Daytona Prototype testing begins at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 4, 2002) -- Grand American Road Racing Association will hold a one-of-a-kind 36-hour test session for the Daytona Prototypes at Daytona International Speedway this week. The Daytona Prototypes will be the premier class of the Rolex Sports Car Series and will make their race debut at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Feb. 1-2.

Brumos FABCAR Daytona.

Photo by Grand American Road Racing Association.

This weekend's testing will allow teams the opportunity to not only shakedown their new race cars, but also test their endurance with a six-hour session on Thursday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and a 28-hour session beginning on Friday at 10 a.m. and concluding on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Central Florida race fans can also sneak a peek at the latest creation in sports car racing, as Daytona International Speedway will have admission to the Oldfield Grandstands, located behind DAYTONA USA, free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during all three days of testing.

Brumos Racing will have one of its Porsche-powered FABCAR Daytona Prototype entries on hand for the test, as well as its entire Rolex 24 driver lineup.

Five-time Rolex 24 winner Hurley Haywood will serve as lead driver in Brumos' #59 Daytona Prototype. He will co-drive with IRL standout Scott Sharp, former IRL/CART star Scott Goodyear and up-and-comer J.C. France. Renowned racer David Donohue will lead the team's #58 entry with driving support from Mike Borkowski, Wayne Jackson and Chris Bye.

Picchio unveiling.

Photo by Grand American Road Racing Association.

The BMW-powered Picchio Daytona Prototype of G&W Motorsports will also take to the banks of Daytona in its first public test session this week. Both the 2001 and 2002 Rolex Series GT champions, Darren Law and Cort Wagner, will be testing the Daytona Prototype for G&W Motorsports, as well as Brent Martini.

Darius Grala, who was announced earlier this week as one of the drivers of Cegwa Sport's Toyota-engined FABCAR Daytona Prototype, will also get his first chance at the wheel of the new race car when the Toyota version of the FABCAR is debuted.

Additional information about the Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototypes, including photos, renderings and rules, is available online at www.grandamerican.com.

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