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Rolex 24: Michelin leading all three classes at Three-Hour mark at Daytona

5 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

(Daytona Beach, Fla.) - Michelin cars were leading all three categories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona after the initial three of 24 hours. The Michelin-shod Ferrari 333SP driven by Didier Theys, Fredy Leinhard, Mauro Baldi and Ross Bentley moved up from the sixth starting position into the overall lead just 48 minutes into the race. The Michelin Ferrari held a 32-second lead over the Ford Lola of Franz Konrad, Jan Lammers and Sascha Maasen at the three-hour mark.

In the GTO category, the Michelin-shod Dodge Viper driven by Olivier Beretta, Karl Wendlinger and Dominique Dupuy was leading the Chevrolet Corvette of Justin Bell, Ron Fellows and Chris Kneifel.

The Porsche GT3 R fitted with Michelin Pilot radials driven by Patrick Huisman, Uwe Alzen, Duncan Huisman and Darren Law was leading the GTU category at the three-hour mark.

"I could not ask for anything better," said Theys, who won the Daytona 24-hour race in 1998. "The track is very slippery due to the cold track surface and the fact there is some sand blowing across the track. But I think we are handling the conditions better than the others so far."

"The cold weather and sandy track are the reasons that we test and come prepared for whatever conditions are thrown our way," said Herb Johnson, Director of Motorsports, Michelin North America. "We know that we can't win the race in the first three hours, but we are encouraged and cautiously optimistic at this point."

Text Provided by Michelin

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