Grand American Road Racing officials announced today the first Daytona Prototype – the Porsche-powered Fabcar chassis 001 – will be in the spotlight at England’s invitation-only Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 11-13.
The car’s original drivers, JC France and Hurley Haywood, will drive the No. 59 Brumos Racing entry in the famous 2.5-kilometer hillclimb.
The Daytona Prototypes are the premier class of race car for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Cask No. 16. These cars ushered in a new era in sports car racing at the 2003 Rolex 24 at Daytona when they premiered at the Daytona International Speedway, “The World Center of Racing,” where France and Haywood finished fifth overall and second in class.
France and Haywood then became the first drivers to score an overall victory in a Daytona Prototype, and scored back-to-back triumphs in the chassis 001 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.
“It is a big honor for Grand-Am to be asked to participate in the Festival of Speed,” said Haywood, a five-time overall winner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “Words can not describe what this event is like. A wide variety of cars – including current Formula One cars – run up the hill. The event draws easily 200,000 people, and everyone you’ve ever heard of in motorsports is there – from the Formula 1 champions and team owners, from the manufacturers and the heads of the automobile industry. It’s a huge event. Everybody is there.
“This event gives Grand-Am a wonderful platform to tell Europeans what Grand-Am is all about,” Haywood said. “The European fans will see the cars are much more attractive in person that what you see in a picture. I think when they look at what we’ve got they will be impressed. JC and I will be shaking hands with a lot of people. This is a very good venue to showcase our product.”
After being raced for two seasons, scoring 18 top-10 finishes, Brumos converted chassis 001 into a show car. Troy Flis and Spirit of Daytona Racing were tasked with converting the vehicle back into a race car.
“The Spirit of Daytona did a wonderful job,” Haywood said. “I was impressed with the work that Troy and his group did.”
The first Festival of Speed was held in 1993 in the picturesque parkland surrounding the Goodwood House, about 60 miles from London. Its 2.5-kilometer rally stage – cut into the wooded area close to the hillclimb finish line – has around 30 cars from the history of rallying providing an exhilarating demonstration of sideways driving throughout all three days of the event. Unrestricted access to the paddocks means that spectators and autograph-seekers can get closer to the cars and drivers than at almost any other meeting, making it fan-friendly -- like the Grand-Am Rolex Series in America.
Grand-Am is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2008 Rolex Series schedule and the 11-race KONI Challenge Series calendar delivers professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and FOX, and is distributed globally through ESPN International.
With title sponsorship support from Rolex Watch USA and presenting sponsorship from Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the Rolex Series showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry’s leading constructors and the world’s top automobile manufacturers. Learn more about Grand-Am at: grand-am.com.
