Andy Lally and Marc Bunting clinched the 2006 Rolex Series GT class championship Saturday night at Miller Motorsports Park after scoring their class-best fifth victory of the season alongside Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 65 TRG Pontiac GTO.R.

Lally inherited the lead on Lap 130 when class leader Robin Liddell was forced down pit road with a brake problem on his No. 72 NEC Porsche GT3, and led the rest of the way in the 174-lap event. The TRG crew completed flawless stops throughout the nine-hour season finale, and the win marks the first GT class championships for Bunting and Lally—the 2004 SGS class champions. Bunting and Lally came up one point short in their bid to win the GT driver title in 2005.

"Everything that happened last year was motivation for this year,” said Lally. “It was a pleasure to be part of this team and this championship. (Team owner) Kevin (Buckler) has kept us focused throughout the year, and the whole TRG team rallied for the cause. It was a complete team effort."

Lally qualified the No. 65 machine on the outside of the front row, but fell back to third early on. After stints by Bunting and Pumpelly throughout the middle portion of the race, Lally climbed back in the cockpit for the finish. In addition to clinching the GT driver title for themselves and the team championship for the No. 65 TRG team, the Discount Tire Sunchaser performance also brought Pontiac its first GT manufacturer’s title and Bunting the 2006 Bob Akin Award for the top-performance sportsman driver in the GT class.

"To be here after being so close last year just makes it sweeter,” said Bunting. “We were consistent all year long and didn't have any problems. I just want to thank all the guys at TRG for all the hard work they’ve done all season. This is for them."

"I just want to say thanks to everyone on the team and congratulations to Mark and Andy on winning the championship,” Pumpelly added. “I also need to thank Kevin for giving me this opportunity today. It feels sweet to get a win with this team."

Liddell and co-drivers Wolf Henzler and Andrew Davis finished second in the No. 72 machine for the car’s eighth podium finish of the season. In 13 races, the Tafel Racing Porsche never finished lower than sixth and scored victories at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and last weekend at Infineon Raceway.

"I'm just disappointed,” said Liddell. “I can't help but be disappointed. I should be happy to be on the podium but second is not enough to make me happy today. Andy and Marc have been great competitors all season, and I want to congratulate them on their championship. We’ve been the strongest Porsche all season and I can’t thank the team enough for the successes we’ve had. It’s just disappointing to come up a bit short."

Henzler started the No. 72 Porsche on the pole and led throughout his opening stint, building a comfortable lead in the process. As the hours wore on, the No. 72 machine’s lead grew to more than one lap on the rest of the class field. With roughly two hours remaining, however, the brake problems spoiled any chance of victory.

"We got off to a great start, and then had a problem with the brakes in the seventh hour,” said Henzler. Unfortunately, it was a nine-hour race. We got a stop-and-go penalty that put us back to fourth but, in the end, we finished second. The team has been strong all year and even though we didn’t win the championship, I believe the whole team did a great job."

"It's a great honor to be here with these two guys,” said Davis. “It meant a lot to me to be in the (No.) 72 car today. For me, it's nice to share the podium with these drivers. The Tafel guys have worked hard all year and this is a solid way to end the season."

Tommy Kendall, Gene Sigal and Peter MacLeod finished third in the No. 05 Sigalsport Pontiac GTO.R, the team’s best finish of the season. Kendall started the machine fourth and all three pilots avoided major trouble throughout the nine-hour endurance challenge. The previous best result for the No. 05 team was a fourth-place run in March at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Dave Lacey, Greg Wilkins and Robert Bell finished fourth in the No. 17 Minestar Solutions/Tim Hortons/SAMAX Porsche GT3, followed by Eric Lux, Ian James and team owner Jim Tafel in the No. 74 Rembrandt Charms Porsche GT3. Robert Nearn and Steve Johnson finished sixth in the No. 81 Comfort Systems USA Porsche GT3, improving seven spots from their 13th-place starting position. With the effort, the team was awarded the race’s SunTrust “Improve Your Position” Award in the GT category.