34 Porsches Entered for The Rolex 24 Endurance Race at Daytona

01/31/96

Motorsports News International has reported that 34 of the 81 car field at the Rolex 24 IMSA race will be Porsches 911s. The Rolex 24 is scheduled to be run on February 3-4 at the Daytona International Speedway.

Porsches have won 19 previous overall victories in Daytona's 24-hour race, but new rules that prohibit the use of Porsche's turbocharged engine in the event's World Sports Car category will make it difficult for Porsche to defend last year's overall win. Porsche will be competing for class victories in the Exxon GTS-1 and GTS-2 categories.

Teams and drivers vying for the title in the GTS-1 category include Rohr motorsports with two cars driven by Haywood, O'Steen, Murry, Goodyear, the Rohr family, Schurg and Rosenblad. Rohr driver Hurley Haywood has driven to 5 overall wins in the Daytona 24 hour race, and 3 overall titles in the 24 Hours of LeMans. He was the first driver to win the 24 hour races at Daytona and LeMans in the same year (1977). North America's largest Porsche dealer, Champion Porsche of Pompano Beach has entered another two car team with drivers Stuck, Bell, Boutsen, Schroeder, Fergus and Adam. Defending IMSA GTS-2 Champion Jorge Trejos will be driving with Martin Snow and veteran Porsche competitor Dennis Aase.

The GTS-2 class contenders include a Brumos Porsche team driving a mid-engined 911--their drivers are Tom Hessert (former IMSA Champion), Charles Slater (IMSA owner) and Philip Collin. Defending Daytona GTS-2 champions Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari, and Ulrich Richter will be joined by Ferdinand de Lesseps to challenge the Brumos team.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona will be covered extensively by ESPN2. The cable sports network will televise qualifying on February 1-2, and offer nine and one-half hours live race coverage in two segments, February 3-4. Check local listings for exact times.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel