Ross Kaiser Daytona test notes 2011-01-09

Kaiser Roars Before The Rolex 24

Roar before the Rolex 24 sees strong Doran Racing line-up announced and Ross getting inside info from the legend that is Hurley Haywood.

This weekend saw competitors for the coveted Rolex 24 title complete 3 days of testing at the 'Roar before the Rolex 24' event in Daytona. This pre-race testing event saw drivers prepare for the annual Rolex 24hr race and also gave racers the chance to race on the newly paved track which was only finished a few weeks ago. As part of the Sunoco Daytona Challenge prize Ross Kaiser flew to Daytona to complete the testing with Doran Racing, who announced a strong team line up for the Rolex 24 hr.

Kevin Doran, owner of the team, confirmed that the line up for the team who will drive the #77 Ford Dallara will be: Brian Frisselle, Matt Bell, Henri Richard and of course Ross Kaiser who said:

'I thoroughly enjoyed my first time at Daytona and the driver line up is absolutely awesome, it really is a dream come true to be alongside some of the best drivers in the world.'

Frisselle has 6 seasons of DP competitions under his belt and finished third in the 2009 championship and fifth in the 2008 standings. Henri Richard made his debut in the Rolex 24 in 2010, opening his first full season in professional sports car competition. Matt Bell took part in the 2010 Rolex 24 and has won many awards for driving DP cars. Ross Kaiser completes the teams strong line up and with his speed and racing experience the team looks like it really is worthy of grasping the Rolex 24 title.

The Roar before the Rolex 24 saw Ross Kaiser, 2011 Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge winner, drive the track for the first time; a daunting experience for any driver and it certainly had its ups and downs. The legend that is 5 x Rolex 24 At Daytona winner Hurley Haywood was on hand to give Ross some hints and tips for his first time racing at Daytona. Hurley took Ross out on the circuit for an exclusive ride in his Rolex 24hr winning 1977 Porsche 911 where Kaiser could fully take in every inch of the track.

'It was a real privilege to get to ride in Hurley's Porsche, even if it was very noisy! We drove 3 laps of the track then he gave me a few pointers on how best to approach racing at Daytona. It was such an honour to be in the same car as Haywood let alone have him giving me tips.'

On the first day of the 3 day test (Friday) Ross planned to spend a productive morning at Daytona running plenty of laps, however this unfortunately wasn't a reality. On Brian Frisselle's first lap out, a brake rotor exploded and took out the suspension with it. They spent the rest of the morning checking the car out so Ross and the team missed the rest of the session.

Kaiser eventually made it out onto the track in the afternoon and it took a while for him to get in to the swing of things. This was due to the high speed braking into hairpins and the limited number of runs he could have after the time wasted fixing the car due to the previous problems, however, once Kaiser had done a few laps he was soon flying around the track!

Ross reached his quickest time on old tyres and hopes he could be a second faster once he is on new tyres. The Rolex 24 At Daytona takes place on the 29th and 30th of January and with Ross's quick speed and the great Doran line up the Rolex 24hr title really could be within reach.

-source: ross kaiser PR