Breaking news

IMSA 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype

Action Express gets on track with the Corvette C7 DP

First test for Action Express Racing ahead of the 'Roar Before the 24'

Published: Dec 19, 2014, 9:24 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

#5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP: Max Papis, Leh Keen

#31 Marsh Racing Corvette DP: Eric Curran, Boris Said, Max Papis

#5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP: Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sébastien Bourdais

Max Papis

Christian Fittipaldi celebrates overall pole

#5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP: Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sébastien Bourdais

#31 Marsh Racing Corvette DP Chevrolet: Eric Curran, Boris Said, Max Papis

Denver, NC, December 19, 2014 - Action Express Racing took to the high-banks and twisting turns of the historic Daytona International Speedway Monday in preparation for the 53rd annual Rolex 24. The session was the first at Daytona for Action Express Racing ahead of the 'Roar Before the 24' and the first laps for any of the Chevrolet teams of the new Corvette C7 Daytona Prototype body.

"The new Corvette C7 looks great," said João Barbosa. "Our partners at Chevrolet really worked hard to make a great looking car even better and I think it should give Corvette fans a lot to be excited about for 2015."

While Action Express was excited to turn laps with the new Corvette C7 body styling, the test session was also an important test for the reliability of new components for the 2015 season; a test that Barbosa says the team passed with flying colors.

Our team got to experience that last season and its fueled them to achieve it again this year.

Gary Nelson

"Our goal was to go through the new systems and make sure they all work well," said Barbosa. "The team did a great job in preparation as we were able to complete right at 700 miles."

The 53rd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona is not only the start of the 2015 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship; it begins the quest to repeat for Action Express Racing.

"I think right now we are in a great position," said Christian Fittipaldi. "We were off just a little bit in the Mondaymorning session, but the guys made great changes at the break and after lunch it was solid. I think we have a good direction to go, and we are in great shape."

Action Express Racing Team Manager Gary Nelson knows a season like 2014 starts with offseason preparation. "Last year our team got to experience something that will never leave them," said Nelson. "Winning two championships, Tudor and Patron, while finishing each race on the lead lap is the ultimate reward for tireless dedication and attention to detail. Our team got to experience that last season and its fueled them to achieve it again this year."

The two day test session concluded on Tuesday when Max Papis and British driver Phil Keen, the Sunoco Whelen Challenge winner, split time in the Action Express Racing Corvette C7.

Papis and Keen will drive the Whelen Engineering Corvette for Action Express in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Eric Curran and Dane Cameron. Papis was encouraged after the test saying: "It feels great to be in a winning car with a winning team. I feel like we have a great opportunity for either the 5 or 31 Corvettesto win the Rolex 24 and contend for the championships."

Nelson was encouraged by Keen's quick adaptation to the Action Express Racing DP and the challenging track. "We were impressed with Phil's ability to adapt to driving our cars on a challenging track like Daytona," said Nelson. "After all the testing is complete I believe Phil will be a great contributor to our effort to get to the top step of the podium at the end of the Rolex 24."

Action Express Racing will next test with both the 5 and 31 cars on Monday at Sebring International Raceway in preparation for the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on March 21, 2015.

Action Express Racing

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announces 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona lineup

Next article Looking back at Level 5's historic, controversial Daytona win

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

1 h

Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict

Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 2 h

Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test

Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

3 h

Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics

Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 5 h

Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts