After more than a month off, the battle for the 2007 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve returns to the forefront this weekend at Virginia International Raceway for split Daytona Prototype and GT races at the VIR 400.
No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley driver Scott Pruett leads the Daytona Prototype championship standings by a single point over No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley co-drivers Max Angelelli and Jan Magnussen, 93-92, heading into this weekend’s race on the 3.27-mile 17-turn VIR road circuit. Pruett’s points lead is courtesy of his victory in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona with co-drivers Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Montoya, and a pair of top-four finishers with full-time co-driver Memo Rojas.
Pruett may well escape this weekend with the points lead if past history is any indication, as he has finished on the podium in all three of his previous races at VIR, including a victory in 2005. However, VIR has also been good to Angelelli, who won there in 2004 and has placed inside the top four in each of his three previous appearances. Also working in Angelelli’s favor is the fact that he and Magnussen have finished inside the top five in their last 10 races as co-drivers and have finished on the podium in all three of their starts this season.
While championship battles between the No. 01 and No. 10 teams have basically remained constant since both teams joined the Rolex Series in 2004, the last two races have seen a pair of teams earn their first Rolex Series victories. In Round 2 at Mexico City, No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley co-drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty finally broke through for a long-awaited victory, while two-time Rolex Series GT champion Bill Auberlen and his No. 05 Luggage Express Team Sigalsport BMW Riley co-driver Matthew Alhadeff claimed their first win in Daytona Prototype competition in Round 3 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
While the No. 01, No. 99 and No. 05 teams have already celebrated in Victory Lane this weekend, the No. 10 team leads a long list of talented teams that may break through this weekend. Certainly, the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley pairing of Colin Braun and Max Papis must be considered top contenders after a near miss at Mexico City, where they finished second, and three top-11 results to open the year. Another one to watch will be Patrick Carpentier in the No. 11 South Coast Fish Company/SAMAX Pontiac Riley. The Canadian has a pair of top-four results from the first three races and will welcome a new co-driver this weekend.
Certainly not to be overlooked is the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford, which claimed its last victory one year ago at VIR. Co-driving the No. 23 machine will be defending race-winner Patrick Long and 2006 Daytona Prototype champion Jörg Bergmeister. After a bit of a rough start to the season, the No. 23 Porsche was one of the top contenders at Homestead and the team may be poised to turn its season around this weekend.
Other strong Porsche-powered Daytona Prototypes in this weekend’s field include the No. 39 Crown Royal Special Reserve/Cheever Racing Porsche Fabcar, the No. 58 Red Bull/Brumos Racing Porsche Riley and the No. 59 Brumos Porsche/Kendall Porsche Riley. The No. 39 machine with co-drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Harrison Brix has run among the leaders in both of its races since debuting in Mexico City, while the No. 58 with co-drivers David Donohue and Darren Law has been plenty fast and just in need of some racing luck. Meanwhile, JC France and road racing legend Hurley Haywood have earned two top-five results from their first three races in the No. 59.
| 
|