The Roar Before the Rolex 24, the preview to the opening round of the 2011 Rolex Grand-Am series came to an end on Sunday after three days of testing on the newly repaved Daytona International Speedway.
Ryan Dalziel used the occasion to shatter the Daytona DP track record with a lap of 1:39.973 (128.194 mph) in his Ford Riley No. 8 on the last hour of the last day of test.
“I think we could have gone faster. I didn't put together a perfect lap, and we didn't have a qualifying setup on the car. We know we've got more," said Dalziel who is set to co-drive with Mike Forest, Colin Braun, Tomas Enge and Jim Lowe in the Rolex 24. Sunday was also the fastest day in GT with Leh Keen’s lap in 1:49.329 (116.649 mph). Andrew Davis, Hurley Haywood and Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb will complete the quartet at the start of the event, on January 29. AJ Allmendinger had been the fastert of all DP drivers on Saturday with a lap of 127.318 mph in the No. 6 car he shares with Michael McDowell and Justin Wilson. In GT, Andy Lally ran the fastest lap at 150.303 mph. On Friday, champion Scott Pruett was the fastest. "The Rolex 24 is our Super Bowl. A lot of energy goes into this event. It's monumental," he said. Spence Pumpelly was the fastest in GT with an afternoon lap of 1:50.170 (116.329 mph). Several incidents were noted during this first test, but despite torn metal and fire, no drivers were injured. Meanwhile, many teams forfeited the last afternoon to escape snowstorms at their connecting and destination airports.
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