SAMAX Motorsport will have two new drivers for this weekend’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race Sunday at Virginia International Speedway (VIR). Following Milka Duno’s departure from Grand-Am to compete in the Indy Racing League with SAMAX Motorsport, team owner Peter Baron was to announce her replacement this week. Early on Wednesday, he got news from driver Patrick Carpentier that the Canadian driver, who lives in Las Vegas, could not participate in Sunday’s 400-kilometer race due to a family medical emergency.
Filling in for Round 4, on the 3.27-mile (5,263-kilometer) 17-turn VIR road circuit, will be Ryan Dalziel from Scotland and Jean-François Dumoulin of Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Dalziel is no stranger to Daytona Prototype (DP), having spent the 2006 season with Pacific Coast Motorsports where he collected his best finish in DP with a second place at Phoenix. The Orlando, Florida resident competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with SAMAX Motorsport, finishing second overall with teammates Carpentier, Duno and British driver Darren Manning, tying his best result in the series. With a weekend off from a busy early season Champ Car schedule, where the 25-year old is competing full time as a rookie, Dalziel accepted the offer from Peter Baron to fill in for this race. He spent the previous three weekends in Las Vegas, where he finished 11th in his Champ Car debut, then improved to ninth at Long Beach and went on to Houston last weekend for an eighth place finish. This will be Dalziel’s 17th start in a Daytona Prototype.
“This is a last minute thing, but I could not refuse the offer from Peter (Baron), ” said Dalziel, who was the 2003 and 2004 runner-up in the Toyota Atlantic Series. “I had a great time at this year’s season opener where we finished second, so it would have been hard to say no. I have enjoyed my time driving these cars and a lot good things have happened to me. Even though I do not personally know my new teammate (Jean-François Dumoulin), I have heard positive things about him and I am sure that we will be very, very competitive. I am excited to run at VIR and happy to race again with SAMAX. “
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