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Sunday, 27th January 2008

Three-in-a-row for defending champions.

Chip Ganassi Racing has taken its place in history after becoming the first team to win the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona for three successive seasons.

After 24 hours of racing that included 95 laps under yellow flag conditions, Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Dario Franchitti and Juan Pablo Montoya came home two laps clear of the nearest rivals after a race held in difficult conditions at the ‘World Centre of Racing'.

As the race entered its 19th hour, Pruett led the race after a full-course caution caused by a spin – one of many – for team-mate Salvador Duran in the #02 machine. As racing resumed, the defending champion set about extending his advantage and soon held a lead of just short of 20 seconds of Ian James in the Michael Shank Racing Riley, who had managed to get ahead of Jimmy Vasser in the GAINSCO Pontiac at the restart.

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Indeed, the Champ Car driver found himself going the wrong was as he then lost out to Joey Hand in the Ruby Tuesday-backed Crawford Porsche and Joao Barbosa in the Brumos Racing Riley to slip to fifth.

Those five cars were the only ones still on the lead lap, but just behind there was a scare for sixth placed Justin Wilson as he span coming through turn one, although he was able to continue.

In the GT Class meanwhile, TRG led the way, with the #67 Porsche leading the sister #66 machine.

With the lead standing at just under 20secs, Pruett continued to lead the race from James, but the number of cars on the leading lap would soon be down to four when Vasser brought the GAINSCO into pit-lane and behind the wall just before the 18hrs 20mins mark with a gearbox problem. With it taking ten minutes before the car returned to action, it dropped Vasser down the order.

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