Daytona24: TRG hour 12 notes

TRG Second and Third After 12 Hours at Daytona; TRG 67 second in GT, 66 in third

Daytona Beach, Florida, TRG is currently running second in the Grand-Am Rolex Series Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona GT race with 12 hours remaining. Justin Marks, RJ Valentine, Andy Lally, Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister are currently second in the GT field at the races half-way point.

The No.67 Construct Corps/CRG/No Fear Energy Drinks/K1 Speed/Voodoo Ride/Gemstone Winery/TRG Porsche GT3 has had to come back from being a lap down to return toward the front of the pack.

"It is really going great," Valentine said. "I am with the best drivers in the world and racing at one of my favorite tracks. We had one little glitch with the car when my identifier wasn't working and I had to pit. The car is real good and solid. The crew is doing a great job to keep us out on the track and the spotter is keeping us out of trouble while we are out there."

No. 66 AXA/Mitchell Rubber/Wealth Management Strategies/TRG Porsche GT3 drivers Ted Ballou, Tim George Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Emmanuel Collard and Richard Lietz have run a trouble free race in third place with half distance still remaining. The 66 guys led a lot of laps from midnight until about 3:00 a.m. when they were cycled back on a pit stop.

"Everything is running normal," Lietz said. "The gear-box is shifting normal and that is really good news for a long race. We have a good 24 hour setup on the car. It is not really fast, but comfortable to drive. I was also in the car when the fireworks went off, so that was cool."

The No. 65 Riegel/Stanton/Cystic Fibrosis Foundation/65 Roses/Magnus Racing/Marquis Jet/Resorts International/IPC/Total Lubricants/RSS Road Sport Supply/TRG Porsche GT3 with John Potter, Bryce Miller, Craig Stanton and Marco Holzer is in 15th. The team was in the top ten until a power steering failure caused them to make repairs, sending them down several laps.

"I got in the car during the early evening," Potter said. "On one of the restarts I think I had the whole Daytona Prototype field behind me. It was crazy to get passed by 19 cars. After that I was able to settle in a little and get my rhythm."

The No. 68 James Farrell & Co./Pallis Properties, Inc./COLO Columbia River Logistics/Cohen Financial/TRG Porsche GT3 driven by Josemanuel Gutierrez, Steve Miller, Chris Pallis, Duncan Ende, and Scott Schroeder is currently being shown in 19th. The team lost valuable track position when they had to take the car to the paddock to repair the front splitter just after midnight.

"It was great," Gutierrez said. "It was a very nice run. The two yellows helped us gain a few positions. The car is handling well over a long run and is very stable. The car is good and the setup makes it easy to drive. We started last and we are up to 28th. We are doing well and need to keep the car on the track to have a good finish."

The No. 63 Guardian Angel Motorsports/Children's Hospital Boston/ jetblue.com /Cavallino Group/www.guardianangelmotorsports.com/TRG Porsche GT3 of Bruce Ledoux, David Quinlan, Dan Watkins, Steve Zadig and Kurt Kossmann had a tough start to the race. The team had to bring the car to the paddock for a radiator repair. The group has remained in 25th place. In the early morning hours the car had to return to the paddock for a third time to address a water leak.

"I was just taking it easy," Zadig said. "I was trying to be smooth and make no mistakes. The car is running ok. We had a tough start to the race. We had to go to the paddock for a radiator and the car went into the tire wall at the Bus Stop. I think the run in with the tire wall knocked the toe in the rear out a little. Other than that the car is actually still pretty friendly to drive."

-credit: trg