Red Scott Pruett and Memo increased their advantage like leaders of the championship of the Series Grand-A.m. Rolex Sports Car presented by Crown Royal Cask no. 16 after to obtain, this Saturday, his second consecutive victory in the Rolex Series, in one season 2008 that as soon as it begins. The pilots of car no. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley gained the GAINSCO Grand Prix de Miami in the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The TELMEX crew Ganassi Chip with Felix Sabates celebrates a new triumph

Between both runners they led 51 returns in the general of the race - Pruett 41-, and crossed victorious the goal in an event to 99 returns. The margin of the victory was of 1,645 seconds with respect to the team of the winner of the last season, Bill Auberlen, and to its present “coequipero” Joey Hand (Alex Job Racing). Pruett and Rojas were part of the quartet that in January gained 24 Rolex AT Daytona. With this triumph, they consolidate in the first place of the championship with 13 points of advantage with respect to the winners of season 2008, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty.
This it is the triumph number 16 of Pruett in the Daytona Prototypes of the Rolex Series of Grand-A.m.
“Everything was well today, we could run on the inside, by outside, stop, low, really anywhere of the track”, said Pruett. “Really this he was one of the best cars than I have had. The motor was phenomenal. From Daytona they have worked it last in this, and of all the races that we have won I believe that this it has been the best Lexus motor than we have had”.
For Red this it is the third victory in the Rolex Series. In the event there were nine yellow flags for a total of 40 returns.
“They struck in that first return enough to Us and we lost a position but we could stay”, said Red. “Once we took hold the commando the car really ran very well. Today he is a little fresher than it was in the classification and the car worked better”.

Nourished squad of competitors in the track of Homestead-Miami Speedway

Auberlen and Hand finished in the second place to the controls of 23 car no. Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche Crawford. Auberlen avoided the problems of the first yellow flags and soon it passed the car to Hand.
“My turn did not have problems because it knew that it was going to have a pile of yellows, many accidents”, said Auberlen. “I thought that it had to take it smooth and to leave it race came that is a little as it were the past year. The car was really good, especially after the resumptions. (Nevertheless) in the last, one went away much and it was really good”.
Hand could maintain car no. 23 remote of the problems and led 14 returns before losing the first position against Pruett in return 78. From then, Hand stayed finished secondly in the competition.
“Our car was sufficiently good today”, said Hand. “When we arrived Thursday here, we were lost. Nonéramos good. But the equipment Ruby Tuesday worked and worked to find some things. When it seemed that we were going to leave it, they perseveraban. And today, we have the best car than we have had throughout all the weekend”.
Podio of the Daytona Prototypes completed Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson in 60 car no. Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley. Patterson classified ninth and it stayed besides the problems during its turn to the steering wheel, and soon it gave the car to Negri, that thirdly crossed the goal after maintaining to ray the harassment of Marc Goossens in the 91 no. Riley-Matthews Pontiac Riley.

The car #77 of Gilds Racing did not have luck

Goossens and its teammate, Jim Matthews, finished in fourth position after happening to Matt Plumb (7 no. SigalSport Rum Bum BMW Riley) at the end of the competition. Plumb and Gene Sigal took to 7 car no. Rum Bum to the goal, in the fifth place. Lexus, Porsche, Ford, Pontiac and BMW were the five located marks of motor in the first five positions at the end of the race of the Daytona Prototypes.
Other five Daytona Prototypes led the competition and nine finished in the return of the leader.
Michael Valiante (no. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Dallara) led 20 turns in the competition in which it was the debut of the chassis Cut with a scythe in the Rolex Series, but soon another car, that did I spin a top, took it by means and sent to the car from Valiante to the garages. Valiante and its coequipero - Max Angelelli- finished 14º in their class.

The Collins, Edwards gain in class GT of Rolex Series

Paul Edwards, Ft Collins, CO; Kelly Collins, Newport Beach, CA won with Pontiac GXP.R

Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards led 51 returns in class GT of the Rolex Series - after to have started from pole of their category and gained the GAINSCO Grand Prix de Miami.
Edwards led last the 30 returns in the no. 07 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R after surpassing to Jan Heylen in turn 70 of a competition to 99 returns. The Edwards and the Collins finished in the tenth place of the general, although only to 1,118 seconds in front of the second, the no. 67 TRG Gleukos/Monster Cable Porsche GT3 of Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George Jr.
Collins led nine of the first 12 returns before entering pits during the first flag of precaution of the event. Soon he returned to lead other nine turns before Dominik Farnbacher (no. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3) would happen to the commando through 21 returns.
The equipment stayed between the five first as the shutdowns in pits followed one another and Edwards happened to Heylen in return 70. The four periods of precaution in last the 36 returns of race caused that they continued the fight by the victory until Edwards crossed the goal. The car began to intensely throw smoke after crossing the line of the victory.
“This is incredible”, said Edwards, who next to Collins finished second in the table of points of pilots of the past year. “We made great practices in the car after the practices of Thursday, much more great than we would like to do during a weekend of races. This gives an impulse us that we needed because City of Mexico is a great track for us”.
“From the beginning, the car was well”, added Collins, one of the five pilots of Pontiac that led the race.
Pumpelly and George, advanced 13 positions since the green flag was shaken until the picture flag, as other cars were facing mechanical problems.
The race marked to the second consecutive time that finishes in the second position with the TRG in the track of 2,3 miles, and the second time in which it goes of season in which three of their cars are located in the first five places, something that already had happened in 24 Rolex AT Daytona. Pumpelly and George are located in the championship of pilots of class GT but its advantage is of only a point (62-61). Its next appointment will be in the City of Mexico.

The GT competition was really hard. The category grew in machines and names

“The race was hard because the talent level was really incredible”, Pumpelly said. “This year in GT, is going to be really hard. Luckyly Tim George did an impressive work in its turn to the steering wheel. The TRG boys gave a really good car us. We work much in him the last week, our factory and then, all the week here. The effort that was put in this was phenomenal. And in the end, really we wanted to win because I thought that in the resumption we would be sufficiently fast, but it took hold speed and we did not have much whereupon to give reach him”.
The proprietor of Banner Racing, Leighton Reese and its coequipero, Jan Magnussen, finished third parties after having started penultimate. Car no. 06 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R changed to the motor Friday. Magnussen led 14 returns in the general, after being advancing and gaining positions after Reese advanced to more than 10 vehicles in the first 15 returns.
In the fourth place car no. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 of Dominik Farnbacher and Dirk was located Werner (70 no. SpeedSource Mazdaspeed/Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8), whereas Nick Ham and Sylvain Tremblay - leaders of the table of points thanks to their triumph in 24 Rolex AT Daytona- crossed the goal in fifth position.
The third round of the Series Rolex Sports Car will dispute the 19 of April in City of Mexico.

Source: Average Racing
Photos: http://www.grandamerican.com/, http://www.motorsport.com/