50 Teams Register for USRRC Rolex 24 at Daytona; Day 1 Test Results
9 January 1998
Daytona Beach, FL - Fifty teams have registered for the Rolex 24 at Daytona three-day test session. The new sanctioning body United States Road Racing Commission (USRRC) under SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) guidance will kick-off the sportscar season of racing on January 31-February 1, 1998. The transition from the old "Sportscar" sanctioning to the new USRRC has been smoother than earlier reports suggested. The first day of testing was nothing short of complete professionalism on the part of the officials, drivers and support personnel. Perhaps the fact that many of the people involved in the USRRC sanctioning committee were also involved in the two former sportscar racing bodies. None the less the dire predictions of no one showing up to race proved to be hollow. The race teams have arrived anxious to get on the track to get the 1998 road racing season underway. The old World Sports Car (WSC) class will now be called Can-Am (CA), which is a revived terminology from the old Group 7-based series which ran from 1966-1986 under SCCA sanctioning. The other race groups of GT1, GT2 and GT3 will remain with the same nomenclature. Using the season-ending race at Laguna Seca as a high-water mark where twenty-one CA (WSC) cars took the grid. The fact that 14 CA cars are testing this week-end has to be reassuring to the future of North American road racing. Officials of the USRRC during a post-test session get together used the platform to stress the fact that the sanctioning officials want to work with the race teams to assure a smooth transition and to build a solid foundation for future growth. Of course, like anything where major and drastic change is involved, performance will be the great measuring stick. On the race track, the car dominating the testing are the two Ferrari 333 SP's of Andy Evans/Yannick Dalmas/Bob Wollek and Ron Fellows. Indy-Car driver Max Papis is listed on the team and is scheduled to appear sometime this week-end. Dalmas set the fastest time of the day with an unofficial time of 1:40.470 seconds for a speed of 127.560mph. The time is just two-tenths of a second off of the official qualifying record of 1:40.456 (127.578 mph) set by Fermin Velez last year. The other team that has been on top of the speed charts is another team with a 333SP. The team of Wayne Taylor/Eric Van der Peole and Fermin Velez. The team has already logged over 1,000 test miles in Europe with another test scheduled for next week at Sebring. Test times from these week-ends should always be accepted with a healthy dose of skepticism. Teams are all testing different set-ups, new drivers and in some instances new chassis. Defending CA champion Dyson Racing is breaking in a new 1998 Riley & Scott chassis. Driver's Champion Butch Leitzinger is leading a familiar contingent of James Weaver, John Paul,Jr., Elliott-Forbes Robinson, and team owner and leader Rob Dyson. Drivers added for the Rolex 24 include Dorsey Schroeder and Perry McCarthy. The fun has just begun....... Unofficial Times for Can-Am Rolex 24 at Daytona (Day 1) Car # Driver Marque Time 3 Dalmas Ferrari 333 SP 1:40.470 43 Evans/Dalmas Ferrari 333 SP 1:42.007 17 Taylor/Velez Ferrari 333 SP 1:42.042 20 Leitzinger/Paul Ford Riley & Scott 1:44.173 16 Dyson/Weaver Ford Riley & Scott 1:44.201 30 Moretti/Theys Ferrari 333 SP 1:45.364 36 Matthews/Murry Ford Riley & Scott 1:48.151 8 Schubot/Camferdam Chevy Riley & Scott 1:48.348 95 Volk/Schroeder Chevy Kudzu 1:55.213 63 Downing/Katz Mazda Kudzu 1:56.197 62 Spencer/Thomas Mazda Kudzu 1:56.312 11 Fairbanks/Goldsboroug Mazda Hawk 2:02.537 David Treffer -- The Auto Channel
