This week the 2016 Sunoco Challengers, Jonny Adam and Paddy McClughan, head out to Florida to Daytona International Speedway to prepare for their ‘hard-earned prize drives’ during the Rolex 24 At Daytona race weekend from 28th to 31st January.
Two weeks ago Jonny Adam and Paddy McClughan landed back in the UK after the ROAR Before the Rolex 24 race weekend, where they both got their first chance to experience their respective drives – both impressed and proved, yet again, that this ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience is a great opportunity for any European race car driver to drive on American soil!
Rolex 24 At Daytona
Whilst out in America earlier this month, Sunoco Whelen Challenge Champion Jonny Adam got his first taste of driving a DP car at the ROAR at Daytona International Speedway. He made the most out of the ROAR practice sessions, taking his time to bring the car up to speed, and on his penultimate lap of the ROAR achieved his personal best 1:40.659 lap time, in the Action Express run No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette DP. Later this week the Action Express team will be looking to Jonny to keep up this momentum, with his team mates Eric Curran, Dane Cameron and Simon Pagenaud, during the twice round the clock race of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, which starts at 2:40pm (EST) on Saturday 30th January.
Ahead of his drive later this week Jonny Adam said "I can't wait for this weekend and the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona. The ROAR test went well a few weeks ago, and gave me time to get up to speed with the car, and how the team operate. This is a great opportunity for me through Whelen and Sunoco, to race with Championship winning outfit Action Express Racing, at one of the biggest Sportscar events in the world. If we have a little bit of luck come Sunday afternoon, we could be in a great situation to achieve a nice result for everyone involved."
The Rolex 24 At Daytona starts at 2:40pm (EST) on Saturday 30th January, with pre-race ceremonies starting at 12:45pm - a spectacle, if you are lucky enough to be there, that is not to be missed! At the same time, Daytona International Speedway also unveils its newly developed $400 million motorsports stadium with the Daytona Rising project. This will make the 'fan experience' even better!
BMW Performance 200The 2016 Sunoco 200 Challenge Champion Paddy McClughan experienced his debut drive at Daytona International Speedway during the ROAR Before the Rolex 24 earlier this month. Driving in the Racers Edge Motorsports No. 16 Ford Mustang Boss 302R with team mate Chris Beaufait, Paddy ended the weekend on a high with an impressive 1:58.970 lap time.
This week Paddy is raring to go when he is back with the team to race in the BMW Performance 200 (CTSC) race which takes place on Friday 29th from 1.45pm (EST), with grid walk and formation laps making up the ceremony ahead of the race.
Paddy said this ahead of his drive this week, "I am very excited about the weekend ahead. I've always wanted to race at Daytona from when I was very young. I never thought I'd get the opportunity so early on in my career. Our pace from the ROAR test was very encouraging, I think there is also a bit more to come from me and the car, so overall a top ten finish should be achievable".
We are eager to see how both of our Challengers get on this weekend; they have top crews, quality team mates, and the best support behind them...so the rest is up to them! We wish them the best of luck...
The Rolex 24 At Daytona
The Rolex 24 At Daytona begins on Wednesday 27th January with sessions for the BMW Performance 200 (Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge). The opening Rolex 24 At Daytona (WeatherTech Championship) practice and qualifying takes place on Thursday 28th January, with the The BMW Performance 200 taking the green flag on Friday 29th January, while the 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona rolls off on Saturday 30th January.
Follow our Sunoco Challenge winner Rolex 24 At Daytona and in the BMW Performance 200 Race: for the latest updates please visit www.sunocochallenge.com
