Defending Race-Winners Look To Repeat at Lime Rock’s Memorial Day Classic
LAKEVILLE, Conn. (May 25, 2011) – It was all in a day’s work when Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor drove their No. 10 SunTrust Chevrolet Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing to a dominating victory in the inaugural Memorial Day Classic for GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototypes at scenic Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., last May.
They first hit the track for practice at 9:30 a.m. and, by 4:50 p.m., the veteran Angelelli had recorded his 15th career Rolex Series win with his co-driver, then-20-year-old Taylor, earning his first win in 25 Rolex Series starts. They combined to lead a race-high 95 of 174 laps, taking advantage of brilliant strategy and lightning-fast pit work by the SunTrust team in ending the three-race win streak of the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates duo of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who were essentially out of contention on the very first turn of the very first lap after being shoved off-course and heavily damaging the front of their racecar.
Angelelli and Taylor look for a repeat performance this coming Monday on the ultra-quick 1.5-mile, seven-turn layout tucked away in the hills of northwest Connecticut. And, assuming lightning won’t strike twice, they figure to be in a dogfight this time around with the BMW of Pruett and Rojas as the checkered flag nears.
While the Ganassi duo has won 12 of the last 15 Rolex Series events dating back to March 2010, recent history has proven they can be beat as the No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley team ended their six-race win streak two weekends ago at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton. Angelelli and Taylor, who narrowly missed a podium finish at VIR, look to make it not only two wins in a row at Lime Rock on Monday, but two wins in a row overall by a team not named Ganassi.
Monday’s Memorial Day Classic is a one-day show with practice beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT, qualifying at 12:05 p.m., and the two-hour, 45-minute race at 2 p.m. with live television coverage provided by SPEED. Live radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Channel 94 beginning at 1:45 p.m. Live timing and scoring during all on-track sessions can be found at www.grand-am.com, and now on mobile devices at m.grand-am.com.