Riley Technologies VIR race report

Virginia International Raceway

Turner Rolex GT Machine back on podium for third consecutive race to score points advantage

Danville, VA — Come rain or shine, drivers and teams have long relied on the Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype to deliver at race time. And this weekend at Virginia International Raceway, it was no different as the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series staged round four of the 2011 championship.

With the hype and headlines ahead of the race event all focused on the $25,000 bounty that GRAND-AM put up for any team that could break the streak of race victories for the Riley-BMW of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, it turned out that the challenging conditions stole the headlines, with a young team doing the same. With the event taking the green flag under a heavy downpour, the race weather eventually cleared with the teams working to adapt quickly to the evolving conditions.

#9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley: Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, JC France

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

While the Ganassi machine was once again in fine form, it was the Action Express Porsche-powered Riley of Joao Barbosa, JC France, and Terry Borcheller that emerged with the race victory, coming home just .270 seconds ahead of the No. 01, with the sister Action Express Riley of Darren Law and David Donahue finishing third to make it an all-Riley podium sweep once again.

"Everything clicked today,” said Barbosa, who led the final 22 laps of the race. “We were able to get the track position at the right time and then I tried to do the best I could at the end. With Scott (Pruett) behind, it's never easy, but I pushed as hard as I could and tried to gain a safe margin just in case. You never know what can come from those guys. It worked out really perfect. It was a great race and really competitive. I can't wait to see the race on TV. I'm sure it was pretty good for the fans to watch."

Riley Technologies products also enjoyed success in the GT Class, as the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 of Paul Dalla Lana and Bill Auberlen once again raced on to the Rolex Series GT podium with a run to third place. The duo now hold a 13-point advantage in the Team and Driver Championship standings.

#94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3: Bill Auberlen, Paul Dalla Lana

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

“That was quite a race today and the drivers have to be congratulated for dealing with such tough conditions, especially early in the race,” said Riley Technologies VP Bill Riley. “It was very challenging but that’s when you see the attention to detail on things like defogging really come to the fore and pay off. It was very exciting for the fans, but I have to think it was even more so for the drivers! Congratulations to Action Express for the win today.”

The event kicked off an intensified schedule as the Rolex Series will travel to Lakeville, CT for the Memorial Day Classic before returning to Watkins Glen for the famed Sahlens Six-Hours of the Glen, which Ganassi proved victorious in last year with the BMW-Riley.

Notes:
79th Rolex Series race victory for Riley Technologies
Riley Technologies has won every GRAND-AM race (4) so far in 2011 overall, with two GT Class victories