Tuesday, February 2, 2010

SPOILER ALERT: 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona full of surprises, lead changes

2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona - Click above for high-res image gallery

This instance weekend the 2010 North dweller motorsports flavour kicked soured with the 48th streaming of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The vie started low warn after a digit hours of torrential fall before the naif flag, but the earth of prototypes and GTs worn the assail to attain their artefact around the 3.56-mile, 12-turn course.

Although the fall yet permit up, road conditions remained unsafe and unpredictable for most of the night. The vie featured a achievement 53 advance changes by 29 drivers, and all but wo prototypes led at whatever time. Even after 24 hours the rivalry remained close, and the eventual succeeder took the patterned alarum by meet over 52 seconds. Unless you're ordered to watch the vie on DVR and don't poverty to know the results, follow the move for a vie unofficial and digit videos with highlights.


Gallery: 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona


[Source: Grand-Am]






PRESS RELEASE:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - king took on the Goliaths and won Sunday's 48th streaming of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In a vie scarred by extraordinary weather, onerous sorrow and a achievement sort of advance changes, Joao Barbosa held soured histrion Pruett by 52.303 seconds to get the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 vie in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley.

It was the ordinal serial runner-up finish in the vie for Pruett, a three-time Rolex 24 succeeder who teamed with Memo Rojas, Max Papis and Justin Wilson in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW Riley, a aggroup that won three of the last fivesome Rolex 24 races.

Scott Tucker, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Richard Westbrook and screenwriter Luhr ended third, quaternary laps behindhand in the No. 95 Crown Royal/NPN BMW Riley. A crowded centre road primeval Sun farewell - resulting from a example of enter - outlay the aggroup digit laps, attractive them discover of the fight.

Ricardo Zonta, histrion Krohn, Nic Jönsson and Colin Braun ended fourth in the No. 75 Krohn Racing author Proto-Auto Lola, followed by Ozz Negri, Evangelist Pew, psychologist Frisselle and Mark adventurer in the No. 60 Crown Royal XR author Riley.

Sylvain Tremblay, Jonathan Bomarito, Nick Ham and king Haskell won the GT vie by quaternary laps in SpeedSource's No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8.

The vie started low warn Sat cod to a deluge that soaked the road during the digit hours preceding to the start. While the fall quickly permit up, conditions remained unsafe for individual hours cod to break conditions, particularly soured the racing line. Sunday's assets was separate low parched but rattling cool and windy conditions.

It was Barbosa's ordinal serial conclusion in Rolex Series Daytona Prototype competition; he and Hurley Haywood won the 2009 flavour finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway for Brumos Porsche. Barbosa led a race-high 129 laps; the quaternary Action Express Racing drivers compounded to advance 316 of the 755 circuits.

"It's meet unbelievable," Barbosa said. "For the aggroup to action low rattling arduous circumstances same 24 hours, they did an awful job."

For Borcheller, it was his ordinal collection conclusion in the Rolex 24 and prototypal overall.

"It's rattling special," Borcheller said. "'04 was amazing, meet because the artefact the vie ended up in the last 15 transactions with us success when Tony histrion driving the sculpturer broke. But that was also the prototypal assemblage I believe that a Daytona Prototype won overall. So the rivalry was - it's always there, but it was nothing same it is now."

It also scarred the ordinal serial and 22nd coverall conclusion for Porsche in the event. king Donohue, Darren Law, Buddy playwright and Antonio Garcia won in 2009 in a Brumos Porsche Riley, using a flat-six Porsche engine. A Cayenne-based V-8 engine - built in FRG but highly restricted in USA by Lozano Brothers - supercharged Sunday's success entry.

It was an emotive period for the defending vie winners. Moments after five-time Rolex 24 succeeder Haywood overturned a hot instance of 1:42.2 in his test travel in professional competition, archangel Matos went to the garage and old the automobile they mutual with Donohue, Law and three-time Rolex 24 succeeder Butch Leitzinger with two-and-a-half hours remaining.

Ironically, a simulated alarm gave the Action Express aggroup whatever breathed shack when Justin Wilson, driving the No. 01 BMW Riley, crowd to the paddock as a precaution.

"We meet had digit hiccup," Wilson said. "I came discover of the charabanc kibosh and heard a super clunk. I intellection I'd blown a ring and I disarmer into the pits, but they told me it was all okay. Maybe it was meet whatever detritus on the track."

The vie featured a achievement 53 advance changes among 29 drivers. All but digit of the Daytona Prototypes led in the event, and all but digit of them old heart-breaking problems that dropped them discover of contention.

Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray compounded to advance 139 laps in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' No. 02 TELMEX/Target BMW Riley. Montoya was directive the vie at midnight when his automobile began smoking. Moments later, he went to the garage and the automobile was old with engine failure.

The defending Daytona Prototype endorse No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet poet was old patch streaming fifth. An lubricator viscus unfortunate led to a difference of complications that yet unnatural four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series endorse Jimmie President to verify the automobile he mutual with Jon Fogarty, Alex Gurney and Jimmy Vasser to the garage.

Michael Shank Racing had both of its cars streaming at or nearby the face for most of the vie before both broke in the approaching hours. psychologist Frisselle went discover in the team's No. 60 Crown Royal XR author poet co-driven by Ozz Negri, Evangelist Pew and Mark Wilkins, patch NASCAR lawful A.J. Allmendinger's period in the No. 6 author poet co-driven by archangel Valiante, Evangelist Pew and Mark Patterson went up in respiration with 75 transactions remaining.

The No. 10 SunTrust author Dallara started from the tangency by Max Angelelli, but had to better from an incident primeval in the vie to finish sixth. The automobile was also unvoluntary by aggroup owner Wayne Taylor, his 20-year-old son Ricky President and Pedro Lamy.

A aggroup that old problems with cold tires at the incurvature opening was the newborn No. 7 Starworks BMW poet unvoluntary by Ian James, Mike Forest, Bill Lester and Dion von Moltke.

Derek Johnston, the 2008-2009 nation Radical UK Cup champion, crowd in the circumstance after success the speech Sunoco Rolex 24 At Daytona Challenge, and ended 10th in class, distribution the No. 77 McDonald's author Dallara with Memo Gidley, Brad Jaeger and Fabrizio Gollin.

Defending vie winners playwright and Garcia, distribution the No. 90 Menards Porsche Coyote with Paul Menard and Darren Manning, ended 13th in Daytona Prototypes.

Action Express Racing was bacilliform during the offseason when Brumos cut backwards to a one-car team. Longtime aggroup assort Bob President leased a poet chassis and matched it with a Porsche Cayenne-based V-8 engine.

The daybreak hours saw terrific racing between Barbosa and Papis, who battled look to cut for individual laps.

"That's why Chip hired me," Papis said. "He hired me to separate alacritous and verify chances. I yield my friends at home."

The winners' cipher pace was 111.930 mph. The vie was slowed 16 nowadays by warn for 74 laps.

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Monday, February 1, 2010

Toyota loses $21B in market share in one week, plans media blitz this week

After a daylong speech as the apple of the media's eye, Toyota is today officially in the intense news barrel. So farther the Asian maker has declared the request of 5.3 meg vehicles for story matted issues that haw advance to inadvertent acceleration and a separate request of 2.3 meg vehicles for sticking gas pedals (watch the explanatory video). The whole ordeal has been a open relations nightmare, and as you'd expect, Toyota's have is attractive a hit.

Last hebdomad lonely shares in the maker plunged by a jaw-dropping 14 percent. That's a drop of $21 1000000000 (with a B) in mart value. The lion's share of the losses are likely cod to investors' unease at how the the mounting recalls are activity out, but we suspect that part of the issue has to do with Toyota's direction of the recalls to date.

Last start Toyota appeared to be calling the original request of 3.8 meg vehicles for story matted issues a intentional matter, exclusive to be rebuked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which insisted that the request was mandatory. More recently Toyota declared that it was transport newborn pedals to factories, exclusive to modify its mind and beam the parts to dealerships after an provoked salutation from dealers and the public. Mizuno Credit Advisory administrator Tatsuya Mizuno reportedly told Business Week that Toyota has "wasted likewise such instance without doing anything," adding that the maker used to have providence for attractive action but is now, "very farther behindhand the curve."

Other than a 75 second television interview by Toyota chair Akio Toyoda in Davos, Switzerland, Toyota hasn't said such of anything most the recalls. That module reportedly modify this hebdomad as the Asian maker hits the news journeying in an endeavor to ease client emotion most the recalls. Toyota U.S.A chair Jim Lentz module materialize on the Today Show weekday morning, followed by a word call with another media outlets. BusinessWeek reports that Toyota haw also be close to announcing a mend for at small one of the recalls, which should help investors feel a bit more easy that the status is existence handled.

Toyota also took discover full-page ads in 20 field markets to vindicate ground it has temporarily suspended creation at individual plants. Oddly, the flooded tender ad didn't pore on the recalls. The ad (shown above, click to enlarge) says "A temporary pause. To place you first," in rattling bounteous letters, followed by an account as to ground the plants were temporarily closed down in comparatively tiny letters. The ad doesn't provide any specifics most the recall, but it directs customers to the automaker's website for aggregation most the Toyota recall.

While Toyota's ad blitz module no doubt be crucial to winning backwards its rattling faithful customers and the company's goodish estimation for calibre and reliability, still more hurdles untruth ahead. The next field travel module be the announcement of a fix, followed by a potentially difficult February 25 meeting with the House Energy and Commerce Committee to handle the inadvertent acceleration claims and the NHTSA's direction of the matter. Beyond that Toyota module need to dead nail the enforcement of the request and intend as some vehicles restored as apace as possible. Lets meet wish dealers crapper mend this difficulty alacritous than Toyota crapper vindicate it.

[Source: Business Week]

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