	126.242
5	90	DP	5	Garcia/Gavin / Magnussen / Westbrook	Spirit of Daytona / Corvette DP	1:41.611	126.128
6	60	DP	6	Allmendinger / Negri / Pew / Wilson	Michael Shank Racing/ Ford Riley	1:41.662	126.064
7	9	DP	7	Barbosa / Borcheller / France / Papis	Action Express Racing / Corvette DP	1:42.074	125.555
8	6	DP	8	Goncalvez/McDowell / Nasr / Yacaman	Michael Shank Racing / Ford Riley	1:42.414	125.139
9	2	DP	9	Hunter-Reay / Luhr / Mayer  / Scala	Starworks Motorsport / Ford Riley	1:42.657	124.842
10	77	DP	10	Frisselle / Frisselle / Lowe / Tracy	Doran Racing / Ford Dallara	1:42.773	124.702
11	50	DP	11	Defoor /Forbes-Robinson/Johnson/ Pace	50+Predator/Alegra / BMW Riley	1:43.723	123.559
12	76	DP	12	Braun / Jonsson / Krohn / Zonta	Krohn Racing / Ford Lola	1:44.433	122.719
13	59	GT	1	Davis / Haywood / Keen / Lieb	Brumos Racing / Porsche GT3	1:49.342	117.210
14	69	GT	2	Assentato / Lazzaro / Longhi / Segal	AIM Autosport Team FXDD Racing / Ferrari	1:49.357	117.194
15	44	GT	3	Lally / Lietz / Potter / Rast	Magnus Racing / Porsche GT3	1:49.388	117.160
16	45	GT	4	Bergmeister/Long/Neiman / Rockenfeller	Flying Lizard Motorsports / Porsche GT3	1:49.550	116.987
17	62	GT	5	Bruni / Fisichella / Matos	Risi Competizione / Ferrari 458	1:49.661	116.869
18	42	GT	6	Cameron / Nonnamaker  / Sahlen	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	1:49.700	116.827
19	23	GT	7	Collard / Holzer / Leitzinger / MacNeil	Alex Job Racing / Porsche GT3	1:49.766	116.757
20	88	GT	8	Edwards / Marsh / Milner / Taylor	Autohaus Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	1:49.773	116.750
21	17	GT	9	Asch/Baldwin/Burtin/ Ragginger / Sellers	Burtin Racing / Porsche GT3	1:49.891	116.624
22	48	GT	10	Bell / Maassen / Miller / Wilkins	Paul Miller Racing / Porsche GT3	1:50.044	116.462
23	63	GT	11	Beretta / Bertolini / Vilander	Risi Competizione / Ferrari 458	1:50.191	116.307
24	03	GT	12	Brown / Cosmo / Sharp / van Overbeek	Extreme Speed Motorsports / Ferrari 458	1:50.197	116.300
25	75	GT	13	Bell / Carter / Curran / Plumb	Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	1:50.273	116.220
26	26	GT	14	Cisneros / Edwards / Kauffmann / Tandy	NGT Motorsport / Porsche GT3	1:50.298	116.194
27	74	GT	15	Al Masaood / Al Mehairi / Kane	Oryx Racing / Audi R8 Grand-Am	1:50.312	116.179
28	57	GT	16	Bremer / Edwards / Liddell	Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	1:50.426	116.059
29	4	GT	17	Bell / Eversley / Graeff / Yarab Jr.	Magnus Racing / Porsche GT3	1:50.456	116.028
30	66	GT	18	Farnbacher / Keating / Pilet / Simonsen	TRG / Porsche GT3	1:50.557	115.922
31	22	GT	19	Blaylock / O'Young / Roush / Van Blankers / White	Bullet Racing / Porsche GT3	1:50.572	115.906
32	93	GT	20	Auberlen / Dalla Lana / Marsal / Muller / Muller	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	1:50.582	115.895
33	32	GT	21	Armindo / Curtis / Lewis / Sofronas / Willsey	Orbit/GMG / Porsche GT3	1:50.605	115.871
34	51	GT	22	Baas / Canache / Norman / Pirro / von Moltke	APR Motorsport / Audi R8 Grand-Am	1:50.749	115.721
35	15	GT	23	Cook / Earnhardt / Harrington / Hill / Ware	Rick Ware Racing / Ford Mustang	1:50.762	115.707
36	24	GT	24	Avenatti / Faieta / Poordad / Sweedler / Wagner	Alex Job Racing / Porsche GT3	1:50.824	115.642
37	70	GT	25	Bomarito / Franchitti / Hinchcliffe / Tremblay	SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8	1:51.022	115.436
38	56	GT	26	Aguas / Kauffman / Pastrana / Waltrip	AF - Waltrip / Ferrari 458	1:51.105	115.350
39	40	GT	27	Dempsey / Espenlaub / Foster / Long	Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8	1:51.416	115.028
40	87	GT	28	Heylen / Peterson / Soulet / Valverde	Racers Edge Motorsports / Dodge Viper	1:51.555	114.885
41	55	GT	29	Del Vecchio / Grunnet / Jester / McKee / Pobst	Acumen Motorsport / Porsche GT3	1:51.575	114.864
42	94	GT	30	Auberlen / Dalla Lana / Johnson / Said / Werner	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	1:51.680	114.756
43	12	GT	31	Miller / Prewitt / Rettich / Schneider / Shoff	Alliance Autosport / Porsche GT3	1:51.727	114.708
44	18	GT	32	Jones / Lester / McCutchen / Thomas	Muehlner Motorsports America, LLC / Porsche GT3	1:52.250	114.173
45	43	GT	33	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	1:52.541	113.878
46	20	GT	34	Englster / Murry / Safina / Schaldach	Liqui Moly Team Englster/Mitchum Motorsports Porsche / Porsche GT3	1:52.641	113.777
47	64	GT	35	Ardagna / Costabal / Di Guida / Orjuela / Salazar	TRG / Porsche GT3	1:52.679	113.739
48	41	GT	36	James / Johnson / Kitch Jr / Maxwell / Rogers	Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8	1:52.998	113.417
49	82	GT	37	Fergus / Finger / Greer / Hotchkis / Trinkler	Dick Greer Racing / Porsche GT3	1:53.161	113.254
50	36	GT	38	Andretti / Andretti / Hacquard / Krohn	Yellow Dragon Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	1:53.202	113.213
51	65	GT	39	Castellano / Cox / Hedlund / McCarthy / Michaelian	TRG / Porsche GT3	1:53.919	112.500
52	67	GT	40	Bertheau / Bleekemolen / Goossens / Henzler / Pumpelly	TRG / Porsche GT3	1:54.347	112.079
53	34	GT	41	DeFontes / Fogg / Konopka / Vonka	Orbit/GMG / Porsche GT3	1:54.402	112.026
54	46	GT	42	Breukers / Fumal / Nowicki	Michael Baughman Racing / Corvette	1:55.577	110.887
55	68	GT	0	Cumming / Estre / Faulkner / Gomez / Keating	TRG / Porsche GT3	-	-
56	49	GT	0	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker / Sahlen	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	-	-
57	19	GT	0	Dollahite / Nater / O'Doski / Seefried / Whitis	Muehlner Motorsports America, LLC / Porsche GT3	-	-
58	16	GT	0	TBA	Rick Ware Racing / Porsche GT3	-	-
59	5	DP	0	Donohue / Fittipaldi / Law	Action Express Racing / Corvette DP	-	-
60	01	DP	0	Hand / Pruett / Rahal / Rojas	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates / BMW Riley	-	-