Rubens Barrichello goes fastest at Daytona

January 11, 2015

Rubens Barrichello goes fastest at Daytona

January 11, 2015

starworksCould the battle for prototype honors be more than just a battle between Chevrolet and Ford – Starworks Motorsport and BMW could have something to say about that after topping the times with ex-F1 star Rubens Barrichello this afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.

The man with the record for the most race starts in F1 history will drive the Dinan BMW-powered Riley with 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, Brendon Hartley, Scott Mayer and Tor Graves at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Starworks waited until the closing minutes of Sunday’s final “Roar before the 24” weekend at Daytona International Speedway to record the fastest time of the day.

With the track nearly dry following scattered showers throughout the day, the team bolted a set of slick tires on the No. 7 and promptly posted the fastest lap of the day by nearly five miles per hour.

Barrichello lapped the 3.56-mile circuit in 1:47.230.

“I’m not excited so much about the time, because that means nothing, but the fact we got the car a little bit better is very encouraging,” said Barrichello,

“We have a lot to do yet (before the Rolex 24), but I’m enjoying driving very much.

“Many people left because they were thinking the track was not going to dry. We stayed on the track because we needed the mileage. We put slick tires on right at the end, and I was able to get a fast lap.

“The cars I am running in Brazil are fantastic, but I was missing going 180 mph – because we don’t reach that in Brazil. It’s really good to be here, and I’m looking forward to the Rolex 24.”

Richard Westbrook was second in the afternoon session, running 1:51.785 in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP, while defending Rolex 24 winner Sebastien Bourdais led the morning session with a lap of 1:51.835 (114.597 mph) in the Action Express Racing Corvette DP.

Starworks Motorsport also had fast honors on the day in Prototype Challenge (PC), with Renger van der Zande turning a lap of 1:54.601 in the No. 7 ORECA FLM09.

Earl Bamber led GT Le Mans (GTLM) with a lap of 1:54.246, while Andy Lally paced GT Daytona (GTD), running 1:58.582 in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America.

Teams will return in two weeks for the opening round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

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