50 Years of Endurance Racing: THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONAY ARL EYFERT B K S The race cars have gotten faster and the technology an order of magnitude more advanced, but after half a century of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, two things haven’t changed: Today’s drivers are just as tough and the race is as grueling as ever. Take it from us. Bobbitt Kevin Photo: ndianapolis celebrated the 100th signal from the flagman indicating that chicane in the second half of the back anniversary of the 500 last year. the three-hour race was about to end, straight further slows the cars before the This year it was time for Day- he employed gravity to allow the crip- Turn 12 banking and completes the mod- tona to mark the 50th anniver- pled car to coast across the finish line ifications to the basic tri-oval design. The sary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, for the win. Gurney’s son Alex compet- added road course curves and chicane ex- and MOTOR was lucky enough to ed this year and was the sentimental fa- tend the lap distance to 3.81 miles. attend the event. While this year’s race vorite to win the race. While the 24 Hours of LeMans is held Ifeatured just two classes, the inaugural The race was lengthened to 2000 near the summer solstice, the winter 1962 version (called the Daytona Conti- kilometers two years after the 1962 date of the Daytona endurance race nental) had 10, with Dan Gurney’s Lo- event. Although we’re marking its 50th means a larger percentage of the race is tus-Climax 19B taking the overall win. anniversary, the race wasn’t extended to run at night. The track’s lighting system The other nine classes were won by two the full 24 hours until the 1966 event. is reduced from its maximum output to Ferraris, three Porsches, a Jaguar, an Al- Fierce battles among Ford, Ferrari, force the drivers to rely on their head- fa-Romeo, a Chevrolet Corvette and Jim Porsche and the Chevrolet-powered lights. Each driver must be able to make Hall’s Chaparral. Fifty cars lined up for Chaparrals characterized the latter part hundreds of laps around the track with- the start of that race, with several other of the first 10 years of the race. Many of out mistakes, under constantly changing well-known names such as Phil Hill, Stir- the same manufacturers, plus several conditions—daylight or darkness, heat or ling Moss, Jim Clark, Innes Ireland, Jo others, competed in this year’s golden cold and clean or dirty track conditions, Bonnier, Briggs Cunningham, Roger anniversary race. as well as a mix of nearly 60 different cars Penske, A.J. Foyt and “Fireball” Roberts The 24-hour race utilizes nearly all of of vastly different speed capabilities. Jr. also in the field. Daytona’s iconic 2.5-mile tri-oval, al- Although this is an endurance race, it Gurney’s engine threw a rod while he ready very familiar to NASCAR fans. A probably would be impossible for one held a substantial lead near the end of sharp left turn near the end of the front driver to complete the entire 24 hours the race. He made the canny decision straight transfers the cars to an infield without assistance. In practice, each car to park the car at the top of front road course before the banking, where has several different drivers (most use straight’s banking, just short of the they must negotiate several turns before four). This helps to mitigate driver fa- start/finish line. When he received the returning to the banking. A “bus stop” tigue, but makes for some interesting 26 March 2012 8 the track and vastly faster prototypes in- 9 to the mix and things can get very inter- esting for the drivers (and race fans). Bus Stop 5 Contest Winner 7 Last year, MOTOR partnered with 4 LIQUI MOLY to conduct the LIQUI International 3 MOLY Pit Crew Sweepstakes. One Horseshoe MOTOR reader was selected at random 2 6 to attend this year’s Rolex 24 at Day- 1 tona. As we announced in our Decem- ber 2011 issue, Rod Reisdorf, owner of Mr. Best Wrench in Grand Island, NY, was selected to join the LIQUI MOLY- sponsored pit crew in Daytona. Illustration: Creative Commons & Harold A. Perry Creative Illustration: The Daytona tri-oval is reconfigured for the 24-hour race, with an infield road Rod is an avid race fan and partici- course and chicane section added. This slows the overall speed of the cars con- pant, with memberships in the SCCA, siderably and greatly increases the complexity of the course. The infield section BMWCCA and Corvettes of Buffalo car features several additional viewing areas for fans. clubs. He autocrosses an ’83 Camaro and takes to the Watkins Glen and Mosport challenges on the track. Teams may ate a pass on any of the other cars on circuits for high-performance track driv - substitute drivers at their discretion, so the track. About the time a driver be- ing events. He also has been a part own- competitors often are not certain who comes comfortable with the other driv- er of a late-model stock car that was they’re interacting with out on the track. ers in his vicinity, driver changes may campaigned at local short tracks, so he Different drivers negotiate the track in take place and the whole process begins has lots of hands-on racecar experience. slightly different ways, so it may take again. Throw a darkened track, a grow- He arrived in Daytona eager to help the several laps to determine how to negoti- ing accumulation of rubber debris on LIQUI MOLY pit crew any way he could. March 2012 27 THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA Photos: Karl Seyfert Karl Photos: When Rod Reisdorf and I arrived in the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler/Mitchum Motorsports garage area (left photo), the en- tire front bodywork, the wheels and some of the rear bodywork still needed to be reinstalled. The team was completing some last-minute adjustments and seemed relatively unconcerned about the amount of time that remained before the start of the race. At right, Rod works on the Porsche’s rear bumper cover prior to the race, with a backup ready close by. LIQUI MOLY is the chief sponsor of number of top teams over the past 15 Rileys. One Ford Dallara and one Ford Team Engstler in Germany. Team En- years. Franz Engstler was partnered in Lola also were entered in the DP class. gstler, headed by team owner and driver the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler/Mit- Daytona Prototypes have competed Franz Engstler, competes with a BMW chum Motorsports Porsche GT3 with at Daytona since 2003. Grand American in the World Touring Car Championship experienced sports car drivers David Road Racing Association, the organizing (WTCC), and the original plan was for Murry and Gunter Schaldach, and body, decided at that time that it was the team to bring its car to the States to young phenom Jade Buford. Unlike En- necessary to lower the overall cost of compete at Daytona. However, the gstler, all three had previous experience competition (and possibly the speed) in Team Engstler car in its WTCC configu- in the Daytona 24-hour race. the top class. To do this, DP cars were ration did not meet the GT class require- restricted to closed-cockpit chassis con- ments for Daytona, and would have had The Cars structed with tube frames, instead of to undergo significant modifications to Just two classes competed in the 2012 higher cost composites. To further re- comply. The decision was made to join race—Daytona Prototype (DP) and GT. strict costs, the series regulated which forces with an American team and enter The DP class was dominated by cars companies could provide chassis and a Porsche 911 GT3 instead. LIQUI manufactured by chassis builder Riley. which manufacturers could provide MOLY had previously sponsored a These included Ford Rileys and BMW engines. Engines had to be based on Porsche 935 Turbo to an road-legal production units overall win of the 1980 Day- from a major manufacturer. tona 24-hour race, so the At the same time, major man- switch from BMW to Porsche ufacturers were not allowed was interpreted as a good to run Daytona Prototype omen rather than a setback. teams. LIQUI MOLY and Team Many sports car racing fans Engstler partnered with have expressed disdain for Mitchum Motorsports for the the too-similar appearance Rolex 24 at Daytona effort. of the DP cars that resulted Mitchum was already a com- from these rule changes. petitor in the Grand Ameri- Only a limited number of can Road Racing Association manufacturers are allowed (Grand-Am) series and team to pro vide chassis for the principal Chris Mitchum class and one chassis manu- brings experience from both The team kept a stockpile of key replacement parts in the facturer (Riley) has domi- sides of the pit wall as a for- garage area, several of which were needed during the nated, with teams selecting mer professional driver, course of the race. Radiator assemblies are visible in the different engine suppliers. coach, crew chief, team man- foreground and a complete set of front bodywork sits on From the outside, it’s diffi- ager and consultant for a the ground near team owner Chris Mitchum. cult for a race fan to tell the 28 March 2012 THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA difference between a Ford Riley and a BMW Riley, for example.