News
Race Report: Brumos Porsche 250
While every single race in the Grand-Am Rolex Series season is important, the pressure was even more intense than usual for Brumos Racing this week. We were racing at our home track of Daytona, in the race that bears our name, in front of a record number of fans who turned out to take part in our 26h Brumos Boosters Brigade. Coming off the last race with both cars in the top five, our drivers were determined to put on a good show for the Brumos extended family, and they did not disappoint. A full course caution was called with just three laps to go following a dramatic GT car accident, and it was feared the race would end under yellow. However, the track was cleared with just one lap to go, resulting in a thrilling finish which placed both Brumos cars in the top five for the second consecutive race.
In the hectic pace of the one day event, we fit in multiple practice sessions and qualifying prior to the evening start time, with #58 taking the 5th spot on the starting grid, while #59 was in 16th place. David Donohue and J.C. France played their customary roles, qualifying and starting the race for our #58 and #59 cars. The 70 lap race proceeded all the way through lap 39 before the first of what would be four full course cautions occurred.
The #58 car faced a challenging day, as they were forced to make an unscheduled stop under green to fix a headlight problem. As the repair would make for a lengthier than normal stop, a driver change to Darren Law was made at that time. Later in the race, braking problems occurred, affecting Law’s ability to overtake the race leaders. Despite the difficulties, he held on to finish in 5th. “This was just really a difficult race for us”, he said. “We had the problems with the headlights and had to bring the car in, and then I just had no brakes. Near the end I got stuck in traffic and wasn’t able to regain the position I would have liked. Although we deserved a higher finish, I’m certainly happy our team had two top five results.”
J. C. France turned in one of his strongest performances this season, moving the car up a full ten positions before handing it over to Joao Barbosa. Barbosa advanced steadily, and was up to 5th place when the final yellow was called. When the green flag flew for the final lap, the two Brumos teammates raced side by side, as Barbosa got by Law to take #59’s best finish since the Rolex 24 in 2007. Barbosa said, “We had a great race, it was our season’s best finish. We are improving with each race - last race we were 5th, now we are 4th - so the next time we should be on the podium! J.C. had a really strong run, and gave me the car in great shape. We are very pleased with our 4th place result.”
The Brumos 250 results now make four consecutive top five finishes for our #58 car. Our #59 car can boast four consecutive top tens, with top five finishes in the last two races. The Daytona finish also earned Speed TV’s “Improve Your Position” Award for #59, as they advanced 12 places from start to finish. It also enabled #59 to retain 6th place in Team Standings, while #58 moved up into 7th place. The competition is intense, as only four points now separate 4th and 6th position in the standings. Our team has quite a list of accomplishments to celebrate from our signature Daytona race and the 2008 season. As we travel next to Birmingham and Barber Motorsports Park, we are intent on adding a victory to that growing list.
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