Doran Lista Racing Earns Second-Straight Victory
Doran Lista Racing Earns Second-Straight Victory Mosler Takes First-Ever Professional Win MIAMI, Fla. (March 2, 2002) -- Mauro Baldi, Monaco, and Didier Theys, Belgium, teamed up in the #27 Doran Lista Racing Judd-engined Dallara to earn their second straight win in the Rolex Sports Car Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Starting from the pole in the Nextel 250, the pair equaled their finish at last month's Rolex 24 At Daytona, leading most of the way through the 104-lap, 250-mile race. "The car was perfect. Once again it is the great preparation that Kevin Doran and the entire Doran Lista team does that gives us results like this," Theys said. "The car was very reliable for me and I had no problems. I was actually hoping for more competition, but I think the #16 had a suspension problem or something like that. My job was to just be as smooth as possible and bring the car home in one piece." Great Britain's James Weaver, the defending Rolex Series driver champion, took the lead briefly in the Dyson Racing Team #16 Thetford/Norcold/Goodyear/Bosch Judd-powered Crawford, but was sidelined when a brush with a GT-class Porsche caused suspension damage that eventually sent him careening through a trackside gravel trap. He was able to get the car back to pit road for repairs, but it retired a short time after his co-driver Chris Dyson was able to record a few laps. The biggest surprise of the race was the GT class winning team of Frenchman Thierry Perrier and Joao Barbosa, Portugal. The pair piloted their Perspective Racing #24 ParisHotel.com Mosler MT900 R to victory, giving the American boutique manufacturer its first win in professional competition after a 2001 season plagued with gearbox woes. "I don't think we have to worry about gearbox problems anymore. I think now the other teams have to worry about the Mosler being on the podium. And maybe who knows... trying to win the championship," Barbosa remarked. "I have been waiting a long time to finally be on top of the podium. We proved the car is really great and really fast. Unfortunately we weren't reliable, but now we have proved that the car is reliable and very quick." After taking ninth place earlier in the day in the Indy Racing League's Grand Prix of Miami, Anthony Lazzaro, of Hickory, N.C., and his co-driver Terry Borcheller, of Phoenix, captured their third-straight victory together in the #8 Rand Racing/Risi Competizione Nissan Lola. The duo won the SportsRacing Prototype II class, in addition to finishing on the overall podium in third place for the second-straight race. "The two teams did a great job with both cars. The ninth place in the IRL was pretty good, but not as good as I would have hoped. I think we could have had a better day there. But it was a different deal over here with Grand-Am and Bill Rand Racing," commented Lazzaro. "They did an awesome job to repair the car from the damage it had in practice the other day. To come back and run the whole race and win the whole race is quite an accomplishment." After earning his first Rolex Series victory at last year's Nextel 250, 2001 GTS driver champion Chris Bingham, of Bellevue, Wash., returned to Victory Lane in his Park Place Racing #5 Magnandrive/Transgroup/Gatorz Saleen S7R. Bingham and co-driver Lewis Bakes, of New Canaan, Conn., were in a fierce battle for the GTS lead against the #31 Konrad Motorsports Saleen S7R early in the race, but the Konrad Saleen got loose as it tried to make a move for the class lead and ended up in the wall. "It was a great day. It was too bad for Konrad. We were running up on him pretty good, and something happened to him in the oval and he lost it. It's real unfortunate, but it's racing," said Bingham, the only driver to defend his 2001 Nextel 250 victory. A pair of Corvettes entered by Flis Motorsports out of Daytona Beach, Fla., earned first and second in the American GT class. Defending class champions Doug Goad, Farmington Hills, Mich., and Craig Conway, Daytona Beach, finished second in the #09 Indicom Auto Group/Microflexinc.com Corvette to the team's sister car - the #90 Maxon Auto Group Corvette - driven by Michael Ciasulli, Union, N.J., and David Haskell, Plantation, Fla. The next round of the Rolex Sports Car Series will be the Grand American 400 at California Speedway in Fontana on March 23. The Rolex Series will christen this Speedway's new road course at its second combined event with the Indy Racing League. Additional information about the Rolex Sports Car Series is available online at www.grand-am.com. -30- EDITORS NOTE: Results and photos will be available on the Grand American media-specific website at www.grand-am.com/media. Additional information may be requested from: Grand American Road Racing Association Communications Christie Hyde (386) 681-4182; email: CHyde@grand-am.com Rolex Sports Car Series Nextel 250 Results - March 2, 2002 MIAMI, Fla. (March 2, 2002) - Final race results from the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Nextel 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with finish position, (car number), drivers and hometowns, class, car and laps completed. Race Stats - time of race: 2:19:07.881, average speed: 107.639 mph, victory margin: two laps. 1. (27) Mauro Baldi, Monaco; Didier Theys, Scottsdale, Ariz., SRP, Doran Lista Racing Judd Dallara, 104. 2. (37) Jon Field, Dublin, Ohio; Joel Field, Dublin, Ohio, SRP, Intersport Racing Judd Lola, 102. 3. (8) Terry Borcheller, Phoenix, Ariz.; Anthony Lazzaro, Hickory, N.C.; William Rand, Plano, Texas, SRPII, Rand Racing/ Risi Competizione Nissan Lola, 100. 4. (24) Thierry Perrier, France; Michel Neugarten, Monaco; Joao Barbosa, Riviera Beach, Fla., GT, Perspective Racing Mosler MT900R, 95. 5. (33) Cort Wagner, Los Angeles, Calif.; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, Calif., GT, Scuderia Ferrari of Washington Ferrari 360GT, 95. 6. (5) Chris Bingham, Bellevue, Wash.; Lewis Bakes, New Canaan, Conn., GTS, Park Place Racing Saleen S7R, 94. 7. (35) Randy Pobst, Melbourne, Fla.; Kim Hiskey, Bellevue, Wash., GT, Zip Racing Porsche GT3 R, 94. 8. (90) Michael Ciasulli, Union, N.J.; David Haskell, Plantation, Fla., AGT, Flis Motorsports Corvette, 94. 9. (66) Kevin Buckler, Sonoma, Calif.; Larry Schumacher, Cincinnatti, Ohio, GT, The Racers Group Porsche GT3 R, 94. 10. (09) Doug Goad, Farmington Hills, Mich.; Craig Conway, Daytona Beach, Fla., AGT, Flis Motorsports Corvette, 94. 11. (28) Ian James, Kissimmee, Fla.; Clint Field, Dublin, Ohio; Allan Ziegelman, Boca Raton, Fla., SRP, Blackforest Motorsports Ford R&S, 93. 12. (70) Sylvain Tremblay, Sunrise, Fla.; Selby Wellman, St. Petersburg, Fla., GT, SpeedSource Porsche GT3 R, 93. 13. (75) Jay Policastro, Greesnburg, Pa.; Joe Policastro, Greensburg, Pa., GT, Classic Motorsports/ Gunnar Racing Porsche GT3 R, 92. 14. (19) Kerry Hitt, Camp Hill, Pa.; James Briody, Somerdale, N.J., AGT, ACP Motorsports Corvette, 91. 15. (82) Dick Greer, Columbus, Ohio; Jack Willes, Cornelius, N.C., AGT, Dick Greer Racing - Wendy's Corvette, 91. 16. (46) Stephen Richards, Locust Valley, N.Y.; Andrew Richards, Laguna Niguel, Calif.; Rob Morgan, Little Rock, Ark., AGT, Morgan Dollar Motorsports Corvette, 90. 17. (6) Buddy Rice, Phoenix, Ariz.; John Macaluso, Winter Haven, Fla., SRP, Miracle Motorsports Ford R&S, 90. 18. (9) Chris Mitchum, Herndon, Va.; Terry Earwood, Deland, Fla.; Bryan Dobyns, Manassas, Va., GT, Marcus Motorsports BMW M3, 88. 19. (99) David Murry, Braselton, Ga.; Keith Alexander, New York, N.Y., GT, Cirtek Motorsport Porsche GT3 R, 87. 20. (42) Tommy Byrne, Ormond Beach, Fla.; Richard Millman, McLean, Va., GTS, Team Greeneman Porsche GT3 R, 84. 21. (13) Daniel Urrutia, Boca Raton, Fla.; Luis Sereix, Miramar, Fla., AGT, Ferrea Racing/ Hi-Tech Motorsports Corvette, 84. 22. (07) Darren Law, Phoenix, Ariz.; Andy Lally, Long Island, N.Y.; Armando Trentini, Houston, Texas, SRPII, G&W Motorsports BMW Picchio, 80. 23. (04) Cougar Jacobsen, Deland, Fla.; Paco Orti, Spain, GT, Marcos Racing USA Marcos Mantis, 65. 24. (03) Dino Steiner, Germany; Cor Euser, Netherlands, GT, Marcos Racing USA Marcos Mantis, 62. 25. (34) Steven Ivankovich, Chicago, Ill.; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, Va., GT, ZIP Racing Porsche GT3 R, 58. 26. (18) Michael Cohen, Hollywood, Fla.; Jon (Chevy) Leavy, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., AGT, Murrays Speed & Custom Code 18 Racing Chevrolet Camaro, 52. 27. (16) James Weaver, Great Britain; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y., SRP, Dyson Racing Team Judd Crawford, 47. 28. (98) Wally Castro, Puerto Rico; Juan Ferrer, Puerto Rico; Manuel Villa, Puerto Rico, AGT, Ajititi Racing Mustang, 25. 29. (56) George Collazo, Miami, Fla.; Rodney Alminda, Miami, Fla., AGT, Hi Tech Motorsports Pontiac Grand Prix, 24. 30. (40) Carlos DeQuesada, Miami, Fla.; Scott Neuman, Miami, Fla.; Scooter Gabel, Tampa, Fla., GT, Alegra Motorsports/ 901 Shop BMW M3, 19. 31. (25) Mandy Gonzalez, Puerto Rico; Julio Tadeo, Miami, Fla., AGT, Diman Racing Systems Corvette, 17. 32. (31) Franz Konrad, Austria; Earl Goddard, Great Britain, GTS, Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7R, 9. 33. (54) Ron Atapatu, Boca Raton, Fla.; Boris Said, San Marcos, Calif., GT, Bell Motorsports BMW M3, 7. 34. (55) Bruce Dewey, Ft. Myers, Fla.; Gary Smith, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Ron Grimm, Melbourne, Fla., AGT, Dewey Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, 5.