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Doncaster Racing - Rolex 24 Preview |
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Tuesday, 23 January 2007 |
mini-UN
Doncaster Racing will contest the Rolex 24 At Daytona with an international driver lineup. The team's full-season drivers – Dave Lacey of Toronto (born in South Africa) and Greg Wilkins of Toronto (Canada) – will be joined by Lance David Arnold of Duisburg, Germany, Johnny Mowlem of London, England, and Tom Papadopoulos of East Hills, N.Y. The five drivers will alternate stints in the No. 17 MineStar / Tim Hortons Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
"We're obviously excited about the 24 hours. We think we have a very
competitive driver lineup, to a degree a mini-United Nations," team
partner John Lacey said.
"We have a broad spectrum of accomplished drivers. We have experience
on board with David and Greg finishing third twice in the 24 Hours,
Greg finishing first in Le Mans and Johnny's great track record. We
drove with Lance and Johnny on the same team last year, and Tom's
terrific. Hopefully, we can keep it all together and do well."
The race is scheduled for Jan. 27 and 28 on the 3.56-mile Daytona
International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Fla.
AIM connection
Doncaster Racing and AIM Autosport are sharing a race shop, transporter
and paddock space this season. The teams also have two family
connections – John Lacey and his son David are partners in Doncaster,
and AIM lead driver Mark Wilkins is Doncaster driver Greg Wilkins' son.
AIM driver David Empringham was on the Doncaster Grand-Am Cup GS1
winning team in 2002, and Mark Wilkins drove his first Rolex 24 with
Doncaster, scoring a podium finish with his father and Dave Lacey.
finish first
The Doncaster Racing drivers and crew know how to pace themselves to a
strong 24-hour finish. The team has earned two class podiums in the
Rolex 24, with Dave Lacey and Greg Wilkins driving. Wilkins also has a
class win in the prestigious 24 Heures du Mans. Johnny Mowlem's results
include a GT podium at Le Mans, a Rolex 24 GT win and two Rolex 24
overall podiums.
"I'm very optimistic for the race. As usual, it's not about outright
speed, but just being there at the end and taking care of the car,"
Lacey noted.
"I'm looking forward to working with the new team. It's great to have
Johnny Mowlem back – he's definitely a world-class racing driver and
also a great part of the team. I'm also looking forward to working with
the guys at AIM. Everybody's getting along really, really well, and the
chemistry at both the tests [in December and early January] was
exceptional."
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 January 2007 )
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