36th Rolex 24 At Daytona Notes

36th Rolex 24 At Daytona January 31 - February 1, 1998

What: The 36th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, operated by the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC).

Where: Daytona International Speedway 3.56-mile road course/oval, Daytona Beach, Fla.

When: 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 31 to 1:00 p.m., Sunday, February 1, 1998 (EST).

Cars: Open-cockpit, purpose-built prototype cars (Can-Am) and production-based sedan/sports cars (GT1, GT2 and GT3 classes)

Event Sponsors: Rolex Watch, U.S.A., Incorporated, Primary Sponsor. First Union Bank, Associate Corporate Sponsor.

Television: ESPN2 (Live) Thursday, Jan. 29 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Pole Qualifying Friday, Jan. 30 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Second-round Qualifying Saturday, Jan. 31 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Start of 36th Rolex 24 At Daytona Sunday, Feb. 1 7:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. End of 36th Rolex 24 At Daytona

1997 Winners: Can-Am (1997 equivalent class was world sports car for all following record references). Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Sherrills Ford, N.C.; John Schneider, Dallas, Texas; Rob Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y.; John Paul Jr., W. Palm Beach, Fla.; Butch Leitzinger, State College, Pa.; James Weaver, England; Andy Wallace, England; Ford Riley & Scott Mk. III

GT1 (1997 equivalent was gts-1 for all following record references). Andy Pilgrim, Cooper City, Fla; Harald Grohs, Germany; Arnd Meier, Germany; Jochen Rohr, Cincinnati, Ohio; Porsche 911 GT2 EVO

GT2 (1997 equivalent was gts-2 for all following record references). Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Patrice Groueslard, France; Claudia Huertgen, Aachen, Germany; Andre Ahrle, Germany; Porsche 911 GT2

GT3 (1997 equivalent was gts-3 for all following record references). Javier Quiros, San Jose, Costa Rica; Derek Hill, Santa Monica, Calif.; Boris Said, Carlsbad, Calif.; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Tom Hessert, Cherry Hill, N.J.; BMW M3

1997 Pole Winners: Can-Am/Overall - Fermin Velez, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:40.456, 127.578 mph GT1 - Olivier Baretta, Dodge Viper GTS-R, 1:48.468, 118.154 mph GT2 - Ralf Kelleners, Porsche 911 GT2, 1:52.417, 114.004 mph GT3 - Dorsey Schroeder, Acura NSX, 1:56.265, 110.230 mph

Distance: Overall - 2,712.720 miles (112.897 mph), Masahiro Hasemi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Toshio Suzuki, Anders Oloffson, Nissan R91 CP (1992) Can-Am - 2,481.320 miles (103.32 mph), Wayne Taylor, Jim Pace, Scott Sharp, Oldsmobile R & S MK III (1996) GT1 - 2,427.920 miles (100.976 mph), Paul Newman, Mike Brockman, Tom Kendall, Mark Martin, Ford Mustang (1995) GT2 - 2,367.400 miles (98.567 mph), Ralf Kelleners, Patrice Groueslard, Claudia Huertgen, Andre Ahrle, Porsche 911 GT2 (1997) GT3 - 2,328.240 miles (96.837 mph), Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari, Renato Mastropietro, Ulrich Richter, Porsche 911 (1995)

Race Lap: Can-Am - Max Papis, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:41.951, 125.707 mph (1996) GT1 - Tommy Archer, Dodge Viper GTSR, 1:49.030, 117.545 mph (1997) GT2 - Ralf Kelleners, Porsche 911 GT2, 1:53.476, 112.940 mph (1997) GT3 - Luca Drudi, Porsche 911, 1:56.927, 109.606 mph (1997)

Qualifying: Can-Am - Fermin Velez, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:40.456, 127.578 mph (1997) GT1 - Olivier Baretta, Dodge Viper GTSR, 1:48.468, 118.154 mph (1997) GT2 - Ralf Kelleners, Porsche 911 GT2, 1:52.417, 114.004 mph (1997) GT3 - Dorsey Schroeder, Acura NSX, 1:56.265, 110.230 mph (1997)

Closest Margin of Victory: 65.518 seconds, Wayne Taylor, Scott Sharp, Jim Pace over Max Papis, Gianpiero Moretti, Didier Theys, Bob Wollek (1996)

Media Notes: Qualifying and race results will be available on the Associated Press Sports Wire, CompuServe