DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JANUARY 25: A group of cars race during the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on January 25, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida.Jerry Markland/Getty Images
On tap this week:
- Spengler just misses win in Rolex debut
- Toro Rosso rookies ignore Red Bull man
- Gordon's impressive career
- Honda gets engine reprieve
- Quote of the Week: McMurray joins select group
- Book recounts racing's early days
After 24 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds, 725 laps, and 4,152 kilometres of racing, only 0.478 seconds separated Canadian Bruno Spengler and his BMW team from a GT Le Mans class win in his maiden Rolex 24.
While disappointed with missing the top step of the podium by a hair, the BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver was all smiles after the chequered flag flew.
"For my first experience to finish second, I am very, very happy about it. The race is so long, so many things can happen, and I learned a lot," said Spengler, who races for BMW in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Series.
"It was an amazing experience and I really hope I can do this again."
When it came to lessons, a big one Rolex rookie Spengler learned the hard way is the value of patience. Wanting to put another car between his class-leading BMW and its rival Corvettes on Sunday morning, Spengler overcooked a corner and ripped the rear bumper off his Z4 sedan.
"I was a little optimistic on my braking to try and overtake a prototype challenge car as quick as possible to try and gain some time over the Corvettes," said Spengler, whose team finished sixth overall.
"I guess that was a little bit of my sprint racer character trying to come out."
The top Canadian finisher on Sunday was Daytona Prototype driver Michael Valiante, who ended the day fourth overall, while Kuno Wittmer shared the class win in the GT Daytona with a 13th place finish.
There was also heartbreak for Canadians. Mark Wilkins literally watched a Prototype Challenge class win go up in flames after a teammate's fiery crash with less than 30 minutes to go. IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe's race in a Mazda Prototype ended after just six hours due to an oil pump failure.
Random thoughts
Toro Rosso's rookie drivers might want to check the signature on their paycheques. When asked who they thought was the best driver on the F1 grid, neither of the Red Bull backed racers (Toro Rosso is Red Bull in Italian) mentioned the energy drinks No. 1 man, Daniel Ricciardo, of Red Bull Racing. Despite the fact that Aussie Ricciardo trounced teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel last year on his way to third overall in F1 points, both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, Jr., quickly offered McLaren driver Fernando Alonso as their pick.
By the numbers
NASCAR star Jeff Gordon announced last week that 2015 would be his final Sprint Cup season after 23 years in the U.S.'s top stock car series. Even before he begins his final year of racing, Gordon has put up some pretty impressive numbers. In 760 starts over 22 full seasons, Gordon has 92 wins (12 per cent and third all-time), 77 poles (eight per cent and third all-time) 320 top-5s (42 per cent), and four championships (18 per cent). In that time, he only finished outside the top-10 in points twice and led 24,664 laps out of the 218,196 he raced.
Technically speaking
After weeks of wrangling and lots of complaining, it looks like Honda will now be allowed to exploit a loophole in the 2015 regulations and develop its Formula One engine after the start of the season. The sport's governing Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile initially ruled that the lack of a homologation date in the 2015 regulations would only benefit returning manufacturers Ferrari, Mercedes, and Renault because a new engine supplier would be required to submit its new F1 engine at the end of February as the other three did last year.
Quote of the week
"To get to be in this group with Mario and A.J. is quite a feeling. I told [team owner] Chip [Ganassi] after the race is over, we have got to share some of the most special memories of my life. Some of the greatest days, with the exception of getting married and having kids."
— NASCAR Jamie McMurray on becoming only the third driver in history to win a Rolex 24 and a Daytona 500. The other two are Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt Jr.
The last word
When a book gets a thumbs up from a legend like Mario Andretti, racing fans might want to pick up a copy. That's the case for Sandro Martini's "Tracks, Racing the Sun," a historical novel set in the early days of grand prix racing. The book tells the story of racing's early stars Tazio Nuvolari and Bernd Rosemeyer through the experiences of a fictional journalist. The tale not only gives readers a keen insight into the dangers of the dawn of motor racing but also the political backdrop that dominated its early days.
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Jeff Pappone