Spirit of Daytona Racing Closes Rolex Sports Car Season at Grand Prix of Miami
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
Homestead, FL (October 10, 2009) – Spirit of Daytona Racing finished 14th in Saturday’s Grand Prix of Miami after the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche-V8-powered Coyote suffered contact from behind and compromised the season-ending race outing for the team.
After taking time to sign autographs and pose for photos with a group of Boy Scouts on hand for the Rolex Sports Car Series season-finale event, Buddy Rice opened the two hour and thirty-minute race from eighth on the grid. He kept the red, white and blue Coyote in the lead pack despite an overall lack of grip that cost him race pace. An early stop for new tires and different tire pressures didn’t help the issue as much as hoped.
But before the team could keep making adjustments, larger repairs were needed when Rice suffered damage following contact from behind. The team did quick work in the pits to get the car back on track as Antonio Garcia took over the controls, but the setback in track position was too much to make up as Spirit of Daytona Racing closed out the season with a 14th place finish.
“I just got hit from behind and there was too much damage to keep going, so I had to pit to get it fixed,” said Rice. “The car was decent, but we just didn’t have the grip that we needed. The car was pushing pretty aggressively before we got hit, but afterwards we were really lose! The car was pretty warm of course, but it was better than its been before, so that’s just one of the things that the team has improved on. Hopefully we can keep improving in other areas as well and getting stronger and stronger with this program.”
“This wasn’t what we were looking for today but that’s racing sometimes,” said team owner Troy Flis. “The car fell off more than we expected to. We had been hoping that we’d be quicker over the longer runs than we turned out to be, so we were playing catch up already before we got hit. But it was a great effort from the team. This heat makes it hard to do almost anything and the guys just put their heads down and took care of what needed to get done. Now we’ll take a day or two and reward these guys with some fishing and then get back to work on next season. We know what we need to work on and we’re looking forward to moving forward with this program and getting things going for 2010.”
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Spirit of Daytona Racing 8th on Grand Prix of Miami Grid
Rice sets the fastest lap of the weekend in qualifying
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
Homestead, FL (October 9, 2009) – Spirit of Daytona Racing will start the final race of the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series season from eighth on the Grand Prix of Miami grid after Buddy Rice set a fast lap time of 1:13.979-seconds in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche-V8-powered Coyote in qualifying on Friday. Rice will open the two and a half hour event from behind the wheel before handing the machine over to fellow Rolex 24 at Daytona Champion Antonio Garcia to take to the finish.
The team has had good reason for optimism for a strong performance at the track, having shown well on the 2.3-mile oval-based road course in years past. The team will also be boosted by the appearance of a large contingent of Boy Scouts what will be on hand for the race.
The time is the fastest lap the car has done all weekend as the team continues to push the development program on the latest specification Coyote, equipped with Porsche-V8 power.
“We’ve improved a lot so far this weekend and I think the car is pretty good,” said Rice. “It is so much more drivable and comfortable to be in now than where we started out and we just keep learning more and more about the car. It is certainly the best it’s been this weekend, and if we have some long green flag runs I think we’ll be in good shape. We might not have the outright one-lap speed that some of the other guys have, but I think we can set a really good race pace tomorrow.”
“I think Buddy got everything he could out of the car today,” said team owner Troy Flis. “We’ve made some solid progress with the car so far this weekend and hopefully we can learn even more in the race. We were using this qualifying session as just another chance to try more with the car than to really go for a time, but its great that we were able to get the fastest lap of the weekend. Hopefully we can be easy on the tires and strong on the long runs and close out the year with a solid result to get 2010 started on the right foot.”
The Grand Prix of Miami is slated for a 1:00 PM green flag on October 10. The race will be carried live on SPEED.
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Spirit of Daytona Racing Ready for Indianapolis Test
2004 Indianapolis 500 Champion Buddy Rice returns to Yard of Bricks
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
Indianapolis, IN- (September 2, 2009) – Spirit of Daytona Racing will be part of history on Thursday as the Rolex Sports Car Series participates in a test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The test has been established to ascertain interest and feasibility for a possible Rolex Sports Car Series return to the facility in the future.
2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice will drive the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche-V8-powered Coyote in the test, which will likely utilize both road-course layouts at the track during the day.
“I'm looking forward to getting back to Indy,” said Rice, who opened the 2009 season with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “It's going to be awesome. It's great to be taking part in really, with the exception of the F1 cars, to be taking part in the first group to go run on the Moto GP circuit and the F1 circuit outside of Formula One or the bikes. I think it's exciting. I think it would be really cool if they ended up having a race there. Obviously Indianapolis holds a special place in my heart because of what's happened there in the past. It's extremely exciting.”
The test will allow the Daytona Beach-based team to not only participate in a historical debut day at the track, but it will also give the team another opportunity to generate new data about the newest specification Coyote chassis.
“I think it's gone quite well,” said Rice when asked about the progress being made on the Coyote-Porsche V8 pairing. “I think (team owner) Troy (Flis) is putting together a great program. I know he's definitely working on the future and we're developing with Coyote chassis with the Porsche V8 power. It's getting better and better. I think the more testing, the more they run, the more we're all learning. I think everybody's growing together for trying to make the future better there.
“I think what they've been able to do in developing the old-style chassis with the same powerplant to this new chassis with the powerplant that they're running right now, it's a lot of work and they got a lot going on. They're getting better. They're making plans to get better and stronger for next year.”
The teams will test on the 2.534-mile Formula One circuit from 10 a.m. to noon, and then switch to the 2.621-mile MotoGP configuration from 1 to 3 p.m.
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Montreal
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
Montreal, Que- (Aug. 28, 2009) – Spirit of Daytona Racing made the first Rolex Sports Car Series race finish with the newest specification Coyote chassis on Saturday as Buddy Rice and Antonio Garcia brought the Porsche V8-powered Coyote home 11th in the Montreal 200 for round ten of the Rolex Sports Car Series championship. The result improved on the team’s previous best finish of 16th at the Montreal circuit last year.
The race weekend provided the opportunity for Spirit of Daytona Racing to further develop the Coyote on the 2.71-mile Circuit Gilles Villenueve. The team opened the Montreal 200 race weekend with a series of practice sessions on Friday, which saw the entry firmly in the top-ten in the charts throughout. But a motor issue kept the team from making the most of the day as the team had had to rally to make an engine swap after a crank pressure sensor indicated that a change was needed.
Looking to be ahead of the curve with any motor issues, the team elected to make the change to prevent the issue from becoming a bigger one. The effort was quick enough to get the car back out in time for the final night practice session, but it prevented the team from participating in qualifying.
Starting from the back of the pack in the race, Rice played it cool at the start before moving up through the field and establishing the No. 90 in the top ten. By the one hour mark, the Rolex 24 champ had the No. 90 up to 3rd in the order before turning the controls over to Garcia.
“The car was good—we are not where we want to be as far as pace yet, but we definitely made progress and are moving in the right direction with the car,” said Rice. “We also learned a lot about things we can do to improve the car in the rain, just with our wipers and sealing up the cockpit a little bit better. That’s just part of learning about this car. We’re still working on it and we are not as close as we want to be but this was a good weekend in terms of getting a good direction going.”
The strong run ended just shy of the hoped-for top ten after the back and forth rain and dry conditions saw the team pit one extra time for wet-weather tires and fight to take the checkered flag in 11th with Garcia behind the wheel.
“We’d have liked to been up in the top ten today, but these results are a lot less important than the results we want to be getting with this package next year,” said team owner Troy Flis. “We lost some track time with the motor change yesterday and that put us behind a little bit. But we made progress, no question. We still have to really unlock what it takes to make this car click with these tires and get into that window where they are working as well as they can together and giving the guys a car that they are comfortable with to go out there and have a lot of confidence with. Fortunately, we’ll get the chance to keep working at it again this week.”
Spirit of Daytona Racing will not have long to rest, as the team will bring the No. 90 Porsche-V8-powered Coyote to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to participate in a test at the famed facility this Thursday.
Spirit of Daytona Banking on Previous Successes of Garcia and Rice for Strong Montreal Finish with Porsche V8-Coyote
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
Daytona Beach, FL (Aug. 26, 2009) – Spirit of Daytona Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Buddy Rice know a little about running – and finishing – up front at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
And as the Rolex Sports Car Series travels north to Montreal for round ten of the 2009 championship this weekend, both drivers will look to share that knowledge with Spirit of Daytona Racing as the team continues to develop the Porsche V8-powered Coyote in Daytona Prototype competition.
After opening the 2009 Rolex season with a big win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Garcia and Rice paired up again for Spirit of Daytona Racing in last month’s Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway, and then scored a fourth-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park for the team’s best-ever finish in Daytona Prototypes.
While this Saturday’s Montreal race, at just two hours long, is one of the shortest of the season, the team will look to make the most of the six (practice and qualifying) sessions on Friday to push the envelope on the newest Daytona Prototype chassis configuration. The goal will be to continue learning as much as possible about the Coyote on the 2.71-mile circuit, although several members of the effort have their own reasons for looking for some redemption north of the border.
The last time he raced on the circuit in Formula Atlantics competition on his way to the championship, Buddy Rice broke through for a front row starting spot but an early-race tangle saw him unable to make it back to the Atlantics podium.
Spirit of Daytona Racing also has a score to settle at the track, after a fuel strategy gamble in last year’s event didn’t play out, cruelly leaving the team Daytona Prototype stranded at pit in the closing moments of the race.
“That was a gamble that didn’t pay off for us, but of course we saw a lot of other cars do the exact same thing,” said team owner Troy Flis. “From a development point of view, this should be a really productive week for us. Montreal has a lot of different cornering speeds, and a long back stretch, so we can learn a lot about both aero and mechanical grip this weekend. It’s not that grippy a surface and it only gets used once a year, and that has been a strong point with this car historically so we will see how much progress we can make.”
The team will then pack up and move south for the Rolex Sports Car Series exploratory test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 3.
“Hopefully nothing will happen this weekend that keeps us from going down to Indianapolis!” said Flis. “We’re really excited about not only the chance to run at that track, but also, just to get the opportunity to do some more testing and laps with this car so hopefully that will be really productive as well.”
But of everyone who has something to prove at Montreal, it could well be the guy who came closest to winning there. Last season, Antonio Garcia was piloting an earlier-specification Coyote for another team, and in a frantic final moments of the race, came up just .0064-seconds short as the top three finishers crossed the line in near-unison. That result was the closest Rolex Sports Car Series finish in history.
While he’s since bolstered his trophy room with wins at Sebring, Le Mans, and of course Daytona, Garcia would certainly like to come out on top this time around. Tune in to find out as the two-hour race, deemed the Montreal 200, is scheduled to start at 2:15 p.m. Saturday, with SPEED bringing the race action.
Highlights from last year’s race here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GrandAmVids#play/uploads/90/GsIt2m8mqHU
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 2009 –
Friday, August 28
8:00 AM Garage Opens
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Practice – Rolex Series
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Practice – Rolex Series
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Practice – Rolex Series
5:00 PM - 5:15 PM Qualifying – Rolex Series DP
5:20 PM - 5:35 PM Qualifying – Rolex Series GT
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Final Practice – Rolex Series
8:00 PM Garage Closes
Saturday, August 29
8:00 AM Garage Opens
12:30 PM Set up Pits – Rolex Series
1:40 PM Recon Laps – Rolex Series
1:45 PM Driver Introductions – Rolex Series
2:15 PM START – Rolex Series Race (2 hour time limit)
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Spirit of Daytona Racing Enters Rolex 24 At Daytona
Motorcycle Champions to put Porsche V8-Coyote to 24-hour test
Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
DAYTONA, FL, 5 December 08- Spirit of Daytona Racing has officially entered the 47th running of Rolex 24 At Daytona with drivers Scott Russell, Jeff Ward, and Jason Pridmore posted to drive the No. 09 Porsche V8-powered Coyote at Daytona International Speedway in the season-opening event for the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal.
While the Rolex 24 event will mark the first appearance in the twice-around-the-clock classic for Russell, Ward, and Pridmore, the trio of champions each have several chapters of success already to their names at Daytona in two wheel competition and will look to add a new one on four wheels as they take on 24 grueling hours on the World Center of Speed’s 3.56-mile road course.
In the 2008 running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the No. 09 Porsche V8-Coyote took the highest finish for any Porsche-powered Daytona Prototype with its run to tenth in class.
Campaigning a limited 2008 schedule, the V8 Porsche-powered Coyote made significant progress with Spirit of Daytona Racing as the new chassis-motor combination was deployed into competition for an extensive development program. The No. 09 will now wear the latest in Coyote bodywork for the 24, which will be preceded by the “Roar Before the 24” test days on January 3-5.
Russell, Ward, Pridmore, and Spirit of Daytona driver Guy Cosmo had a productive test as the Rolex Sports Car Series racers got their first taste of the 2009-specification Pirelli tires in November testing at Daytona International Speedway, and will look to continue that progress in the Roar test days.
“We’re really focused on getting things off to a good start with a strong performance in the 24, and we were encouraged not only by being able to finish the race last year, but also by how much we learned through the season,” said Spirit of Daytona Racing team owner Troy Flis. “Now we’ve got the new bodywork on the car so we’ll have some new data to put to work with these new tires, but we already learned a lot in November and look forward to pushing further ahead with the test right after the New Year.”
Despite the fact that his driver line up is packed full of Rolex rookies, Flis is encouraged by what he’s seen from his line up as the squad prepares for the biggest race of the season.
“The guys have really been impressive,” said Flis. “There is a lot that goes into the transition from motorcycles to Daytona Prototypes, and they’ve all been really methodical with what they’ve been doing, which is really the main thing any team owner can ask. This race doesn’t give points for one flying lap—you have to be quick and avoid any mistakes for 24 straight hours. These guys all get that, and the approach that they have in the testing we’ve done, it’s crystal clear why they’ve all been champions before.”
Located just down the way from the Daytona International Speedways’ high banks, Sprit of Daytona Racing will continue with preparations in advance of the Roar test as the new bodywork is integrated into the testing program with an eye towards maximizing the potential for the PorscheV8-Coyote package in 2009.
For additional information:
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