MEXICO CITY– The following is a team-by-team analysis for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Mexico City 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico.
DAYTONA PROTOTYPES
TELMEX CHIP GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SABATES (Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas – No. 01 Lexus Riley) – The current Rolex Series Daytona Prototype team point leader has been spectacular this season with Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas behind the wheel. The duo made it two straight for Ganassi in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami, leading 51 laps between the two en route to the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team’s series record 17th victory. The No. 01 also won the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Pruett, Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, as the Lexus Riley led 252 of the 695 completed laps. Altogether, the No. 01 has finished in the top 10 in Daytona Prototype competition in 21 straight races, dating back to 2006 (Mid-Ohio).
LAST SERIES POLE POSITION: September 14, 2007 – Miller Motorsports Park (Daytona Prototype & Overall)
LAST SERIES RACE VICTORY: March 29, 2008 – Homestead-Miami Speedway (Daytona Prototype & Overall)
SAMAX (Ryan Dalziel, Henri Zogaib – No. 2 BMW Riley) – A change to the BMW has the SAMAX team looking for its first victory of 2008. Veterans Ryan Dalziel and Henri Zogaib bring the BMW Riley to Mexico City after finishing 10th in the Daytona Prototype class in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The team narrowly missed a top-10 overall finish at Mexico City last season, but will be ready to notch one this weekend when the drivers take to the track. SAMAX also posted a pair of top 10s in GT at Mexico City in 2006.
LAST SERIES POLE POSITION: March 4, 2005 – Homestead-Miami Speedway (GT)
LAST SERIES RACE VICTORY:—-
SOUTHARD MOTORSPORTS (Bill Lester, Shane Lewis – No. 3 Lexus Riley) –The Southard Motorsports team will look for its second straight top-10 in the Mexico City 250 after notching ninth in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami. The team finished 15th at Mexico City last season with Shane Lewis as the lead driver, and welcomes first-time Mexico City pilot Bill Lester this season. The team is running with the new Riley bodywork in 2008. Lester said he expects the team to be a contender for a top-five finish which, if the duo can achieve, would be the first since a fourth-place result last season at Miller Motorsports Park. The team has two career podiums – both thirds in 2006.
LAST SERIES POLE POSITION:—-
LAST SERIES RACE VICTORY:—-
MICHAEL SHANK RACING (Ian James, John Pew – No. 6 Ford Riley; Oswaldo Negri, Mark Patterson – No. 60 Ford Riley) – Michael Shank Racing will bring its two Ford Rileys to Mexico City for the team’s first win of 2008. Among the team’s fulltime drivers, Ian James has led the most circuits on the season with 20 in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, a race where the two cars combined to lead 134 before problems plagued both cars in the waning hours. Negri snaked through the field in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami and helped himself and co-driver Mark Patterson to third, their best finish since May 2007 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. An accident involving the No. 6 car kept James and co-driver John Pew from a top finish. Both cars finished in the top 10 in Mexico City in 2007.
LAST SERIES POLE POSITION: January 25, 2008 – Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Prototype & Overall; No. 60)
LAST SERIES RACE VICTORY: September 3, 2006 – Miller Motorsports Park (Daytona Prototype & Overall; No. 60)
RUM BUM SIGALSPORT (Matt Plumb, Gene Sigal – No. 7 BMW Riley) – Rum Bum Racing captured a fifth-place finish in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami last month, and looks for the same in the season’s third round of competition. The team finished 13th in last year’s Mexico City 250, two laps off the pace in only its second ever Daytona Prototype event. The team was 12th in GT in 2006. Matt Plumb led 16 laps in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and ran as high as third at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his first race driving with team owner Gene Sigal.
LAST SERIES POLE POSITION: November 4, 2005 – Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (GT)
LAST SERIES RACE VICTORY: March 24, 2007 – Homestead-Miami Speedway (Daytona Prototype & Overall)
SUNTRUST RACING (Max Angelelli, Michael Valiante – No. 10 Pontiac Dallara) – Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante have put the No. 10 atop the running order in both events this season, but problems have kept the team from contesting for victory at the checkered flag. In the recent GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami, Valiante led 20 laps but was taken out by a spinning David Donohue and went to the garage for repairs. Despite falling off the lead lap, Angelelli ran the team’s fastest lap on Lap 96. Electrical, brake and overheating problems in the Rolex 24 At Daytona couldn’t keep the team, however, from finishing fifth, though several laps behind. Angelelli was third in the 2007 race at Mexico City, and SunTrust has podium finishes in two of three races at Mexico City.
LAST SERIES POLE POSITION: March 23, 2007 – Homestead-Miami Speedway (Daytona Prototype & Overall)
LAST SERIES RACE VICTORY: August 3, 2007 – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Daytona Prototype & Overall)
CHEEVER RACING (Matteo Bobbi, Antonio Garcia – No. 16 Pontiac Coyote) –Matteo Bobbi, Antonio Garcia and the Cheever Racing Pontiac Coyote look for their first top 10 of the season after a pair of setbacks in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami. The team ran as high as second at Homestead-Miami Speedway before pulling off the track with engine problems near the latter stages of the race. However, the Coyote has proven competitive in both races, and a sixth-place finish at Mexico City two seasons ago gives the team some confidence heading into this weekend’s race.
| 
|