The racing world is headed south to Daytona Beach, Florida for the 55th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Park Place Motorsports Team Principal Patrick Lindsey has had his nose to the grind as both owner and driver to ensure Park Place Motorsports walks away with a Rolex.
“I’m excited about the lineup and ready to have another shot at it after a disappointing result last year,” Lindsey said. “We have a group of talented guys in and out of the car. I truly believe we have some of the best guys out there. We can setup the car, we proved that in qualifying. The drivers are all solid, it’s just luck this time. The team has faced some unfortunate difficulties at this track. Our team continues to gel better and better, so I really am hoping this is our year.”
One trip around the sun, twice around the clock or more commonly 24 hours.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off with its longest endurance race of the year, Rolex 24 At Daytona. Round One of the 2017 season takes place at the famous Daytona International Speedway January 26-28. The No. 73 Porsche 911 GT3R will take on the 31° banking of NASCAR turns, the high-speed bus stop and wind through the infield. Around 700 laps will be turned on the 3.56-mile sports car course before any team finds its way to the podium.
We Got a Good Feeling
Park Place Motorsports is feeling confident about its upcoming performance at Daytona International Speedway. The team is bringing back the lineup that captured the GT Daytona Class pole in 2016. This time Patrick Lindsey, Jörg Bergmeister, Matt McMurry and Norbert Siedler will aim to wheel the No. 73 Porsche GT3R to the pole and podium. Last year the team finished a gut-wrenching 17th in the GTD class after the standout qualifying by Siedler. Lead Engineer John Horton and Crew Chief Gary Biel will be back to map out the plan to victory.
Waiting on a Woman
Where is lady luck when you need her? This is Park Place Motorsports fourth consecutive run in the Rolex 24 and while the team learns more each year, it has yet to finish on podium. In the past mechanical issues have plagued the team come race day. However, Park Place can take solace in its solid qualifying performances, the team has never qualified outside of the top 10. Alongside winning the pole in 2016 the team has qualified seventh in 2015, ninth in 2014 and fourth in 2013. Park Place’s luck is sure to change, the team is paired with the winningest manufacture, Porsche Motorsports.
It’s an Umlaut
Jörg Bergmeister has been called many things in life and it may be due to the multiple ways his name is misspelt. The correct spelling of the German Porsche Factory Driver’s name uses the umlaut. The shortcut to transform your o to ö is simple. For Mac users, press and hold the O key, a line of accent options will appear, select the second option by hitting the number two key. For PC users, hold the ALT key and then type the code 0246. Gut? Gut.
McMurry*
Not to be confused with McMurray. Matt McMurry will be back for each of the four Tequila Patròn Endurance Championship races. The rising star from Phoenix, Arizona scored second in qualifying at the 2015 Petit Le Man. The performance not only made him the highest qualified Porsche in the GTD class but it also made him a keeper. The team looks forward to continuing his development in the Porsche 911 GT3R. In case the name does sound familiar, it’s probably because he was the youngest driver to ever start that other 24-hour race, Le Mans.
