Starworks Motorsport has lined up some serious stars for its two-car assault on the 2012 Grand Am Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Along with 2010 Rolex winner Ryan Dalziel and co-drivers Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, two-time Le Mans 24 winner Allan McNish will be driving for Starworks, along with 2004 IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan and 2011 FIA GT1 world champion, Lucas Luhr. Kanaan will be joined fellow IndyCar drivers EJ Viso and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Starworks had originally planned to enter a single car with four drivers, but plans changed—very much for the better.
“We felt, with our four current drivers, we had a line up strong enough to compete for a win—Alex, Enzo, Ryan and Lucas,” team owner Peter Baron told Grand-am.com.
“We weren’t going to add a fifth driver, but Allan is a friend and we heard he was interested. You just do not pass on the opportunity to put Allan McNish in the car. He is a legend. He brings much more than his speed—he elevates the other guys, gets the others even more motivated and it is great to work with someone with that kind of history in sports car racing.
“Plus Allan has won just about everything in sports car racing but the fabled Rolex Daytona.”
The second car was tougher to crew. Team owner Peter Barron wanted a second car, and he wanted Tony Kanaan.
“The other car was a bit last-minute,” Baron said. “We wanted to put together the most interesting car that would give us good visibility and bring interest to the series. We had worked with Ryan and EJ before and it worked out well. We wanted a third IndyCar driver. I have tried for three years to get Tony in the car and it has not worked out, so it is great to get it done.”
The new drivers will test their new rides at the Roar Before the 24, Jan. 6–8 at Daytona International Speedway, to prepare for the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona, Jan. 28–29.
One Car for Endurance Aces, One for IndyCar Stars
Starworks’s No. 8 car is packed with endurance-racing experience. Ryan Dalziel has six Rolex 24s under his belt, and a win in 2010, plus he finished second-in-class in the 2011 Sebring 12 Hours. Dalziel has raced in ALMS LMPC and GT cars as well as Grand Am GTs and prototypes. He started driving for Peter Barron in 2007, and will pilot both the Starworks Riley Ford in the Rolex DP class plus one of the Starworks’s Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Mustangs in 2012.
Teamed with Dalziel will be Le Mans superstars Allan McNish and Lucas Luhr.
Allan McNish won his first Le Mans 24 in 1998 in a Porsche GT1. He has been an Audi factory driver since 2000 in which time he scored his second Le Mans win and six more podiums, plus three Sebring 12-Hour wins and three American Le Mans Series championships.
The 42-year-old Scot has raced in six Rolex 24s, but has never won. He hopes to complete the endurance racing “Triple Crown”: Le Mans, Sebring, and the Rolex 24.
“I have known about the Starworks team for quite a while and I have known Peter Baron as a driver and also as a team owner,” McNish told Grand-am.com.
“With Ryan Dalziel...
“With Ryan Dalziel, who is a previous winner and another Scotsman, you put Lucas Luhr who is an ex-teammate of mine and current GT1 world champion; then Enzo and Alex were fantastic rookies of the year last year so I do think we have a very good driver combination. We have a proven package when it comes to the car and the team.”
Lucas Luhr has two Le Mans class wins, five Sebring 12-Hour wins, two Nürburgring 24 wins, and class wins in FIA GT, the Spa 24 Hours, Petit Le Mans, and in the 2001 Rolex 24. He has one ALMS overall championship and four class championships driving for Porsche and Audi; plus, he won the 2011 GT1 title for Nissan. The 32-year-old native of Germany has participated in a dozen Rolex 24s.
Teamed with this mighty trio will be 2011 Rolex Sports Car Series Rookies of the Year, Alex Popow and Enzo Potolicchio. This pair of Venezuelan pilots proved themselves throughout 2011, starting with the Rolex 24. Potolichio got a win at Mid-Ohio, and Popow, a podium at Watkins Glen.
The ‘Indy’ Car
Starworks has three IndyCar drivers—Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, and EJ Viso—in the No. 2 car along with Venezuelan Ferrari challenge driver Maurizio Scala and another Venezuelan, Miguel Potolichio, brother of Enzo Potolichio.
This will be Hunter-Reay’s sixth Rolex 24, his best finish being third in 2009; he also earned a class win at the 2011 Sebring 12 Hours. Still he is primarily an IndyCar driver, having won Rookie of the Year in 2007, Indy 500 Rookie of the Year in 2008, while racking up five wins in his ten-year career.
2012 will be Tony Kanaan’s second Rolex 24, and his first in a Daytona Prototype. “I have never driven a Daytona Prototype before so I will be looking to get some seat time at the Roar test,” Kanaan told Grand-Am.com. “Having Ryan and E.J. as teammates is a big help because I already know them and they will give me valuable information about driving the car.”
Kanaan has 14 IndyCar wins, taking the series title in 2004. He has some time in prototypes, competing in two ALMS races in a P2 Acura.won the IndyCar championship in 2004 and has 14 wins in his career.
Kanaan’s KV Racing teammate EJ Viso drove for Starworks at the 2011 Rolex 24. This 26-year-old Venezualan has been racing formula cars since 2001, and had four years of IndyCar experience.
For Maurizio Scala and Miguel Potolichio2012 will be their first Rolex 24-hour race. Scala has Skip Barber and Ferrari Challenge experience; Potolichio will drive one of Starworks’ CTSCC Mustangs through the 2012 season.
