Oldsmobile and Wayne Taylor capture 24 Hours of Daytona.

February 3, 1996
Steve Lecomte
The Auto Channel
Motorsports Editor

DAYTONA BEACH, Fl.

They drove 24 hours, 697 laps and more than 2,480 miles, and all that separated Wayne Taylor's Oldsmobile from Max Papis' Ferrari in the end was one minute, 5.518 seconds in the closest finish ever in the 24 Hours of Daytona, the season-opening event of the sports-car racing season.

The race finished with the Oldsmobile on the same lap as the MOMO Ferrari driven by Max Papis, the former Ferrari Formula One test driver, who in a remarkable feat turned in the fastest lap of the twice round-the-clock race with seven minutes left.

After making his last pit stop and going down two laps to the leader, Papis nearly caught up to Taylor in a wild drive on the bankings of Daytona.

But it wasn't enough to hunt down Taylor and the Oldsmobile, which finished one minute, 5.518 seconds ahead of the Ferrari. The final results had the World SportsCar winner completing 697 laps and 2,481.32 miles.

The GTS-1 winner was the Oldsmobile Aurora driven on the final leg by Irv Hoerr, of Peoria, Ill. The Aurora completed 641 laps and placed seventh overall in the race, in which three types of cars race on the same track but for different trophies and prize money.

The GTS-2 winner was the Porsche 911 team with Enzo Calderari at the wheel in the final laps. The European team finished fourth overall.

Finishing Results Top 10

No. 4, WSC, Danka/Konica/Oldsmobile R&S MK-III, First in Class

Wayne Taylor, Altamonte Springs, FL

Scott Sharp, Norwalk, CT

Jim Pace, Jackson, MS

Total laps: 697

No. 30, WSC, MOMO/Yokohama/Ferrari 333SP

Gianpiero Moretti, Milan, Italy

Bob Wollek, Strasbourg, France

Didier Theys, Brussels, Belgium

Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA

Total laps: 697

No. 63, WSC, Mazda Kudzu DLM

Jim Downing, Atlanta, GA

Butch Hamlet, Martinsville, VA

Tim McAdam, Vail, CO

Barry Waddell, Evansville, IN

Total laps: 649

No. 55, GTS-2, Porsche 911, First in Class

Lilian Bryner, Montagnola, Switzerland

Enzo Calderari, Biel, Switzerland

Ulrich Richter, Essen, Germany

Total laps: 649

No. 43, WSC, Payne Racing/Oldsmobile R&S MK-III

Lee Payne, Stilwell, KS

Ross Bentley, British Columbia, Canada

Franck Freon, Philadelphia, PA

Don Kitch, Seattle, WA

Total laps: 645

No. 78, GTS-2, Porsche 911

Richard Raimist, La Jolla, CA

Mike Doolin, Sandy, UT

Cort Wagner, Los Angeles, CA

Steve Dente, San Diego, CA

Total laps: 641

No. 5, GTS-1, Oldsmobile Aurora, First in Class

Irv Hoerr, Peoria, IL

Darin Brassfield, Monte Sereno, CA

Rob Morgan, Conway, AR

Joe Pezza, Locust Valley, NY

Jon Gooding, Longwood, FL

Charles Morgan, Conway, AR

Total laps: 641

No. 6, GTS-1, Yokohama/Ford Mustang

Eduardo Dibos, Lima, Peru

Raul Orlandini, Lima, Peru

Jorge Koechlin, Huacho, Peru

Juan Dibos, Lima, Peru

Boris Said, Carlsbad, CA

Total laps: 639

No. 06, GTS-2, BMW M3

David Donohue, Malvern, PA

John Paul, Jr., West Palm Beach, FL

Javier Quiros, San Jose, Costa Rica

Bill Adams, Richmond, VA

Total laps: 638

No. 41, GTS-2, Porsche 911

Franco La Rosa, Belgium

Kurt Thiers, Belgium

Michel Neugarten, Belgium

Kurt Dujardin, Belgium

Total laps: 608