prize valued at $250,000
Bradley Smith in the Radical SR3 Challenge has won the 2014 Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge after a hotly contested battle with fellow Radical racer James Abbott racing in the Radical EuroSeries S3R class. Bradley is now set to race with one of the top teams at the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona round the clock endurance 25-26th January 2014.
After a cracking year in the Radical SR3 Challenge Bradley Smith, with one race weekend at Snetterton on the 26-27th of October still to go, was nervously watching fellow Radical SR3 racer James Abbott, in the Radical EuroSeries qualifying sessions on Saturday morning. In very tricky conditions, James just missed out on the ever so important pole position points towards the Challenge meaning Bradley could draw a breath of relief.
Bradley Smith, aged 22, is now following in the steps of previous Sunoco Daytona Challenge winners: Radical EuroSeries SR8 Champion - Derek Johnston; Radical EuroSeries Champion - Ross Kaiser; British F3 Champion - Felipe Nasr and SPEED Euroseries Champion Ivan Bellarosa.
Bradley Smith can now look forward to an intensive testing programme at Daytona leading up to the race. Bradley will be given an experienced driver coach who will get him up to speed quickly to ensure that he can confidently handle a Daytona Prototype around the challenging Daytona Speedway.
It is not decided which team Bradley will race with but we can be assured that it will be a race winning GRAND-AM team so not only will Bradley's dream of racing at Daytona be fulfilled but he will also have a serious change of winning that spectacular and sought after Rolex watch at the end of the 24 hr endurance. Previous teams that have hosted the Sunoco Daytona Challenge winners include Doran Racing, Michael Shank Racing and Starworx Motorsport.
An over-the-moon Bradley Smith responded: "I am blown away to have won such a fantastic prize, my long term goal is to race Prototype and LMP cars but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would happen quite so soon and to race at such an Iconic track and meeting as Daytona is incredible. The American fan base is a huge and knowledgeable one and I hope I can provide them with something exciting to watch.
This year has been a fantastic year for me , becoming a BRDC Rising Star, winning the Radical SR3 Challenge and now winning the Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge prize is a superb way to end the year.
It's not all down to me though as my family team have worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to get me to this point. My Dad prepares my car and is fanatic about details. It's this attention to details that gives me the reliability as well as a fast car to enable me to do my job to the best of my ability. I have had some incredible support to get to this point and would like to thank them all, friends, family and my sponsors Eneos, Momo, Corbeau, Brown & Geeson and Hood Jeans for their belief and help given to me, in what has proved to be such an amazing year"
Anders Hildebrand, MD of Anglo American Oil Company commented: "Bradley Smith is a young, very fast and able racer. From the first race weekend at Snetterton in early April this year, when he stunned the whole Radical paddock with his amazing speed, he has never looked other than a champion and indeed the guy to look out for as the potential winner of the Sunoco Daytona Challenge. Being the 5th winner of the Challenge Bradley will be provided with a well proven package from GRAND-AM from the first introduction to the awesome Daytona Speedway to taking the chequered flag at the first ever Tudor USCR (United SportsCar Racing) race - the epic Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Seeing Bradley battling it out with the very best sports- and prototype car racers in the world at the very first race with the merged ALMS and GRAND-AM series is just going to be fantastic. This is destined to be the fastest Rolex 24 race after the introduction of the bus stop at the back straight as the Daytona Prototypes are said to be getting more power and better aero - and Bradley will be there as a worthy winner of the Sunoco Daytona Challenge at this historic event".
The prize consists of return flights and hotel for all tests leading up to the Roar before the Rolex 24 (3-5th of January), dedicated driver coaching and of course a race seat in a front running team's Daytona Prototype at the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona January 25-26th of January 2014.
The Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona will continue for 2014 - release to be made shortly - giving more European racers the chance to race at one of the most famous circuits and to showcase their talent in front of US race team managers and supporting crowds.
