WOW.......Daytona Rolex 24

[hlothery]

Man......I know this is a motorcycle site, but I wonder if any of you saw the Rolex 24 finish today. 24 hours of racing won by less than 0.2 seconds. A historic return to victory lane for Brumos Porsche (their first at Daytona since 1978), and the son of Mark Donohue with a flag to flag victory on the 40th anniversary of his fathers flag to flag victory in the same race. It doesn't get much better!:thumb :german

[HexST]

That was cool!

[enfoman]

Saw as much of the race as I could as it went from fox to speed ch. I think It's great that mostly teenagers are driving these cars worth big bucks. says something about trust and talent I guess. I thought the last hour of the race was fantasic! It is a shame to see the amount of empty stand seats every time I watch it,.

Bob

[hlothery]

1988, IMHO, was the best year ever for IMSA, with major teams from Porsche, Jaguar, Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and Ferrari. I agree, it is not what it used to be, but I have never seen a last 90 minutes like that in any 24 hour event before. Porsche, Lexus, Porsche, and Ford, all on the same lap and within 2 seconds from first to fourth, going flat out.........after 24 hours. WOW!

I remember back in 1978, when Brumos Porsche won last......I was there. I remember Hurley Haywood, the late Peter Gregg, in their 935's with the same Brumos colors and numbers. Nice to see this organization return to past glory.


Of course, I'm kind of partial to Porsche.........:thumb

[lkchris]

Good to see German tech prevail over pseudo-Japanese tech at Daytona ... as it regularly does in F1.

[BeemerMike]

Hmmmm . . . JPM got passed by (apparently let himself get "caught up" by slower traffic), and then could not run down and repass David Donahue. Maybe BMW was right after all.

BTW - Mark must be smiling down from that big race track in the sky.

[cheesewhiz]

I watched but, the race is a shadow of it's former self.
Spec racing at best.:banghead
Then again, with the economy being what it is, I'm happy seeing ANY roadracing on TV.
:thumb

[rinty]

I'm kind of partial to Porsche...hlothery

+1

[BeemerMike]

Of course, I'm kind of partial to Porsche.........:thumb

Well, yeah, there's that too. :german

[98lee]

I agree, it is not what it used to be, but I have never seen a last 90 minutes like that in any 24 hour event before. Porsche, Lexus, Porsche, and Ford, all on the same lap and within 2 seconds from first to fourth, going flat out.........after 24 hours. WOW!:thumb

I agree GREATfinish!!:thumb


:dance :dance :dance

[nplenzick]

The best finish I've seen in a endurance race since the 60's when Ford beat Ferrari.
In these parts we like to think that David Donahue got his start in the local Porsche club that I use to belong to. Starting in drivers ed (PCA) then proceeding to amature racing (EMRA) and then on to pro. Once on my way to a event he stop to help me to change a tire on my trailer as he saw I was broken down by the side of the road. A few years latter as part of that clubs executive board we invited him to one of our meetings. At the dinner before our meeting I saw he was only finishing half his meal. I asked if it was OK, his reply " the meal is fine, my team is doing everything then can do to make the car light, I need to do my part" .
His interview in winners circle is typical DD, never taken any credit for himself only saying how his fellow drivers and the crew did such a great job.
This guy is one class act. He is a model of what a sports figure should be and how one should act in public. I really hope it's his year, he deserves it more then anyone!

[hlothery]

He certainly seemed like a class act, it is nice to know that is true. He may not have taken any credit, but when he got in that car near the end, he was immediately all over Montoya, and you knew it was only a matter of time. Not so prior to the last stop. Thanks for the insight. :thumb

[nplenzick]

Yea, he really drove the wheels off of that car! Those last 20 minutes had my stomach in a knot! I've experienced that on a few occasion during my amateur racing endeavor. It's much easier being the second vehicle in the attack mode as imposed to the one being attacked. It takes great focus to do what David did especially since it appeared that Montoya had the faster car.
As DD is a class act Montoya is yet to be, still whining about this or that:violin

[108625]

I watched, and enjoyed it. It's great to see a Donahue racing again, the only thing missing was a Sunoco blue and yellow paint job.

[rinty]

...Sunoco blue and yellow...108625

Those were the days....