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LIVE COVERAGE ON SPEED TV BEGINS AT: 2:30pm on Saturday 1/26 and picks up again on Sunday 1/27 at 9:00am
GRAND-AM Cooldown Lap - Daytona Day 1
Jan. 26, 2012
The Recap
One blistering lap. That's all it took for Ryan Dalziel to vault Starworks Motorsport from underdog to front-runner Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.
In spite of a morning motor failure that wiped out an entire practice session, Dalziel deftly drove his No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley to capture the pole for the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona with a lap of 1:41.119 (126.741 mph).
"Maybe sometimes the underdogs aren't supposed to beat the powerhouse teams," said Dalziel, who dueled SunTrust Racing's Max Angelelli for the pole in a furious 15-minute qualifying session on the 3.56-mile road course. "But what has happened at Starworks the past four or five months is that we've tried to create a powerhouse team, hired the right people and put together an unbelievable car. I think the No. 8 car is not only going to be a contender this weekend, but a contender the entire year."
That message was delivered just three minutes into qualifying, as Dalziel bested the provisional pole time of Angelelli's Corvette. Angelelli regained the top spot until six minutes remained, when Dalziel turned in his pole-winning time.
Angelelli will start second and Scott Dixon's No. 02 Target/TELMEX BMW/Riley will start third when the green flag drops on North America's most prestigious endurance race at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
In the GT class, Andrew Davis will start on the pole in his No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche GT3. The front of the class grid changed seemingly every lap of the 15-minute session before Davis posted a late lap at 1:49.342 (117.210 mph) to put the famed No. 59 on pole.
"It was an intense session," said Davis, who was bumped from the provisional pole three times before regaining it for good with two minutes left. "I just pushed it as hard as I could from the first lap out."
His main competition came from Jeff Segal's No. 69 AIM Autosport/Team FXDD Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am (1:49.357/117.194 mph) and Andy Lally's No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 (1:49.388/117.161 mph), and they claimed the second and third spots on the grid for Saturday's race.
Teammates swept the front rows of the respective classes in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge qualifying for Friday's BMW Performance 200.
Shelby Blackstock captured the GS pole with a lap of 109.051 mph in the No. 51 Starstruck Entertainment Ford Mustang Boss 302 R. He will be joined on the front row by teammate Jack Roush Jr., who ran 108.923 mph in the No. 61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 R.
Kia not only won its first pole in Street Tuner competition, but swept the front row in qualifying. Denied the GT pole in the late stages of Rolex Series qualifying, Andy Lally ran a lap of 101.222 mph in the No. 10 Kinetic/Kia Motors America Kia Forte Koup to capture his fifth career CTSCC pole - breaking the Daytona International Speedway ST track record in the process. Teammate Mark Pombo ran his final lap in 101.138 mph to join Lally on the front row in the No. 12 entry.
Qualifying Times:
Daytona Prototype Top 3:
Ryan Dalziel - No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley - 1:41.119 (126.741)
Max Angelelli - No. 10 SunTrust Corvette DP - 1:41.240 (126.590 mph)
Scott Dixon - No. 02 Target/TELMEX BMW 1:41.463 (126.312 mph)
GT Top 3:
Andrew Davis - No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche GT3 - 1:49.342 (117.210 mph)
Jeff Segal - No. 69 AIM Autosport/Team FXDD Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am - 1:49.357 (117.194 mph)
Andy Lally - No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 - 1:49.388 (117.160 mph)
Grand Sport Top 3:
Shelby Blackstock - No. 51 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 R - 1:57.523 (109.050 mph)
Jack Roush Jr. - No. 51 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 R - 1:57.661 (108.923 mph)
Joe Foster - No. 55 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage - 1:58.152 (108.470mph)
Street Tuner Top 3:
Andy Lally - No. 10 Kinetic/Kia Racing - 2:06.613 (101.221 mph)
Mark Pombo - No. 12 Kinetic/Kia Racing - 2:07.718 (101.137 mph)
David Levine - No. 81 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i - 2:06.872 (101.015 mph)
Noteworthy
Three Daytona Prototype teams experienced engine problems on Thursday. The No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley lost its engine while warming up for opening practice. The team changed engines and participated in the second session. Three-quarters of the way through the second session, Darren Law had the engine let go in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP. A small oil fire quickly went out and did not damage the car, but the team was forced to miss qualifying. Scott Pruett dropped a cylinder in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley late in the second practice session, forcing that team to also sit out qualifying. Both the No. 5 and No. 01 will start the Rolex 24 from the back of the DP grid.
Ryan Dalziel captured the pole despite having only one hour of track time in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford-powered Riley DPG3. Missing the opening session due to losing an engine, the second 60-minute session was the only track time for the new car prior to qualifying. The team used its 2011 Ford/Riley during the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test.
The No. 2 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley driven by Miguel Potolicchio hit a tire barrier at the exit of Turn 3 near the end of Thursday's night practice. The driver was unhurt, and the team expects to have the front-end damage repaired for Friday's practice.
Joe Foster qualified third in GS in the debut of the No. 55 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage. His teammate, Patrick Dempsey, briefly held the top position in GS qualifying before being bumped by Blackstock. Dempsey will start 24th in the No. 71 Aston Martin Vantage co-driven by Chris Porritt.
The Grand Sport competitors lost most of their qualifying session. There were two black flags early in the scheduled 15-minute session, which ended early when Emmanuel Anassis crashed the No. 17 BTE Sport Ford Mustang at the exit of the chicane with three minutes remaining.
The Quotes:
"I can't hide my disappointment. Obviously, we were leading all the way through practice and now I'm P-2. I wasn't expecting P-2, definitely. I still feel our car is really good, really fast. I still feel for the Rolex 24 we'll be the car to beat." Max Angelelli, No. 10 SunTrust Corvette Daytona Prototype
"Losing an engine was a huge surprise. Clearly, we never had a problem like this. But in the long run in a 24-hour race, this doesn't mean anything. If you have a problem, it's nice to find it now instead of one hour into the race." Scott Pruett, No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley
"The motor let go coming out of the infield. I saw a fire in my rear-view mirror, but it went out before I even stopped. Our car had no damage from the fire, and I'm OK." Darren Law, No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype
"I didn't know Daytona was so long! I'm used to running laps here in 50 seconds. Running two-minute laps is way different, but very enjoyable. The road course here is very different, but at least I know what's coming after years and years of playing video games." Chad McCumbee, No. 03 CJ Wilson Racing Mazda Speed 3
"I really respect the process that race car drivers have to go through to get to the higher ranks. Myself, I will have to drive through those ranks to feel like I really earned it. I've driven a lot of open-wheel stuff, which I enjoy, but at this point, the risk/reward basic between sports cars with roofs and windshields vs. open-wheel stuff is extreme. Personally, I'll play baseball as long as I can because it's the engine that drives everything. Once that's up, I'll probably get into racing and GRAND-AM in a situation that I can get in and be comfortable." C.J. Wilson, owner, CJ Wilson Racing.
Coming Up:
Friday's schedule is highlighted by a 45-minute final Rolex Series practice session at 9 a.m. The BMW Performance 200 opens the 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season at 1:30 p.m. ET. Friday's spectator activities include a parade of 29 former Rolex 24 winning cars from the Daytona Beach Ocean Center to the race track, beginning at 9 a.m.
The 2012 Rolex Series season opens with the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona, with the green flag waving at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday
LIVE COVERAGE ON SPEED TV BEGINS AT: 2:30pm on Saturday 1/26 and picks up again on Sunday 1/27 at 9:00am
