DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Joao Barbosa is hoping the third time will be the charm at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Saturday's Grand Prix of Miami.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona winner will be looking for his third consecutive Rolex Series victory and third triumph at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he joins Terry Borcheller in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley, co-winners of the Rolex 24. Barbosa won at Homestead-Miami Speedway last fall when he joined substitute driver Hurley Haywood in the No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley, when the Grand Prix of Miami served as the Rolex Series season finale.
The Grand Prix of Miami returns to its traditional spring date for Round 2 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. Coming off the Rolex 24, the event begins the two-hour, 45-minute "sprint" format utilized in most of the remaining Rolex Series events. The race takes the green flag at 5 p.m. ET (SPEED, live). The event also marks the first live flag-to-flag radio broadcast by the Motor Racing Network.
I am happy to return to Homestead," Barbosa said. "I have some great memories from our victory there last year. In fact, I believe that race gave us some extra momentum going into 2010 that translated into our Rolex 24 win. We are obviously thrilled with scoring our first victory at Daytona, but we want to prove to everyone that we can also be competitive in the short races and that Action Express can be a team that will be in contention for the entire season. Even if our car spent a few days ‘resting' at the Daytona 500 Experience after our win, I know our team has been working hard to get it ready to race and we are ready to win."
Barbosa also won at Homestead in the GT class in 2002. Borcheller shares the Rolex Series best at the circuit with three class victories.
"It is usually pretty difficult to get good grip at the Homestead track," said Borcheller, a native of Hialeah, Fla. "That can be especially tough when you have a short weekend with condensed track time like we do for our event this year. However, I actually feel this can prove to be an advantage for Action Express. Joao obviously had it figured out last year with his win here, so having a successful setup to work from will give us a head start and should prove to be a big asset for our team this year."
Barbosa and Borcheller were joined by Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller in their Rolex 24 victory. Dalziel will race for the remainder of the season in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport BMW Riley, which debuts at Homestead with Mike Forest as co-driver. Bill Lester and Ian James will drive the team's No. 7 BMW Riley.
Brumos Racing will be looking for its second consecutive Grand Prix of Miami victory when David Donohue and Darren Law take over the team's iconic No. 59 Porsche Riley.
"Homestead has been one of our best tracks historically," Donohue said. "In the past few years we seemed to always run into bad luck and couldn't capitalize on our advantages, but the No. 59's victory last year changed that."
Another driver looking to continue a streak is Jon Fogarty, who won the pole in his last five qualifying attempts in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley. Fogarty and Alex Gurney - the defending Daytona Prototype champions - did not attempt to qualify for the Rolex 24 after the car was damaged in a practice accident. Fogarty won the pole in six of the final seven races in 2009. While the 2.3-mile circuit has traditionally been one of the toughest on the circuit for the two-time champions, Fogarty led a race-high 45 laps last year en route to a fourth-place finish.
"I think as a team we have yet to stand on the podium in Homestead so we have a clear goal in mind," Gurney said. "We had a very stressful race there last season for the finale, and we are looking to get back into the thick of things at Homestead."
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas won the 2008 Grand Prix of Miami, the last time the event was held in the spring. They return with a BMW powerplant in the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Riley.
Max Angelelli captured the pole for the 2010 Rolex 24 in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford Dallara. That car is expected to be qualified at Homestead by his new regular co-driver, Ricky Taylor.
In addition to Starworks Motorsport, Michael Shank Racing and Level 5 Motorsports will field two Daytona Prototypes. Brian Frisselle joins Michael Valiante in Michael Shank Racing's No. 6 The Pit Stop on Norris Lake Ford Riley, while John Pew joins Ozz Negri in the No. 60 Crown Royal XR Ford Riley. Scott Tucker is listed on both of the Level 5 Motorsports entries. He joins Christophe Bouchut in the No. 55 BMW Riley and will share the No. 95 BMW Riley with IndyCar Series regular Ryan Hunter-Reay.
AIM Autosport makes its 2010 debut with Burt Frisselle and Mark Wilkins in the No. 61 Pacific Mobile Ford Riley, debuting a new paint scheme.
Also fielding single-car Daytona Prototype entries from Krohn Racing, with Nic Jonsson and Tracy Krohn in the No. 75 Proto-Auto Ford Lola; Doran Racing, with Memo Gidley and Dion von Moltke in the No. 77 McDonald's Ford Dallara; and Spirit of Daytona, with Buddy Rice and Antonio Garcia in the No. 90 Porsche Coyote.
Practice for the Grand Prix of Miami begins at 9:30 a.m. ET Friday, with qualifying beginning at 3:45 p.m. The race takes the green flag at 5 p.m. Saturday, following the Homestead 200 for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at 1 p.m. Qualifying will be streamed live on SPEEDtv.com beginning at 3:40 p.m. ET Friday.
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