The Ganassi team and drivers close in on the championship
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in their Ganassi Riley-BMW Daytona Prototype finished second in the two-hour Grand-Am Rolex Series race on the short course at Watkins Glen on Saturday night. The overall win went to Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli in the SunTrust Dallara-Chevrolet.
Taylor, who had started from the pole for the sixth consecutive time, took the lead at the start and motored away from second-place starter Rojas, who soon fell to third. The Ganassi-Riley had handling problems; during his stint, Rojas reported that the car was understeering, and later he indicated that there had been a problem with brake bias early in the race. The car looked strong near the end of the race; Pruett closed on Angelelli, but was never able to make the pass. Afterward, he said, "We were knocking on the back door several times, but we just didn't have enough to get around."
Pruett and Rojas have a 26 point lead with two races remaining in the season. On paper, Taylor and Angelelli can catch them, but the odds are very slim. (Text continues after photo)
The AIM Autosport Riley-BMW returned to competition at Watkins Glen after missing several races. The car, driven by Burt Frisselle and Mark Wilkins, led the race for 21 laps, and finished fourth.
The Turner Motorsport M3 of Paul Dalla Lana/Bill Auberlen finished fifth in the GT class. The other Turner M3, driven by Joey Hand and Michael Marsal, finished seventeenth. The class win went to the TRG Porsche of Spencer Pumpelly/Steven Bertheau. Camaro racers Bill Lester and Jordan Taylor, who finished second in class at Watkins Glen, took the lead in GT drivers’ points. Dalla Lana remains ninth in the standings.
The two races remaining in the 2011 Rolex Series are the Montreal 200 on August 20 and the season finale at Mid-Ohio on September 17.—Brian S. Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
