Rob Garofall bids to become the outright winner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco in Brands Hatch thriller

Rob Garofall in the Juno SSE-CN2009 proved ice-cool in a damp, dry and wet 3-hour race on August 1st on the Brands Hatch GP circuit.

The SPEED sports prototype series visited Brands Hatch GP circuit for their third 2009 race meeting and the 18 car strong field had to face very tricky conditions as the weather changed from dry to wet several times during an amazingly exciting 3-hour endurance race.

During qualifying, it was the experienced Chris Ward, co-driver of Simon Phillips, who set the pace with a blistering lap of 1:25.684 in a Norma M20F-2008, just 0.217 seconds ahead of Sam Hancock in the Ligier JS49/038-2008. Rob Garofall, who for Brands was partnered by Chris Bialan, qualified 1.074 seconds off pole time in their Juno SSE-CN2009.

The weather forecast for the race predicted it would start dry but turn wet later on. 1 hour into the race the front running 11 cars were only 10.221 seconds apart and all teams were laying out their afternoon strategy. The rules in SPEED states that the minimum race time per driver is 75 minutes which meant that serious discussions between pit and drivers were held to determine whether to continue on slicks or change to wets as a light rain followed by heavy rain was becoming ever more troublesome. Chris Bialan, who had been lucky not too lose too much time due to several Safety Car interventions handed over to Rob Garofall in 4th position, on the same lap as the leading car.

After two hours it was a cat and mouse situation with Sam Hancock on wets chasing Damien Chavariat in the very quick Pilbeam CN car, which was on slicks. At the two hour mark Rob Garofall was on the same lap (just) but 1:15.117 seconds behind, still on slicks. Another Safety Car intervention squeezed the field up again and, despite a damp track, Rob Garofall went on maximum attack as soon as the green flags were out and within a couple of laps found himself in the lead. Determined to strengthen his position in the Driver Challenge, he steadily pulled away and had a comfortable lead of 23 seconds, just 15 minutes from the chequered flag, when the heavens opened. Rob had to ask wets to be made ready as it was now impossible to stay on the track on slicks, which would have meant that TFL Racing's and Team Jota's strategy of choosing wets earlier in the race would have paid off and they were looking good for a comfortable 1-2. However, Rob Garofall, who at this time had already accepted defeat, could not believe his luck when the Collin/Hooker Norma M20F spun off in a dangerous place, causing an early red flag and giving him the win.

This meant that Rob Garofall has strengthened his overall lead in the Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco from an average 87.5 points to 91.67 and has a commanding lead at this point. However, the next SPEED event is a 6-hour race at Snetterton, which puts a lot of stress on the SPEED cars, so it is too early to think that the Driver Challenge is in the bag.

Although Rob Garofall is in a comfortable lead we predict that the final winner will not be crowned until the very last race. It is also encouraging to see that the top positions are not held by drivers from one championship/series and that the serious challengers vary in age from 19 to 55 years of age.

The next British F3/GT round is at Silverstone on the 15-16th of August. SPEED will have their long race the following weekend at Snetterton, but the Radical will have to wait until the 12-13th of September for their next round at Silverstone.

The Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco is a driver challenge between Sunoco-fuelled series in Europe and the UK. During 2009 the drivers in the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, the Radical UK Cup and the SPEED sports prototype series will go head-to-head against each other throughout the year collecting points for pole position, race results and fastest lap.The highest point scorer at the end of the season will win a race-drive in a Daytona Prototype at the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona ® in a top team and race against the best sports cars racers in the world. The winner will also participate in a 3-day pre-season test session at the Daytona race track in January and become the ambassador for Grand AM and Sunoco in Europe. This amazing prize will give the winner of the Driver Challenge a great chance to not only to race in a top team in one of the iconic 24-hour races in the world but also to win the race.