SAMAX - Watkins Glen 6h

The new SAMAX team took the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class by storm this
week, but were forced to withdraw from Sunday's six-hour race at Watkins
Glen (N.Y.) International when a brake rotor failed during Saturday
qualifying. The No. 71 Porsche 911 GT3 RS posted the fastest GT practice
times on both Friday and Saturday, in the hands of Ryan Dalziel of
Windermere, Fla.; Mark Greenberg of Boston and Bryan Sellers of Dayton,
Ohio.

 

Dalziel was aiming for the class pole position when the rotor failed,
collapsing the left-front suspension of the car and zapping it into a tire
barrier.

 

"The rotor broke, torqued the caliper up into the wheel and just tore the
whole suspension apart," team owner Peter Baron said. "When we heard the car
had hit the wall, we knew it had to be some sort of mechanical failure
because Ryan has yet to put a tire off in all the driving he's done for us,
and his lap times have been absolutely stunning. It's unbelievable, because
his lead on that lap was the pole by a second, maybe a second and a half."

 

The No. 71 Porsche will miss the next series race, at Daytona International
Raceway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on June 30, but will return to race at
Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on July 31. The Daytona event
is a compressed schedule, with practice, qualifying and race in one day.

 

"We're not running for [championship] points, so it's not worth messing with
the program to flog the car together just to make a one-day race," Baron
explained. "With a program that's dedicated to podiums and wins versus
championship points, it's better to skip a race and be sure we have a better
car for our next outing."