Ganassi racers extend their points lead as Dalziel finishes eighth
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in their Ganassi Riley-BMW scored their second win of the 2012 Grand-Am Rolex Series season on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, extending their points lead over Starworks’ Ryan Dalziel in his Riley-Ford, who finished two laps down in eighth place after a spin and a penalty for contact with Ricky Taylor.
Rojas took the lead just under twenty minutes into the two-hour race when he and the rest of the DP leaders returned to the track after a fuel stop made under caution.
He handed off to Pruett during another full course caution period to retrieve Paul Dalla Lana’s M3. Pruett took the lead from Ryan Dalziel early in the second hour of the race and held on for the win.
Dalziel collided with Ricky Taylor as the two racers were battling for third. He had to make two stops after the incident, including one to serve his penalty and another for repairs.
Pruett pulled well ahead of the rest of the pack, finishing 23 seconds ahead of Alex Gurney in the Gainsco Corvette DP that his co-driver Jon Fogarty had started from the pole. David Donohue and Paul Tracy finished third in their Action Express Corvette DP.
Paul Dalla Lana had a difficult race in his GT class Turner Motorsport M3. He dropped back early after pitting to replace a flat spotted tire, and made side-to-side contact with the Audi R8 of Jim Norman at about the 30 minute mark in the race. He continued, but then spun into the barrier at the entrance to pit lane, bringing out a full-course yellow. Billy Johnson got behind the wheel of the M3 after repairs were made, but the incidents had taken their toll, and the car was retired.
Robin Liddell and John Edwards won the GT class in their Camaro, finishing just ahead of Jeff Segal in the Ferrari that he shared with Emil Assentato.
With two races left in the season Pruett and Rojas are eighteen points ahead of Dalziel in Daytona Prototype drivers' standings. Dalla Lana is still second in the GT drivers’ chase, 29 points behind Segal and Assentato and four points ahead of Liddell.
The next Grand-Am race will be run at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on September 7-9, and the season will end at Lime Rock on September 28-29.—Brian S. Morgan
