The Rolex 24 At Daytona may be the opening event on the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 schedule each season, but is also the unofficial start to the international racing calendar.
With drivers coming from across the globe, the Rolex 24 may also boast the biggest international flavor in all of racing. For the 2009 race, 26 countries - from the largest countries to the small principalities in land size - and two special regions from six continents are represented. The 24-hour race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday and ends at the same time Sunday.
The U.S. has an overwhelming advantage in terms of drivers calling a certain country home, but that is to be expected as the majority of teams and drivers are based within the continental 48 states. However, the United Kingdom is second on the list, with 15 drivers either born in the U.K. or calling the U.K. home. Dario Franchitti (Edinburgh, Scotland) and Nick Ham (Yorkshire, England), who earned Daytona Prototype and GT victories, respectively, in the 2008 Rolex 24, were both born in Scotland and England respectively but now live in the U.S. The field will also include Alex Lloyd (Manchester, England) Robin Liddell (Newbury, England), Darren Manning (North Yorkshire, England), Oliver Gavin (Huntingdon, England), Darren Turner (Camberley, England), Andy Wallace (Oxford, England), Ryan Dalziel (Edinburgh) Richard Westbrook (London), Tim Sugden (London) and Jeff Ward (born in Edinburgh).
Italy and Canada and are third and fourth on the entry list with 12 and 10 drivers, respectively. Bologna, Italy born Max Angelelli won the 2005 race overall, becoming the first Italian since 2002 to take overall honors in the race. Several other Italians have claimed Rolex 24 class victories since 2000, including Max Papis, Luca Drudi and Gabrio Rosa, who is teaming this year with his 22-year-old son, race rookie Giorgio.
Canada has only one overall victory in the race, which came in 2001, when Ron Fellows won overall in a Corvette with three other drivers. However, the Maple Leaf has several class victories. Canadian-born Sylvain Tremblay (GT), who was born in Montreal but now lives in Sunrise, Fla., earned the pole and victory in last year’s event and is riding a three-race Rolex Series winning streak at Daytona along with Ham; the two have also won the last two Daytona July races in GT. Two years ago, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, driver Jean-Francois Dumoulin took his second Rolex 24 victory in the GT class in four seasons.
Vancouver’s Ross Bentley also won the race in the Rolex Series GT class in 2003, and anchors a four-driver Canadian-based team, the only team in the field with four Canadian-born drivers. Mark Wilkins of Toronto won the pole for last year’s Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona and is entered with the Toronto-based AIM Autosport, which is also employing Toronto drivers David Empringham - who won the first Daytona Prototype race at Daytona in 2003 - and John Farano.
Germany has eight drivers on the entry list, headed by two-time race winners and Porsche Works drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard, who took Rolex Series GT honors in the Rolex 24 in 2002 and 2003 and won the race overall in 2003. Another Porsche Works driver, Wolf Henzler, teamed with Dominik Farnbacher for the 2005 Rolex 24 victory in GT, a race in which Henzler started on the pole. Other Germans who have won in Rolex Series competition and are entered for this weekend’s race include Sascha Maassen and 2007 GT champion Dirk Werner.
France has five drivers in the race, including two drivers - Christophe Bouchut (1995) and Emmanuel Collard (2005) - who have overall victories in the race. Seeking their first victories are Porsche Works drivers Romain Dumas - who will campaign the 2009 Rolex Series Daytona Prototype season fulltime with Bernhard for Penske Racing - and Patrick Pilet, who will drive for Wright Motorsports with another Frenchman, Phillip Martien.
| 
|