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Hot
News & Press from Doran Racing
Kevin
Doran's Rolex 24 Success
Expands to Winning Car
Manufacturer for '04
LEBANON, Ohio, Feb. 17 - In
his 20 years participating
in the Rolex 24 at
Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Kevin Doran
has been in victory lane as a
crew chief (1986 and 1987), a team member (1989), a
team manager (1998 and
2002) and a car owner (1998 and 2002). On Feb.
1 he added one more winning role
to his resume: that of the winning car manufacturer.
A DORAN JE4 that he
designed and built through one of his companies, Doran
Designs, won the race
overall when the Bell Motorsports DORAN JE4 Pontiac
took the checkered flag. What's
more, another DORAN JE4 for which Doran is the owner
and team manager, the
Doran-Lista DORAN JE4 Lexus, finished second in the
Daytona Prototype class, the
top class of the Grand American Road Racing Association.
A third DORAN JE4 entered by Michael Shank Racing made
its maiden event in
this year's Rolex 24 and finished fourth in class.
A fourth DORAN JE4 owned by
G&W Motorsports is scheduled to debut at the
next race, which will be held Feb.
28 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.
The car count should continue to grow because it's
crystal-clear that the
DORAN JE4 is the most successful chassis to date in
the Daytona Prototype class.
Even though it was outnumbered three to one or two
to one at most of the races
last year, the marque still finished just 16 points
behind Fabcar in the 2003
manufacturer standings. And it was a DORAN
JE4 that took the division's top
driver (Terry Borcheller) and the top team (Bell Motorsports)
to their
respective championships last year.
Daytona Prototype team owners who want to do well in
future Rolex 24s should
also note that a DORAN JE4 has won every race held
at Daytona since the
class's inception except for the inaugural event last
year, and the chassis has
finished first and second in the top class in the last
two races held there.
Kevin Doran's unqualified success as a car manufacturer
isn't surprising to
anyone who knows him. Even before he started
his own companies, he had some 19
poles and 23 victories in IMSA working as crew chief
for the late Al Holbert.
Since he formed his own companies, Doran Racing's percentage
of top-10
finishes is over 80 percent; its percentage of top-five
finishes is over 60 percent
and its winning percentage is some 25 percent.
Doran-Lista Racing's lead driver, Didier Theys, won
the driver's championship
in 2002 in Grand American's top class that year, while
Doran-Lista Racing
finished second in the team standings for the third
consecutive year.
In addition, the Doran Racing-prepared MOMO Ferrari
team was the first and
only team in U.S. history to win the 24 Hours at Daytona,
the 12 Hours of
Sebring and the Watkins Glen Six-Hour race in the same
year (1998).
The DORAN JE4 isn't the only car that Kevin Doran has
designed and built; his
Sports 2000 car won a SCCA national championship in
1995 and is still going
strong today.
Kevin Doran's Rolex 24 highlights:
1986: Winning crew chief of Lowenbrau Special Porsche
962 driven by Al
Holbert, Derek Bell and Al Unser Jr.
1987: Winning crew chief of Lowenbrau Special Porsche
962 team with drivers
Al Holbert, Derek Bell, Chip Robinson and Al Unser
Jr.
1989: Team member of the winning two-car Jim Busby
Porsche 962 entry; the car
driven by Bob Wollek, Derek Bell and John Andretti
won, while Mario and
Michael Andretti drove the other one.
1996: Car owner and team manager of the MOMO Ferrari
which won the pole and
finished second overall; drivers were Gianpiero Moretti,
Bob Wollek, Didier
Theys and Max Papis.
1998: Winning car owner and team manager of
the MOMO Ferrari; drivers were
Gianpiero Moretti, Arie Luyendyk, Mauro Baldi and
Didier Theys. (Qualified
second.)
1999: Finished third as an entrant with a Ferrari driven
by Max Papis, Stefan
Johansson, Jimmy Vasser and Jim Matthews.
2002: Winning car owner and team manager with the
Doran-Lista Dallara Judd.
Drivers were Didier Theys, Fredy Lienhard Sr., Mauro
Baldi and Max Papis.
(Also won the pole.)
2003: DORAN JE4 makes its debut as a Bell Motorsports
entry; drivers are
Terry Borcheller, who would go on to win the drivers'
championship in it that
year; Forest Barber, Didier Theys and Christian Fittipaldi. Car
qualifies sixth
but does not finish due to engine problems.
2004: Winning car manufacturer with his DORAN JE4s;
finished first overall
(Bell Motorsports; drivers: Terry Borcheller, Forest
Barber, Andy Pilgrim and
Christian Fittipaldi) and second in the Daytona Prototype
class and fourth
overall (Doran-Lista Racing; drivers: Didier Theys,
Fredy Lienhard Sr., Jan Lammers
and Marc Goossens). Car owner and team manager
of the latter team too.
Doran Enterprises, Doran Racing and Doran Designs are
located at 2050
McKinley Blvd., Lebanon, Ohio 45036; tel.: (513)
336-0819. Its
Web site is located
at www.doranracing.com .
For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: [email protected] |
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