Saturday - quick start

Orbit Racing started the annual three-day test for the Rolex 24 at Daytona at the top, posting the quickest GT class times in alll three practice sessions on Saturday.  Johnny Mowlem of England was quickest in the morning session, covering the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course in one minute 56.062 seconds in the No. 44 Classic Industries Porsche 911 GT3 RS.  Mike Fitzgerald of Fountain Hills, Ariz., led the way in the the second session (1:56.476) and Mowlem replied in the third session (1:55.599).

Joe Policastro drove last in the final session.  He and his son Jay will share driving duty in the Porsche for the 2004 season.  Joe said the car is already better than it was in 2003.

"I think the crew have a few more kinks they can take out of it, but  it's much better than we had it at the last race - we can drive it a little bit harder," he said.  "I think we'll see it in getting our [lap] times down, but more important, getting the car to do what we want it to do.  Johnny and Robin and Mike have really tuned this in great!  It's the best this car has ever handled, and we've got some more to do."

first look

Robin Liddell drove his first laps at Daytona on Saturday, experiencing the track's 33-degree banking for the first time.

"It's good fun!" he enthused.  "When you get up on the banking the first time, it's actually quite spooky.  The banking is quite steep; it's different and it's got its own character.  When you get out there, the angle you're sitting at in terms of what you can see out of the windscreen is totally different.  You can't imagine what that's like until you're in it."

Rolex race

Johnny Mowlem has enjoyed success at Daytona, with a second-place GT finish in 1999 and an overall second in 2003.  But he's still chasing the coveted Daytona hardware - a Rolex watch, presented only to class winners in the annual 24-hour endurance race.

"I want to win a watch!" he exclaimed.  "I told Rodger [team owner Hawley], I don't really care if we finish 10th overall, if we win GT."

Sunday - still quick

Orbit Racing continued its strong performance in preparation for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, with the fastest GT class time in the final Sunday practice session.  The team changed the transmission in the No. 44 Classic Industries Porsche 911 GT3 RS on Sunday morning, so the drivers were limited to a partial morning session.  But they returned Sunday afternoon to first in class with Johnny Mowlem's lap of one minute 56.328 seconds on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course.  Mowlem is driving with Joe and Jay Policastro, Mike Fitzgerald and Robin Liddell.

What does it take to go fast at Daytona?  Mowlem was succinct:  "A good car, good tires, good co-drivers, good team."

He noted, "We've got the car very, very good on race pace.  We're still working on it, still fine-tuning it because we're thinking ahead to what's it's going to be like in the early morning hours [of the race] when the track is pretty slippery.  We're already thinking about those things with one test day left, so that bodes pretty well.  Every single session that we've been out in - bar this morning when we only did a few laps because we were doing a gearbox change - we've been fastest.  I know the other teams can find a lot more, but we've got a lot more as well.  We haven't done any low-fuel, new-tire runs at all, so we're very happy."

Daytona draw

Jay Policastro explained the attraction of the Rolex 24 at Daytona:  "Daytona is a great world-class facility that brings out the best in everyone.  When you look at the 24-hour race, you've got the best drivers in every category, the best cars, the best-prepared teams.  It's really a unique challenge to come here because it's an all-out effort.  It's competition at its best.  It's difficult competition, but when you come to a place like Daytona, you wouldn't want it any other way."

in the genes?

Mike Fitzgerald's son Alex, 2, is drawn to anything with wheels.  "He loves anything with wheels or an engine," Fitzgerald explained.  "If it has wheels, he wants to get in it."  Alex's Hallowe'en costume last October was a kid-size driver suit.  His infant brother Andrew was dressed as his crew chief.

Father Joe and son Jay Policastro share their love of racing with Jay's three daughters, Christina, Sara and Aine Marie.  The three race on a go-kart track the senior Policastros built on their joint property.  Their winter race vehicle is a junior snowmobile.