WSC in Rolex 24 at Daytona: Record Finish for Doyle Racing

02/05/96

Motorsports News International reported that Doyle Racing's wining team of Wayne Taylor, Scott Sharp, and Jim Pace set a record at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where they finished with the slimmest margin of victory in race history. The Doyle Team drove their Oldsmobile R&S Mk III 697 laps in the 24 hour race, averaging 103.324 mph; they came in only 64.099 seconds ahead of the MOMO Corse Ferrari 333 SP. The Doyle Racing Team victory marked the first time in three years of official competition that a World SportsCar had scored an overall victory in the Rolex 24.

MOMO's Max Papis, the challenger to Doyle Team's lead in the final minutes of the race, established the race lap record in his Ferrari just six laps before the race ended. The contest between The Doyle and MOMO teams started even before the race, when MOMO driver Didier Theys turned a lap that qualified MOMO for the pole position (1:41.224 for average speed of 126.610). Taylor qualified the Doyle team for second position in the front row at just .3 seconds behind. The teams swapped leads several times during the 24 hours, with Doyle leading for final four hours and five minutes.

The Rolex 24 was the inaugural event for Speedweeks 96 and it opened the season for the International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) Exxon World SportsCar and Supreme GT Series.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel