In just their eighth Daytona Prototype start as a team, No. 05 Luggage Express Team Sigalsport BMW Riley co-drivers Bill Auberlen and Matthew Alhadeff scored their first career Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve overall victory in Saturday’s Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
With 11 laps remaining, Auberlen swept to the inside of 2005 Daytona Prototype co-champion Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley in Turn 6 and came out with the lead in a textbook maneuver. Auberlen then spent the remaining laps keeping Angelelli and the rest of the field in his mirrors and the two-time Rolex Series GT champion went on to win the race by 1.759 seconds.
“First of all, it feels unbelievable, ” Auberlen said. “It came earlier than I even expected. I knew we had a learning curve with the car. The team had a gelling curve, where everybody has to come together. It’s all coming together so fast. We’ve got a good motor program now, and everything is good, so to win this one, it’s one of the best wins I’ve ever had. It was one of the hardest-fought wins I ever had to do.
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