Lexus and Ganassi will be trying to keep their winning form
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GM Racing
Pontiac Teams Head South Of The Border To Mexico City
GAINSCO Returns to Site of First Win
Detroit, Mich., April 15, 2008 -- Pontiac Grand-Am teams are headed to Mexico City for round three of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Mexico City 250.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is 2.5-miles in length and has 14-turns, highlighted by a near mile long front straight rewarding top speed. The track also has a set of fast esses in the back section that require downforce.
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing is returning to the circuit that represents the teams first ever win in Grand-Am competition. That victory started a seven win season capped off with the 2007 Daytona Prototype (DP) championship. Drivers of the No. 99 Pontiac Riley Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty are looking forward to returning to the track where it all started.
"Mexico City is a very special place for me personally as we have two wins for the Gurney family there," Gurney said. "My dad won the 1964 Formula 1 race there and we pulled off our first win in the Rolex series last year. I absolutely love this circuit. The track is very technical with a great mix of corners. With the high speed esses and the very high speed 'Peraltada' final corner, it is a huge challenge for the drivers and it's just a lot of fun to try to get the most out of it. Our engineer, Kyle Brannan, has also done a lot of work specifically for this track so we're optimistic that we'll have a very fast car. We are in a very solid second place in the championship and that is what's important in the end, but we have not found the outright speed that we enjoyed last year just yet. A lot of variables have changed as well as many rules changes that were definitely not in our favor so we believe the mountain will be bigger to climb this year. This has really just motivated everyone on the team and everyone at Pontiac to work even harder and we still have our eyes set squarely on another championship."
SunTrust Racing debuted their new Dallara Pontiac DP car at Homestead-Miami Speedway by putting the car on the front row in qualifying and leading laps before being hit from behind. The team is hoping to carry the positive Homestead performance forward to Mexico City this weekend.
"I'm looking forward to heading down to Mexico because I really enjoy the facility," Valiante said. The nicest thing, though, is to get back into the swing of things, again. We had such a long layoff between Daytona and Homestead that I've been just looking forward to getting some consistent weekends going and continuing to develop the new car since it ran so strongly at Homestead. What happened to us in the race there was such a tough situation for our team because it worked so hard just to get us there. So I felt really bad for the guys. But the positive side of it is that we were competitive and we were quick right away. After such limited time to work with the car, for us to come out and be right on pace and almost qualify on pole was unbelievable. It was a motivator for the whole team because it showed that all the effort and work that went into making this car what it is today is paying off. Every time you introduce a new car, you're always apprehensive about how it's going to perform because there is always development that needs to go into a new car and a lot of things that you don't know are going to creep up until you actually run it. It's great to know that with such limited testing that we were able to be quick right away."
The No. 91 Riley-Matthews Pontiac has put together a very strong start to the 2008 season. Marc Goosens and Jim Matthews finished second at the Rolex 24 and had a fourth place at Homestead. Mexico City looks to be another strong circuit for the North Carolina based team.
"My first race on the track was in '06 in the NASCAR Busch Series," Goosens said. "I went back last year for the first time in the DP Riley. It's one of the races that I really look forward to. I think it's a challenging track, with obviously a long straight, but also a lot of technical combinations of corners. You need, like very often needed, a good balance aero wise. The long straight is important, but so is the twisty part of the track. On top of that there are some bumps on the track and it sometimes gets very dusty. So there's a lot of factors that have to be considered when finding the right set-up. I think we had some great showings last year, with of course the win in Miller at the end of the season. The team, Jim and myself have been building on that momentum over the winter and into this year. But I have to say that at the start of last year we were pretty good too. Only it didn't maybe show as much as this year because of some bad luck reasons. And there is of course the new bodywork and the Pirelli tires that are different for us. It looks like we got it pretty much sorted as from the start, and that combined with the engine package from Pontiac, makes us top five runners early on in the season. We now have to keep up the hard work. I really look forward to Mexico and VIR straight after that."
Krohn Racing has both of their cars in the top 10 in points, with Nic Jonsson in sixth and Tracy Krohn and Eric van de Poele in ninth. The team is also running their new Lola Pontiac DP cars and are looking forward to a more natural road course layout.
"I drove there twice in Formula One (1991-1992)," van de Poele said. "At that time the race track was really bumpy. I know that now it has been resurfaced. I have to say that it is a real challenging track. I cannot wait to be there. There are many quick change of directions and a very fast last corners. I love that! Despite the fact that I felt slow onto and down the straight at Homestead, I could finally realize the full potential of the Lola. I could also learn about the team and the Rolex Series in this kind of race (short) and have this complicity with Tracy, my teammate, and Jeff Braun, my engineer. It is very promising. I can tell you that it will not be too long before we join the guys at the front, even though the competition is really strong."
The Banner Engineering team is coming off of a perfect weekend at Homestead with the No. 07 Pontiac GXP.R crew taking the pole and the race. Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards head into round three third in the points and the momentum to add a third Central American win to Edwards resume.
"I have two wins there in 2005 and 2006 in the Pontiac GTO.R with Magnussen and Collins," Edwards said. "We are also coming off the win at Homestead so we are going in with a full head of steam. Mexico is a great track for us. Last year we had a little difficulty in turn one with our teammate, but were able to come back and finish third. Another win is in the cards. The GXP.R jets off that last turn which gives a great run down the long straight. Our car is also well balanced in the esses."
In the No. 06 Banner Pontiac, team owner Leighton Reese will share his GXP.R with past Trans-Am nemesis Ron Fellows. Reese was on the podium with Jan Magnussen at Homestead and is looking for another strong finish this weekend.
"Ron and I have 20 Trans-Am wins between us, he has 19 and I have one," Reese said. "It will be an honor to race with him, he is a great driver and has a lot of road racing experience. It is a good opportunity to get him in the car and get some quality feedback early in the season. Even better, he has a lot of experience on the Mexico City track. I think he ran the Trans-Am race there just after World War II."
Autohaus Motosports with drivers Lawson Aschenbach and Tim Lewis Jr. are currently 10th in the Rolex GT points. Lewis has Mexico City experience and for Aschenbach it will be his first visit to the track.
"I like the track, it is actually a good circuit for our car, aside from the long straight," Lewis said. "Mexico City is an old F1 track so there are some fast sections with some technical turns as well. The fans are real passionate, that makes it that much more enjoyable for a driver. At Homestead we really didn't get to show what we had. In Mexico we are going to take a different approach and hope to be running upfront. We had some early race contact at Homestead. Mexico is a long track with more racing room. We have shown good speed at Daytona and Homestead, just catching some bad breaks in the race."
In the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports GXP.R, Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis have been consistent front runners in practice and qualifying, but small mechanical issues have kept them from strong finishes.
"I have raced at Mexico City twice," Davis said. "The track is fun and the fans are outrageous. I think it is one of the most exciting events on our schedule. We have been fast in every practice and in qualifying. In the race we have had bad racing luck. We have proven our speed and that we are front runners. We just need some luck and have everything come together to get up on the podium. The confidence of the team is high. I am excited to drive the track in the Pontiac GXP.R. It will be neat to see where the car is strong compared to what I have driven there in the past. It should be strong through the back esses, and the parabolica turn coming onto the front straight. The rest of the track plays into our handling strength. It is very bumpy and twisty. The GXP.R really transitions well and is great over the bumps."
Lexus
GANASSI, LEXUS EYE THIRD STRAIGHT WIN AS ROLEX SERIES GOES SOUTH OF THE BORDER - After following up a record third-straight Rolex 24 at Daytona victory with a dominating win at Homestead, the #01 Ganassi Lexus team and drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas will head to Mexico City this weekend looking for third consecutive triumph.
LEXUS TAKES MANUFACTURER'S LEAD TO MEXICO -- With back-to-back victories, Lexus has an early 13-point lead in the Daytona Prototype Manufacturer's Championship over its four rivals -- Porsche, Audi, Pontiac and Ford. The hotly-contested race has seen each of the series' five manufacturers register at least one top-five finish in the season's first two races, with four of the five registering a podium finish. Lexus won the 2006 manufacturer's title.
RECORD-SETTERS -- With a pair of 2008 wins, Pruett now has 16 Rolex Series career victories, while Chip Ganassi Racing has extended its win total to 17 - both Rolex Series records.
AND THE STREAK GOES ON.... -- Not only are Pruett and the #01 Lexus team the biggest winners in the sport, but they're also the most consistent team. In addition to the recent victories to open the season at the Rolex 24 and Miami, Pruett and the #01 Telmex Lexus have now finished in the top-10 in a record 21 straight races, dating back to Mid-Ohio in June 2006.
MEXICAN CONNECTION -- No Daytona Prototype team has a greater connection to Mexico than Chip Ganassi Racing. Memo Rojas, a Mexico City native, is the only full-time Mexican driver in the series, while long-time sponsor Telmex is based in Mexico. The connection appears to have carried over to the track as the team has never finished below fourth in the three Grand-Am races held at the circuit. Pruett and teammate Luis Diaz led much of the 2005 race before a late-race pit stop dropped them to an eventual third-place finish. The following season, the same pairing combined for a dominating victory in front of a partisan crowd. Last season's event was Rojas' first-ever race in front of his hometown crowd at the Autodromo Hermanos de Rodriguez and resulted in a fourth-place finish.
ON THE RISE -- The Southard Motorsports pairing of Shane Lewis and Bill Lester earned their first top-10 finish of the season with a ninth at Miami and climbed up to 12th in points. The team also ran in the top eight at Daytona before a mid-race accident dropped them from contention. This weekend's race will mark the first-ever appearance in Mexico City for Lester.
Krohn will be back with their Lolas
GAINSCO
GURNEY, FOGARTY AND CHAMPIONSHIP GAINSCO CREW SET TO DEFEND TITLE WITH WINNING COLORS
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Ready for Return to Site of First Victory This Weekend at Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (April 15, 2008) -- Returning to the site of their first and perhaps one of their greatest victories, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty head back to Mexico in the thick of the 2008 title chase as the defending winners of the Mexico City 250, which will be run for the fourth time at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this Saturday, April 19 (Live on SPEED at 4 p.m. ET).
Last year, Gurney took over from front-row starter Fogarty and out-dueled Krohn Racing's Max Papis to score the first Daytona Prototype win for both drivers and the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing team. The victory ultimately proved to be a springboard to the 2007 Rolex Series Driver and Team Championships, two more first-time achievements for the Dallas-based GAINSCO team and its pair of California-born drivers. In total, the team won six more times -- half of 2007's 14 races -- in the most dominating Daytona Prototype season in Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series history.
"The Mexico City race will always hold a special place in the hearts of everyone at GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing," Gurney said. "Obviously, last year it was the site of our first win and it felt like we had overcome a huge hurdle when we finally pulled it off. I had a great battle with Max Papis toward the end of the race. I got by him in a traffic situation nearing the finish and just a few laps later he did the same to me. I was trying to get back at him with just a couple laps to go when he slid wide in one of the brake zones and spun off. It was smooth sailing from there."
Fogarty closely tracked early leader and Papis co-driver Colin Braun throughout his opening stint but felt more pressure after handing off to Gurney.
"The win was really gut-wrenching, much worse for me watching it from the outside as opposed to being in the car fighting for it," Fogarty said. "It was actually so bad that I went back to the transporter to change into dry clothes just to get away from it, something I never do. I went back and watched Alex do his thing; he never let the pressure off and it paid off when he took advantage of the Papis mistake. It was a major relief more than anything. I was pretty confident that Alex had it as there were only a few laps left in the race. It was really the same feeling about getting the first win, a big relief. I had always believed it would come, but it really needed to happen sooner rather than later, and getting it early in the season was a big boost after our poor finish at the Rolex 24."
While the team's DNF in the 2007 Rolex 24 left them playing championship catch-up all season despite the Mexico win, this year has presented a much more positive scenario. A strong second-place finish in the 2008 Rolex 24, where stars Jimmie Johnson and Jimmy Vasser co-drove with Gurney and Fogarty, and a sixth-place showing one race ago in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami have the team ranked second in the championship point standings. They head to Mexico with 57 points, just 13 points behind the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing team.
"We feel very good about going back to Mexico," Gurney said. "It is much closer to the traditional road courses where we feel we do very well. We're in a great championship position and we're ready to keep building on that."
Krohn Racing
Krohn Racing Ready for Challenges At Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues in Mexico City
The Krohn Racing team is heading south of the border, ready for the challenges of the 2.5-mile, 14-turn race circuit for the Mexico City 250. The 250-mile or two-hour and forty-five minute race is Round 3 of 14 of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. The No. 75 Krohn Racing entry will feature team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn and sports car endurance ace Eric van de Poele. The No. 76 entry pilots are Nic Jonsson and former Formula One driver Ricardo Zonta.
The Krohn Racing team has finished in second-place each of the past two years at Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues, and also captured a pole position in 2007 by Colin Braun. This year they bring their new Proto-Auto Lola Pontiacs, fresh from their debut at Homestead. After acquiring needed racing data in their inaugural outing, the Krohn race engineers and crew have made improvements and feel ready to tackle the Mexico City circuit with a somewhat different car from their debut.
Tracy W. Krohn, team owner/driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:
How do you like the Mexico City circuit? "I always enjoy racing in Mexico City. Our team has had good success there. We've enjoyed the spray of champagne the past two years. It is a challenging and interesting track with the sweeping turns and long straights. The fans are really great and it is fun as a driver to have so many enthusiastic sports car fans coming out to cheer on the drivers and teams. We love it!"
Regarding competing at the Mexico City Grand-Am race with the new Proto-Auto Lolas: "We are optimistic about competing at more of a road circuit with the new Proto-Auto Lolas. We debuted the cars at Homestead, which was not as conducive of a circuit for these cars. We learned a lot, gathered quite a bit of data and David (Brown) and the other engineers and the crew have worked hard to translate the data into realistic improvements."
Nic Jonsson, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:
Homestead was the Proto-Auto Lola chassis debut and the team made some progress. What do you see for Mexico City with the new Lola? "I think we made big strides in right direction at Homestead, especially for the race. I think we finally have the mechanical and aerodynamic packages we wanted. I feel Mexico City should be a better track for the Proto-Auto Lola. It's a higher downforce track with all the twitchy corners on the infield and you have a couple of really hard braking zones. I feel we have not quite gotten as much testing in as we would like. In the regulations we can't do that and it's the same for everyone else. The only difference is the Krohn Racing (Lola) and the SunTrust and Doran (Dallara) team have brand new cars versus the Riley, Coyote and Crawford that have been competing for several years. I believe we have a very strong engineering department within the Krohn Racing organization who are making strides in the right direction on a daily basis. I know we have more development going on between Homestead and the Mexico City race. I couldn't be more excited about going down to Mexico with the new car. From everything I've seen in the past there and with how good we normally prepare the car for there, plus add in the new Lola, I feel we should be very strong."
What is the competition like this year? "I feel that the competition has increased yet again within the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Not just in Daytona Prototypes, but also in the GT series. Since we race together combined both DP and GT classes most of the time, it actually effects us. I think the competition overall has really increased this year. In the Prototype class, I think you see from one year to another a stronger driver line-up, stronger engineering and crews and a much bigger commitment in general from teams, drivers and sponsors. I feel the Grand-Am Rolex Series has become the premier sports car series in the world. You have drivers from South America, drivers from all over Europe, drivers from North America -- basically drivers from across the globe. They are also not just any driver but some of the best drivers in different categories of racing -- Formula One, Formula 3000 to Indy Car racing to NASCAR racing. It's a great mix and an honor to represent Krohn Racing because I feel we have a very strong organization at Krohn Racing. It's a great opportunity for me and the other drivers to be a part of that and to be able to develop this new Lola. I have a lot of respect for many of the competitors. At the same time I believe that we have one of the best teams and cars out there. I can't wait for the season to unfold and I hope we'll have a very successful year."
Eric van de Poele, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola: Homestead was the Proto-Auto Lola chassis debut and the team made some progress. What do you see for Mexico City with the new Lola? "Despite the fact that I felt slow onto and down the straight, Icould finally knowthe real potential of the Lola. I could also learn about the team and the Rolex Series in this kind of race (short) and have this complicity with Tracy, my teammate, and Jeff Braun, my engineer. It is very promising. I can tell you that itwill not betoo long before we join the guys at the front, even though the competition is really strong."
Have you ever race at the Mexico City circuit and if so, how do you like it? If not, what have you heard about it? "I drove there twice in Formula One (1991-1992). At that time the race track was really bumpy. I know that now it has been resurfaced. Concerning the layout, I have to say that it is a real challenging track. I cannot wait to be there. There are many quick change of directions and a very fast last corners. I love that!"
What is the competition like this year in Grand-Am? "The competition is very strong and very interesting with the new cars in development. Also, I am learning the drivers and I can tell you that the season will be very exciting, with very good, fair battles. The only regret I have after Homestead, is the number of "yellows". Of course it is sometimes necessary, but we are big boys and we can manage a yellow in a corner without risks for the marshals. It is very bad for TV, for the spectators and for the drivers."
Ricardo Zonta, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:
Homestead was the Proto-Auto Lola chassis debut and the team made some progress. What do you see for Mexico City with the new Lola? "I think Mexico City will be a lot better for us. At tracks like Mexico City and VIR we are expecting to have a good performance. At Homestead we did a lot of work on the aero, trying to improve. I think everything looks a lot more positive for the next race."
Have you ever race at the Mexico City circuit and if so, how do you like it? "I have never been to the Mexico City circuit yet so I don't know it. I saw the layout and some output from the race last year. I think the way to learn it is walking the track one day before the practice."
What is the competition like this year in Grand-Am? "I am really motivated about the Grand-Am Series. A lot is going on. The times are very close in the sessions and also in the race. So many things are happening in the race because of the GT cars. For me it's good motivation for racing."
David Brown, Team Manager, Krohn Racing:
Homestead was the Proto-Auto Lola chassis debut and the team made some progress. What do you see for Mexico City and is that track more conducive to the new Lola than Homestead was? "Mexico City is certainly a track with completely different characteristics to Homestead and a place at which we have not tested. Therefore, we have mixed feelings approaching the race. It's a step into the unknown since we haven't been there with this car, but we did race there very competitively last year, so we have good information regarding set-up from the car from last year and we look forward to it because it is a different track. Whether it will suit us or not, I would like to answer after practice. It's a challenge for everybody. It is such a different place. With the altitude, the temperature, the long straight, the fact we've never been there with these tires before, nor has anybody else, it's a challenge. Ricardo has not raced it before so it will be a bit of a voyage of discovery for him. It will be very dirty to begin practice with so the beginning of practice will be very difficult to gain any knowledge. It's always a good event. Last year there were no yellows whatsoever because of the nature of the track. It may be like that again this year. Of course, last year there was no 45-minute rule, and there was no 30-minute rule, whereas this year this is. Things are a bit different from that point of view as well."
Can you tell us about other tests or improvements you have made or are doing with the Lola between Homestead and Mexico City? "The car is going to be different. We highlighted several issues prior to and, particularly, during the race weekend at Homestead, which we dealt with in certain degrees of temporary fashion during the race weekend. Since Homestead, we've managed to do a more permanent job of some of the fixes that we created and also some improvements. So, the car will not be the same. We think it will be better. We gained some further information just having raced the car the first time. There's nothing like getting out and racing a car to find out where its weaknesses lie and that has enabled us to shine a more focused light on which areas we need to concentrate on. Overall, we think we'll come out a stronger team as a result of the race at Homestead."
Team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn created Proto-Auto LLC with Lola Cars one year ago to build a Daytona Prototype chassis for Grand-Am competition for 2008 and beyond. The new car began testing in December of 2007 and made its race debut at Homestead in late-March.
The Krohn Racing 2-car team finished fourth (No. 76 with Jonsson, Zonta and Darren Turner) and seventh (No. 75 with Krohn, van de Poele and Oliver Gavin) in last year's the Pontiac Rileys at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in Grand-Am's season opener in January. They finished 12th and 11th, respectively, with the two-driver pairing at Homestead in the new Pontiac Lolas.
The Mexico City 250 will be televised live on SPEED TV at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 19th. For more information, please see www.grand-am.com and www.krohnracing.net.