SAMAX Motorsports Ready to Challenge the World's Best at Daytona

Courtesy Max d'Orsonnens

Wednesday January 24, 2006. - Florida-based SAMAX Motorsports is ready to challenge the world's best drivers and teams this weekend at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the opening round of the 15-race Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series 2007 schedule. The twice around the clock race at the 3.56-mile (5.73 Km) Daytona International Speedway road course will feature a combined entry list of 70 Daytona Prototypes (DP) and GT sports cars. SAMAX will field two Pontiac Riley prototypes for the 45th annual classic edition. Eight drivers from seven countries will share duties for SAMAX.

"Without a doubt this is the best group of drivers that I have ever had the opportunity to work with," commented SAMAX team principal Peter Baron. "If you look across all the entries in the 24, there are only a handful of line-ups with no weaknesses, and we firmly believe we are amongst the strongest."

#11 CITGO Racing by SAMAX Pontiac RileyRegular season drivers Milka Duno and Canadian Patrick Carpentier, now living in Las Vegas, will be joined for the season opener by English driver Darren Manning and Scotland's Ryan Dalziel in the #11 CITGO Racing Pontiac Riley. Last season at Daytona, Duno, from Caracas, Venezuela teamed up with Dario and Marino Franchitti and Kevin McGarrity to bring home the CITGO car in eighth place overall, while Carpentier, who was making his first-ever start in a prototype, led Eddie Cheever's Lexus Crawford during 68 laps over a period of two hours late Saturday night. However, a mechanical failure, while in fourth place, foiled their podium bid two hours from the end of the race.

Manning, a seasoned veteran of open wheel racing, was quick during the series winter test sessions setting fast laps on a regular basis. Although Manning was not accustomed to an endurance-racing car, owner Peter Baron was impressed with his showing and asked the former Formula One BAR Honda test driver and IRL regular to join his team for the 24-Hour classic. Dalziel, a European driver who made a name for himself in North America, finished runner-up two years in a row in the Atlantic Series before switching to sports cars in 2005. He made 13 combined starts in the Rolex GT class and ALMS GT1 category, finishing twice on the podium; his first-ever with SAMAX at Miami/Homestead in 2005. Last year, he started 14 Daytona Prototype races, finishing once on the podium and twice in the Top-5.

SAMAX Motorsports, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, is in its third year of competition in the Grand-American Rolex Series. The team will field two Daytona Prototypes in this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona. Steve Challis is the technical director of the #11 CITGO Racing crew, and Travis Lowe is chief engineer of the #7 Pontiac Riley entry. More information on SAMAX Motorsports is available at www.samaxmotorsports.com.

Weekend ScheduleThe action starts Thursday morning with two practice sessions scheduled for the Daytona Prototypes. Following practice, the prototypes will take the track for the first round of qualifying at 3:45 p.m. with the top 30 securing their positions on the grid. A second qualifying session is scheduled on Friday morning for those failed to qualify on Thursday.

The grid for the Rolex 24 at Daytona will open at noon on Saturday, followed by pre-race ceremonies. The green flag for the race will be waved at 1:30 p.m. SPEED and FOX Sports will combine to offer 15 hours of race coverage from Daytona. SAMAX press releases will be sent following Thursday's qualifying and the end of Sunday's race. Learn more about Grand-Am at www.grand-am.com.