DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2015) – As the sun came up over the World Center of Racing, the No. 22 WeatherTech Racing Porsche was running first in the GTD class in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona.
Leh Keen (Charleston, S.C.) was behind of the wheel of the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche to start the final 12 hours. On lap 386, Keen was running sixth when he came to pit lane for tires, fuel and a driver change. Teammate Shane van Gisbergen (Auckland, New Zealand) got in to start his overnight stint. There are four GTD cars on the lead lap.
“We’re running good even though we’ve had a couple of little issues with the car,” Keen said. “But, we’re running consistent laps and there are a lot of fast cars out there. Right now, we’re on the lead lap. We’ll see what we can do.”
Van Gisbergen had a great double stint. When he took the car from Keen, the team was sixth. By the time his stint ended, van Gisbergen had the Alex Job Racing-prepared Porsche in second place before handing the No. 22 Porsche over to teammate Andrew Davis (Athens, Ga.).
“It was pretty good,” van Gisbergen said of his stint. “It was unexpected to get back in. Leh wasn’t feeling well. Hopefully he’s rested up for the next one. We put some really good laps in. The car feels really good. We’ll see what happens. There’s still a long way to go. But, it’s positive so far.”
Just one lap after Davis took the reins, the race went full course caution. This allowed the team to bring the car to the pits for a much-needed rear brake change. The extended service saw the WeatherTech Porsche go from second to sixth with about eight and a half hours to go. Davis put in a solid double stint and was up to fourth when the sun came up.
“It was a good run,” Davis said. “The guys have done a great job all night. It’s always fun to be in the car at dawn and have the race kind of come back to you in the daylight. It was nice to see the sun. We’re still struggling on the banking for speed. But, our WeatherTech Porsche is running pretty good. We’ve just got to hold it together here. Shane and Leh have been running an awesome pace. Now Cooper is back in the car to get a great stint in. If we keep it up, we’ll be in good shape.”
Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) was in the car to start the final six hours of the 53rd Rolex 24.
The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 At Daytona is being broadcast on FOX Sports 1 from 7 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. IMSA Radio will also carry the broadcast, link at IMSA.com.
The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GTD (GT Daytona) Class is made up of some the world’s most sophisticated cars, including the Porsche 911 GT America, Ferrari 458, Aston Martin, BMW Z4, Viper SRT and Audi R8. All GTD Class cars run on the spec Continental tire.
Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in sports car racing with 70 wins (since 1995); including two Rolex 24 GT Class wins in 1999 and 2013. This record is supported by 48 pole positions and 106 podium finishes. The team has won five championships (GTC 2013, 2012, GT in 2004, 2003 and 2002) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts nine Sebring 12-hour wins.
About WeatherTech: WeatherTech, headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, has long been recognized by the discerning automotive enthusiast as a supplier of accessories of unparalleled quality. In addition to the WeatherTech brand, the company supplies products to many automobile manufacturers (OEM) as an original equipment supplier. In fact, WeatherTech currently supplies accessories to all four German manufacturers of luxury automobiles as well as a host of other automobile manufacturers worldwide! More information can be viewed at www.weathertech.com.
For more information about AJR, visit www.alexjobracing.com, or visit our fan page on Facebook by searching WeatherTech Racing.
Further inquiries, please contact Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468.
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