No. 36 Porsche GT3 for TPC Racing Best Among Rolex 24 GT Field

(news provided by www.grandamerican.com)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2006) -- Using early patience, Porsche-powered reliability and a race-winning driver lineup, the No. 36 TPC Superchargers Porsche GT3 completed 691 of the 734 overall laps to take the GT class win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona for TPC Racing, a perfect start to the 13-race season for team owner/driver Michael Levitas and co-drivers Randy Pobst, Spencer Pumpelly and Ian Baas.

After exchanging the lead numerous times during the middle part of the 24-hour classic with the No. 65 TRG/F1 Air/Alpine Bagel/iRise Pontiac GTO.R--which finished second--the No. 36 Porsche inherited the lead for good after a series of pit stops in the 15th hour, holding the top class spot for the final 252 laps for the win, and finishing ninth overall out of the 66-car Rolex Series grid.

"It takes all the right people and all the moves to pull this off," said Levitas, now a three-time Rolex Series class race winner. "This is by far the biggest race we've won. Every person on this team contributed everything they had to help this team. From the jack man--which I was at one point--to our sponsor Ajilon Consulting who brought 150 people here to root us on, it was a total team effort."

The machine started eighth on the class grid, and all four drivers avoided major trouble during their stints to keep the car on the track and in contention.

"Last year, we ran second all night, and then late in the race, we tangled up with a Daytona Prototype," said Pobst, the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT winner. "The year before, we ran as hard as we could for all 24 hours and finished second. This year, everything came together. Michael put together a great car and a great team that ran clean virtually all day."

The biggest break that the No. 36 Porsche caught was when Kelly Collins--in the No. 64 TRG/iRise Pontiac GTO.R and holding a two-lap lead over the rest of the class field--spun off-course into the grass inside Turn 1. The spin caused damage to the machine that yielded a lengthy stay in the car's garage where crew members fixed the damage--effectively ending their chances.

"That was the turning point in the race," said Pobst. "They had two laps on us, and they were hooked up. They had a real fast package and were lightning around the track. Their miscue really helped us get back into the race."

Baas, making his first Rolex Series start, was quick to point to strategy and focus when describing how the team pulled of the win.

"Our strategy was to run our race and not their race," said Baas. "We had a good, calculated plan going in. We sized up our competition pretty good, and we were dead on. Winning here at Daytona is awesome."

"This is really good for everyone," said Pumpelly. "It was as close to a flawless run as you can have. Whenever anyone got worried or felt pressure, Michael calmed everyone down. He had the perfect strategy and he was confident all night. He was just great."

The two TRG Pontiac GTO.Rs--both making their Rolex 24 At Daytona debuts--proved fast early, but as the hours wound down, bad breaks hurt their chances. In addition to the spin by the No. 64 machine, the No. 65 GTO.R overcame electrical difficulties and gearbox problems to still finish second.

The No. 65 machine was co-driven by Andy Lally, Marc Bunting, RJ Valentine and Johnny O'Connell, while Collins shared the No. 64 Pontiac with Paul Edwards, Jan Magnussen and Andy Pilgrim.
"I've finished second here and I have won here, I like the latter better," said Lally. "We were able to lead and we had a really good TRG prepared car. The GT pace was pretty fast, but we were able to run at the front in the most competitive field of the year."

"The car was good," said Bunting. "I was able to run good lap times and made no real errors. It is a good points start for us, and we will go to Mexico where we were strong last year."

Finishing third in the No. 82 Farnbacher Racing Porsche GT3 were Dirk Werner, Philip Peter, Dieter Quester and Luca Riccitelli. The No. 82 machine--one of two team entries for the Rolex 24--took the lead after the No. 64 Pontiac's incident, and held the position for roughly three and-a-half hours, before losing the lead during pit cycles around 11 p.m. Saturday night.

Finishing fourth in the No. 66 TRG Porsche GT3 were Stephane Ortelli, Robert Nearn, Cyrille Sauvage and Steve Johnson. Rounding out the top five were Wolf Henzler, Robin Liddell, Johannes van Overbeek and Graham Rahal in the No. 74 NEC/Rembrandt Charms Porsche GT3 for Tafel Racing. Henzler qualified the car on the GT pole, and Rahal--son of legendary open-wheel driver Bobby Rahal--showed promise and had a good result in his first Rolex Series start.