Daytona Test Ends 2012 Season but the 51st Rolex 24 is Just a Couple Calendar Pages Away

Two days of testing for the 51st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona ended Wednesday, officially dropping the curtain on the GRAND-AM racing season for the year. The “break” won’t be a long one. The “Roar Before the Rolex 24” test is set for January 4-6 when both Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge teams will share Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course. The Rolex 24 At Daytona follows on January 24-27.

Two Corvette DP teams dominated the top of the speed chart during the just-completed drills. Action Express Racing’s No. 9, with Joao Barbosa at the controls, led day one; the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry produced the test’s fastest unofficial lap – 126.743 mph by Max Angelelli – a few minutes before Wednesday’s final session ended.

“Now we want to maintain this pace,” said Angelelli. “We do not want other people going faster.”

Defending Rolex 24 winners, John Pew and Ozz Negri, unofficially were third fastest in the Michael Shank Racing’s No. 60 Ford Riley.

The Audi R8 GRAND-AM, which will make its sophomore appearance in the series next year, played cat-and-mouse with Rolex 24 rookie team Marsh Racing’s Corvette. The No. 52 Audi and five-time Le Mans overall winner Frank Biela unofficially were two-tenths of a second quicker than the No. 31 of Boris Said and Eric Curran.

“Very impressive,” said the 48-year-old Biela, a native of Germany and an American Le Mans Series champion, of his first visit to Daytona. “It was a strange feeling with the banking at first but I quickly started enjoying it. So far it’s fun. We’re still in discussion about our plans for 2013 but I’d like to do not only Rolex 24 but we’re talking about the whole season.”

Two GT Ferrari 458s were on track including AIM Autosport’s defending GT champion No. 69. AIM expects to field a pair of entries in January’s race with a complete driver lineup due to be announced in Toronto on Nov. 26.

The former Horton Autosport, now Park Place Racing No. 73 Porsche GT3 of Patrick Lindsey and Jason Hart, recorded the test’s third fastest speed. “Last year, we were looking up at the other teams in the paddock and were looking to beat them,” said Lindsey looking forward to the second year of operation. “Now I imagine that other teams will be looking at us. Our roles and expectations are changing.

“But I guess that’s a good problem to have.”

Kevin Buckler hasn’t raced in the Rolex 24 since 2007 but the TRG owner took advantage of the test to turn a few laps at Daytona. Buckler won the GT class in 2002 and repeated the following year as well as taking the overall victory. His cars also have won the GT class in 2009 and 2011.

Although Buckler’s main role is atop the pit box, the owner believes hands-on feedback is useful.

“If I can get in I can help set it up,” the Northern California winemaker said. “Too often a driver looks to get the best setup for himself. I have to see the big picture and make the car ‘happy’ for four or five guys and try to feel how the car will change over the course of 24 hours.”