USRRC: 36th Rolex 24 at Daytona - Fact Sheet

30 January 1998

What:
   The 36th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, operated by the United
   States Road Racing Championship (USRRC).

Where: 
   Daytona International Speedway 3.56-mile road course/oval,
   Daytona Beach, Fla.

When:
   1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 31 to 1:00 p.m., Sunday, February 1,
   1998 (EST).

Cars:

CAN-AM: 
  Open-cockpit, purpose-built prototype cars 
                  
GT1, GT2 and GT3 CLASSES:
  Production-based sedan/sports cars 
                                                   


Event Sponsors:

Rolex Watch, U.S.A., Incorporated, Primary Sponsor.
First Union Bank, Associate Corporate Sponsor. 


Television:  ESPN2 (Live)

Thursday, Jan. 29
  3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.		Pole Qualifying

Friday, Jan. 30
  1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.         Second-round Qualifying

Saturday, Jan. 31
  1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.         Start of 36th Rolex 24 At Daytona

Sunday, Feb. 1
  7:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.         End of 36th Rolex 24 At Daytona


1997 Winners: 

Can-Am (1997 equivalent class was world sports car for all following record references). 

   Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Sherrills Ford, N.C.; John Schneider,
   Dallas, Texas; Rob Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y.; John Paul Jr.,
   W. Palm Beach, Fla.; Butch Leitzinger, State College, Pa.; James
   Weaver, England; Andy Wallace, England; Ford Riley & Scott Mk. III

GT1 (1997 equivalent was gts-1 for all following record references). 

   Andy Pilgrim, Cooper City, Fla; Harald Grohs, Germany; Arnd Meier,
   Germany; Jochen Rohr, Cincinnati, Ohio; Porsche 911 GT2 EVO

GT2 (1997 equivalent was gts-2 for all following record references). 

   Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Patrice Groueslard, France; Claudia
   Huertgen, Aachen, Germany; Andre Ahrle, Germany; Porsche 911 GT2

GT3 (1997 equivalent was gts-3 for all following record references). 

   Javier Quiros, San Jose, Costa Rica; Derek Hill, Santa Monica,
   Calif.; Boris Said, Carlsbad, Calif.; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach,
   Calif.; Tom Hessert, Cherry Hill, N.J.; BMW M3

1997 Pole Winners:

Can-Am/Overall - 
   Fermin Velez, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:40.456, 127.578 mph

GT1 - 
   Olivier Baretta, Dodge Viper GTS-R, 1:48.468, 118.154 mph

GT2 - 
   Ralf Kelleners, Porsche 911 GT2, 1:52.417, 114.004 mph

GT3 - 
   Dorsey Schroeder, Acura NSX, 1:56.265, 110.230 mph

Distance:

Overall - 
   2,712.720 miles (112.897 mph), Masahiro Hasemi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino,
   Toshio Suzuki, Anders Oloffson, Nissan R91 CP (1992)

Can-Am - 
   2,481.320 miles (103.32 mph), Wayne Taylor, Jim Pace, Scott Sharp,
   Oldsmobile R & S MK III (1996)

GT1 - 
   2,427.920 miles (100.976 mph), Paul Newman, Mike Brockman, Tom
   Kendall, Mark Martin, Ford Mustang (1995)

GT2 - 
   2,367.400 miles (98.567 mph), Ralf Kelleners, Patrice Groueslard,
   Claudia Huertgen, Andre Ahrle, Porsche 911 GT2 (1997)

GT3 - 
   2,328.240 miles (96.837 mph), Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari, Renato
   Mastropietro, Ulrich Richter, Porsche 911 (1995)

Race Lap:

Can-Am - Max Papis, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:41.951, 125.707 mph (1996)
GT1 -    Tommy Archer, Dodge Viper GTSR, 1:49.030, 117.545 mph (1997)
GT2 -    Ralf Kelleners, Porsche 911 GT2, 1:53.476, 112.940 mph (1997)
GT3 -    Luca Drudi, Porsche 911, 1:56.927, 109.606 mph (1997)

Qualifying:

Can-Am - Fermin Velez, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:40.456, 127.578 mph (1997)
GT1 -    Olivier Baretta, Dodge Viper GTSR, 1:48.468, 118.154 mph (1997)
GT2 -    Ralf Kelleners, Porsche 911 GT2, 1:52.417, 114.004 mph (1997)
GT3 -    Dorsey Schroeder, Acura NSX, 1:56.265, 110.230 mph (1997)

Closest Margin of Victory: 

65.518 seconds, Wayne Taylor, Scott Sharp, Jim Pace over Max Papis,
Gianpiero Moretti, Didier Theys, Bob Wollek (1996)