Doran Racing Rolex 24 Blog
Hour 1: Hi! Linda here. Please don't judge this too harshly; it's just a
blog. I'll do the best I can for as long as I can, but last year I took a nose
dive onto my computer around 7 a.m. so please cut me a break if I do that
again. I've been covering this race for quite a few years and that was the first
time I didn't stay up for the entire 24 hours, but I'm not promising anything!
We did the autograph session this morning and had all the pre-race hoopla,
which I really enjoy.
We qualified 16th this year. The series rules had all the teams choose
their starting tires quite a bit before the race, and with rain all over the radar
screen we chose rain tires. The rain held off, so we were one of the teams
that pitted right away to put slicks on. That dropped Memo Gidley to 34th
place on lap one. He was back up to 20th by lap four, 15th by lap 22, and 13th at
the Hour 1 mark on lap 30.
My printer isn't working for some unknown reason, but that's not the biggest
problem I'm having in the press room. The Grand-Am Web site is down, and it's
really hard to read the monitors in here. Eventually they gave us a link for
the live timing and scoring, so here it is:
http://laptrax.racersites-cluster.com/OrbitsServer/jsp/ViewRace.jsp?sid=85
Hour 2: Less than 10 minutes after the Hour 1 mark, Memo was in the top 10
by lap 35. He was fourth on lap 51 with pitstops, and then he led laps 51 and
52! Then we pitted for four tires and fuel, and Memo got out and Fabrizio
Gollin got in the car. Unfortunately there was a problem with the rear
drivetrain, and we had to go to the garage area to get it fixed. The Doran Racing crew
did their usual outstanding job and had the problem fixed in about a half
hour. Fabrizio sat in the car the whole time they were working on it, and now
he's on the track.
Memo Gidley: "The way the series rules are we had to start behind the GT cars
after we changed tires, so it was not ideal for sure. It took a lap or two
to get through all the GT cars, but we did. I just tried to go easy on the car
and be very consistent, because we want to run all day long.
"The track conditions are OK, but at the start it was real dirty in the Bus
Stop. Traffic is pretty decent though. The car was working great when I was
in it; the Doran Racing Kodak team does a great job."
Officially at the Hour 2 mark Fabrizio was 50th, seven laps down, as we've
completed 53 laps to the leader's 60. The leader is the 02.
I think the driver order is Memo, Fabrizio, Brad Jaeger and then Gabriele
Gardel, but I could be wrong.
Hour 3: At the Three Hour mark the Doran team is in 49th place. We've
completed 79 laps to the leader's 90, so we're 11 laps down. The overall leader is
the 61 car.
Hour 4: At the four-hour mark the Kodak No. 77 DP is in 50th overall,
completing 107 laps to the overall leader's 123.
The Kodak No. 77 DP had a flat right-rear tire sometime while Fabrizio Gollin
was behind the wheel for his first double stint. It tore up the bodywork,
but the car is still running. I think it happened around 5:45 p.m., which would
be about 15 minutes after the four-hour mark.
At the 4-hour, 31-minute mark, lap 138, Brad Jaeger is in the car. It's in
47th place overall, 22nd in DP, 16 laps down with 122 laps completed.
Even though we're only 4 hours and 30 minutes into this race, there have been
12 overall leaders in this race so far! Last year there were only nine
leaders in the whole 24 hours!
Hour 5: At the five-hour mark, the Kodak No. 77 is in 42nd place overall and
20th in DP. It's completed 137 laps to the leader's 153. Brad Jaeger is
driving.
At lap 158, around 6:45 p.m. or a little past the five-hour mark, it has
started to rain pretty hard.
Hour 6: At the six-hour mark, the Doran Kodak No. 77 is in 38th place overall
and 19th in DP. Brad Jaeger is driving and Gabriele Gardel is on deck. The
car has done 163 laps to the overall leaders' 180 laps, so it's 17 laps down.
The overall leader is Joey Hand in the Alex Job Racing Crawford Porsche. Colin
Braun is second overall in the AIM Ford.
Fourteen different drivers have led this race so far, and our Memo Gidley was
one of them.
Hour 7: At Hour 7 Gabriele Gardel is in the Kodak No. 77 DP. It's in 33rd
position overall, still 19th in DP. It's done 194 laps to the overall leader's
212 laps. The overall leader is the Alex Job Racing 23 of Bill Auberlen, Joey
Hand, Patrick Long and Andy Wallace.
The top 17 Daytona Prototypes are running first through 17th overall.
Directly ahead of us in class is the Vision Racing 03 of John Andretti, Ed
Carpenter, A.J. Foyt IV, Vitor Meira and Tony George, which is 29th overall and 18th in
class with 197 laps completed.
Apparently we've had one flat (Fabrizio Gollin) and two other tire issues.
Brad Jaeger was driving for one of the issues and Gabriele Gardel was driving
for the second one.
More trouble. With 7:35:58 gone on the overall leader's lap 229, Gabriele
brought out a full-course caution when he spun as he lost a right-rear wheel in
the west horseshoe. I'm pretty sure he didn't hit anything. The car came in to
the garage on the hook. The wheel was replaced and the car examined, and Gabri
ele was back on his way.
Hour 8: At Hour 8 Gabriele Gardel is in 37th overall and 19th in the DP class
with 207 laps complete to the leader's 237 laps. Memo gets in around the 8
hour 30 minute mark. We didn't lose a position in DP despite bringing out that
yellow.
Hour 9: Memo is in 36th overall and 19th in DP. The Kodak car has done 233
laps to the overall leader's 265.
Hour 10: There are reports that Gabriele was turned around by another car
before that spin and subsequent lost wheel. I haven't seen him to ask him, so I
don't know. I do know that he got a stop-and-go penalty for jumping a restart
and served it.
Also, around the 9 hour and 25 minute mark Memo went to the garage for awhile
after “a stick or something got caught somewhere and jammed up the brakes.”
Memo is in 44th overall and 18th in DP at the 10-hour mark. The Kodak car
has completed 242 laps. It's 50 laps down to the overall leader, Jon Fogarty in
the Gainsco 99.
Didier Theys, one of Doran Racing's most famous drivers, isn't participating
in the race this year but he was on the grounds as part of his duties as the
driving experience director of World Class Driving of Newark, Del. The company
organizes driving experiences with five different exotic cars all over the
country and it has a display in the infield; more info can be found on its Web
site at worldclassdriving.com.
Theys visited with all his Doran Racing friends before and during the race.
He will debut a brand-new Porsche RS Spyder for Horag Racing in the Mobil 1
Twelve Hours of Sebring in March with co-drivers Fredy Lienhard and Jan Lammers
before concentrating on the Le Mans Series overseas with that car the rest of
the year.
Two minutes before the 11-hour mark Memo pits in the 77 for regular service
under a yellow caused by Scott Dixon stopping in the west horseshoe.
Hour 11: The Kodak 77 is 41st overall and 18th in DP with 270 laps completed
to the overall leader's 322 at the 11-hour mark. Memo is in the car.
Around the 11-hour, 30-minute mark Memo heads to the garage because the car's
transponder isn't working and we're not being scored. When he gets out I ask
him about that stick deal, and he said that whatever it was caused the brakes
to not work properly and a half-shaft was starting to go, so the crew put a
new half-shaft in the car and fixed the brakes.
Anyway, now it's in the garage due to this transponder problem. Something is
amiss with the wiring to it, but the crew is fixing it. I really feel bad
for everyone involved.
Hour 12: The Kodak 77 is 42nd overall and 19th in DP with 286 laps completed
to the leader's 352. I'm pretty sure its cockpit was empty at the halfway
point because it was in the garage then with the transponder problem. Fabrizio got
in the car at the 12-hour, 10-minute mark while it was in the garage area and
now he's back on the track.
Hour 13: Fabrizio is in 50th overall and 19th in DP in the Kodak No. 77. The
car has done 293 laps to the 01's 385. Unfortunately the car is back in the
garage area. This time a stone has gotten caught up in the car and screwed up
the brakes, so the hard-working crew is fixing them once again. (The first time
it was a stick; this time it was a stone.)
Gabriele is in the garage area while this is going on, so I finally get to
ask him about that spin. He said there definitely was contact with a GT car to
start it.
He also points out that our car can keep up with the leaders when it's
running. We've just had bad luck here this year.
Hour 14: It's raining pretty hard now at 3:30 a.m. here in the Sunshine State.
At the 14-hour mark the No. 77 is in 52nd overall, still 19th in DP, still
293 laps complete. Nobody is in the cockpit; the crew is still fixing the brake
problem.
There is some damaged bodywork laying in the garage, so I asked Gabriele
about it. He said it was the bodywork that was damaged when Fabrizio had that flat.
That seems like a long time ago.
Kevin says maybe we're getting all our bad luck out of the way for the season
during the first race of the year.
At 3:51 a.m., or 21 minutes after the 14-hour mark, Brad gets in the 77 and
starts her up in the garage area, her brakes fixed once again, and heads back
onto the track.
At the 14-hour, 30-minute mark, Brad is in the 77. It's in 52nd position
overall, still 19th in DP. It has done 297 laps. It's 129 laps behind the
leader, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Hour 15: Brad is in 52nd overall, still 19th in DP, in the No. 77. It has
now done 309 laps. A.J. Allmendinger is leading overall in the 6 with 438 laps
complete.
There are 17 reporters/PR reps in the press room. This would probably be
easier if I liked coffee.
Hour 16: At the Hour 16 mark (5:30 a.m.), the No. 77 is 32nd overall, still
19th in DP, with 350 laps complete. It's 116 laps behind the leader, No. 6,
A.J. Allmendinger. Brad is still driving.
The Kodak car's best lap so far was its 39th lap, when Memo did a 1:43.613
for an average speed of 123.91 mph. The best lap recorded by the car that's
currently leading, the Shank 6, was only a 1:43.071, or 124.341 mph.
We could have run four NASCAR Sprint Cup races at this point. They're
usually about three and a half to four hours long.
We already have a new record for the number of lead changes in the Rolex 24.
There have ben 50 so far today, which is six more than the previous record of
44 set in 2005.
Hour 17: About 15 minutes ago I noticed that Gabriele is in the Kodak 77 now.
At the 17-hour mark, or 6:30 a.m., the Kodak 77 was 51st overall, still 19th
in DP, and Gabriele was driving. The car has done 362 laps to the 493 of
leader Scott Pruett.
I've now been up for over 24 hours.
Hour 18: It's always great to still be running when the sky brightens on
Sunday morning at the Rolex 24.
The Kodak 77 is doing just that. Gabriele is driving. It's 49th overall and
still 19th in DP with 388 laps to leader Scott Pruett's 518. Eleven GT cars
lie between it and the 18th place DP, the Sigalsport 7.
It's still damp here, but the sky started getting brighter about a half-hour
ago.
Hour 19: The Kodak 77 is in 48th overall and 19th in DP; it's done 418 laps.
I'm not exactly sure when Gabriele got out of the 77, but Memo is driving
with 19:24.59 gone.
Hour 20: With four hours left, the Kodak 77 is in 46th overall and 19th in
DP; it's done 444 laps. Memo is driving.
Around 20:13 I notice Memo is 45th overall and 18th in DP, not 19th.
Hour 21: At Hour 21 Memo is 44th overall and 18th in DP with the No. 77 with
476 laps complete.
Fifteen minutes later Lyn Hunting, the Press Snoop, asks me why the 77 is
going to the garage again. I think I might cry.
OK; here's what I pieced together from what Gabriele and Brad have heard. I'm
not sure if Memo was in the car or if Fabrizio was in the car, but a GT car's
engine blew and dumped oil in front of the No. 77. I THINK Memo was driving.
He slid off in the grass and hit some barrier somewhere. Montoya slid in
the oil too but he was able to keep going.
At 11 a.m. whoever is driving goes back out on the track, repairs completed.
The Doran Racing crew is incredible!
At 21:36:12 timing and scoring says Fabrizio is in the car and it's 45th
overall, 18th in DP with 479 laps complete. I just don't know if Fabrizio got in
the car while it was being repaired in the garage or if he was driving when
the accident occurred. Eventually I'll find out I guess. It's cool that we're
still 18th in DP in the standings!
I got a quote from Brad while the guys were fixing the car.
Brad Jaeger: “Actually my race was pretty uneventful. I was the first dr
iver to go on rain tires; both my stints were in the rain. It was good for me
because I got to learn the car. We were fairly out of contention, so we used it
as good track time for me. I'm going to run the full season with Memo, and
eventually I'll need to know how these cars handle in the rain sometime this
season, so it was great practice for me.
“I never had a flat tire or anything. I drove off once in the rain and I had
to come in so they could clean the radiator screen out, but that was all.”
Hour 22: Fabrizio is 45th overall and 18th in DP with 493 laps completed with
two hours to go. I really hope this car finishes! The team deserves it!
Like Rocky Balboa, right now we just want to go the distance.
In the DP class the Ganassi 02 of Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, Salvador Duran
and Alex Lloyd is ahead of us in 17th. They completed 516 laps, but they're out
now. If we don't have a bunch of yellows and if we have no more problems
ourselves, we could move up a couple spots. Ahead of the 02 is the Southard 3 of
Shane Lewis, Bill Lester, Ted Christopher and somebody else, with 527 laps
completed in 16th place in class. It's out too. Ahead of the 3 in 15th in DP is
the 7 of Matt Plumb, Quentin Wahl, Stephan Gregoire and Michael Cullen with
544 laps complete, but it's running. I better not get too greedy. Besides, I
could be all screwed up because I'm really tired.
Going on the defensive, behind us in class is the AIM 61 of Colin Braun,
Brian Frisselle, Mark Wilkins and Andrew Ranger. They're 48th overall and 19th in
DP with 448 laps complete, but I know they're out.
With 22 and a half hours gone, Brad is back in the car. It's 45th overall
and 18th in DP with 506 laps under its belts.
Our best lap is still Memo's lap 39 at 1:43.613, 123.691 mph. He also led
two laps, which was the highlight of my day!
Hour 23: With 4 minutes to go before the Hour 23 mark, the No. 77 is 43rd
overall and 17th in DP because Brad just did one more lap than the retired 02.
At the Hour 23 mark Brad is 43rd overall, 17th in DP. The car has done 519
laps and it's 143 laps down to the leader.
I'm headed for the pits, hopefully post-race interviews, and then back to the
pressroom to write and send my reports. See the race reports for more info,
and thanks for reading along! I'm amazed that you got this far in this blog!
This has been one challenging Rolex 24. I'm exhausted but proud to be
associated with this team of hard workers. Congratulations to all!
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