Terry Borcheller - Rolex 24

early out

 

Terry Borcheller got less track time than he expected when his car retired
from the 2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona, held in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Feb. 5
and 6. After winning the event last year, the early race withdrawal was
especially frustrating.

 

Borcheller, of Gainesville, Ga., qualified the No. 54 Bell Motorsports /
Feeds the Need Pontiac-powered Doran JE4 15th on the 62-car grid with a lap
time of one minute 49.366 seconds on the 3.56-mile Daytona International
Speedway infield road course.

 

"The car wasn't quite right and I wasn't quite right, either," he reported.
"In the lap that I was going for my fast time, I ended up having to abort
because of a black flag that was caused by a car stopped on track."

 

Borcheller started the race and had to pit on the pace lap to correct a
brake problem. Quick teamwork got him back on track without losing a lap and
the crew completed the repair on a subsequent pitstop. Borcheller dropped to
the back of the field, but he and his co-drivers – Christian Fittipaldi of
Biscayne Bay, Fla., Ralf Kelleners of Germany and Paul Tracy of Las Vegas –
regained 11th place before an engine problem forced them out after 11 hours
48 minutes of the 24-hour race.

 

"I would like to thank the team and all the drivers for enduring the race,
because it was a challenge for everybody," Borcheller said. "We had some
brake issues early on, we had some tire issues and a lot of the changes that
we made to the car over the winter were still being developed, so we didn't
have a handle on it."

 

Saleen test

 

Prior to the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Borcheller drove the No. 63 ACEMCO
Motorsports Saleen S7R in an American Le Mans Series test at Sebring
International Raceway in Sebring, Fla. He reported, "The test with the
Saleen was very, very positive with the new Michelin tires. I'm really
looking forward to that program."