A few days ago, Joao Barbosa qualified the No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley for eighth place on the starting grid with a lap of 126.138 mph.
During the 755 laps of the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona, the car never turned a faster lap.
It didn’t have to.
Barbosa took the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday after completing his last lap 24 hours and 9.4 seconds after taking the green flag to win the United States’ most prestigious sports car endurance race.
“The team was a new team and the package was new, but we proved we can win even with that. It’s very special to be part of this,” Barbosa said.
As Barbosa’s co-drivers, Ryan Dalziel, Terry Borcheller and Mike Rockenfeller also receive the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona time pieces as winners of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Ryan Dalziel said the team seemed a bit lost on Friday during practice, when the car didn’t really perform all that well.
“We were a bit lost a couple of days ago,” Dalziel said. “But, the team really pulled it together – we had no one driving through the grass and no mechanical problems and out pit stops were great. That’s’ what put us in Victory Lane.”
The victory is a remarkable achievement considering the race marked the inaugural competition for the new team. Action Express Racing formed during the off-season after the Brumos Porsche organization trimmed to a one-car team. Bob Johnson, a longtime team associate, leased a Riley chassis and paired it with a Porsche Cayenne-based, eight-cylinder engine, which is remarkably different from the flat, six-cylinder Porsche power plant used by Brumos.
Even Porsche officials admit the victory is a tremendous achievement, considering the team really receives no engineering support from the factory in Germany. The official said Porsche is proud of the victory, but the celebration should be the team’s and not the factory’s.
Barbosa said the engine’s performance definitely played a part in the victory.
“The V-8 was very strong in the infield, and that was the difference, I think,” Barbosa said. “There’s a distinct driveability difference between this engine and the six cylinder.”
Don’t miss any of the action this season in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series or the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The next chance to see the teams in action will be at the Grand Prix of Miami on March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. If you can’t make it to the track, SPEED will broadcast the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race live beginning at 5 p.m. The GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will be shown in a delayed broadcast on March 13 at 1 p.m.
Fans always can find live timing and scoring at www.GRAND-AM.com.
