Daytona 24: Sigalsport race report

SIGALSPORT BMW TEAM FINISHES 16th IN ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

Los Angeles, California. (February 1, 2006) -- The Alhadeff Motorsports / Guarneros Racing Wear / enVista / Motul / OMP / GlycoMax Sigalsport BMW No. 05 co-driven by Matt Alhadeff, Bill Auberlen, Justin Marks and Tom Milner finished 16th in the GT class in the 44th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona last Sunday after encountering numerous incidents on the track. On a positive note, this result is the best finishfor a BMWM3 at the Rolex 24 since 2002. The second Sigalsport BMW Java One Coffee/ Chase Properties / Diamondback Metal Systems / OMP / enVista / Motul / GlycoMax BMW No. 04 co-driven by team owner Gene Sigal, Peter MacLeod, Blake Rosser and Miro Konopka did not finish after an engine problem on Lap 34 of the twice around the clock Daytona event. The Sigalsport BMW No. 04 was ranked 35th in class after 24 hours.

Before the first event of the 2006 Rolex Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve, the Sigalsport BMW team and its drivers were confident that the team would be able to achieve a great result but even though the team came to Daytona prepared and ready to run in front, accidents and technical problems forced the car No. 05 which ran as high as sixth place after 49 laps of racing, to lose many laps after a collision with a Porsche GT on Lap 72. The crew managed to take the BMW to the garage to repair the damage and when the car returned to the track, Tom Milner had lost twenty positions. Later in the night, the BMW No. 05 had a transmission problem and lost a few more positions then around 8:00 AM Matt Alhadeff had a close encounter with a Porsche GT car and lost another 5 laps because of the collision. Despite these unfortunate problems Auberlen, Alhadeff, Marks and Milner were able to maintain a very competitive pace despite the fast Porsches, Pontiacs, Corvettes and Mazdas that showed lots of speed at Daytona International Speedway.

Gene Sigal and Peter MacLeod were the only two drivers able to race in car No. 04 during the race since the Sigalsport BMW lost its engine after only 34 laps. Gene Sigal ran the first 32 laps of the race and ran as high as 9th on lap 25.

The 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona was the first time Sigalsport entered two cars in the great endurance race and the entire crew did a great job preparing and repairing the cars and never gave up despite the numerous incidents.

The 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona is definitely a race to forget quickly for the Los Angeles, California based team and they are already thinking about the second round of the series that is set to run at Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday, March 4, 2006. In Mexico the Sigalsport BMW team will enter two cars. BMW M3 No. 04 for Gene Sigal and Peter MacLeod and BMW M3 No. 05 for Matt Alhadeff and Bill Auberlen who finished second in the GT class last November 2005 in Mexico.

-sigalsport