Mooresville, NC (27 January 2010)—For the sixth consecutive year, the Rolex 24 At Daytona race-winning team used speed, consistency, and a Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype to win the season-opening GRAND-AM race at Daytona International Speedway.

Action Express Racing, competing in its very first Rolex Sports Car Series race after being formed in the off season,  went with the proven performance of the Riley Technologies MK XXII when deciding what package to compete with, and that decision paid dividends as Joao Barbosa, Ryan Dalziel, Mike Rockenfeller, and Terry Borcheller made a dramatic debut with their Rolex 24 victory.

The winning No. 9 finished just 53 seconds ahead of the No. 01 Ganassi Riley Technologies entry, with another Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype taking the final spot on the overall podium as Crown Royal/NPN Racing Level 5 Motorsports took third to score the teams first Rolex 24 podium result. Nine of the ten Riley Technologies Daytona Prototypes that were entered in the race led the event. Despite starting out under a caution flag due to the rainy conditions, the 48th running of the race set a torrid pace, covering 755 laps of the 3.56-mile oval based circuit to set a new record for the Daytona Prototype era, and the third-highest in the event’s long history.
 
The overall victory wasn’t the only thing that Riley Technologies, a division of Sea Star Group Inc. (SGQZ),  had to celebrate after the grueling twice around the clock event.

The GT-Class winning No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 machine utilized a SpeedSource-built Riley Technologies chassis to score a second Rolex 24 class victory in three years with Nick Ham, David Haskell, Sylvain Tremblay, and Jonathan Bomarito sharing the driving as Riley Technologies VP Bill Riley called the race from atop the pit box.

Dempsey Racing made it two SpeedSource-built Riley Technologies Mazdas in the top ten with a run to 6th at the finish, as Turner Motorsports made an impressive Rolex Sports Car Series race debut to finish the event 8th in the GT class with the Riley Technologies GT chassis for the No. 94 BMW M6.
The race weekend not only saw an impressive on-track performance from the organization, as Riley Technologies staff were also hard at work in the garages long before the race started following a practice crash with the No. 99 entry.

The damage forced a rebuild for the entire back end of the machine, with Riley Tech representatives working hand in hand through the night with the Gainsco team to effect repairs. That solid support, and the team’s hard work saw the machine take to the track in time for the first practice session on Friday before going on to led the race. An oil line issue ultimately prevented the familiar red machine from making it to the race finish.

“This was an incredible weekend for us,” said Riley Technologies VP Bill Riley, who also oversaw the Daytona debut of the Riley Technologies Chevrolet Camaro in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition. “Everyone really rallied to help get the 99 back on track, and we were happy to be a part of that effort. The race pace was impressive, and we had another very close finish. To have the race decided by less than a minute after 24 hours of hard racing is amazing. The pace was flat-out for the entire 24 hours, even though the conditions were so tricky at the start. The GT Class fight was also incredibly intense. To see so many of our customers make it to the finish in such a long hard race makes everyone in this company proud, and after we catch upon some sleep, we will be ready to go again at Homestead!”

GRAND-AM  will stage round two of the 2010 championship at Homestead Miami Speedway March 5-6.


Riley Technologies Fast Facts, 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona:
    •    9 of 10 Riley Technologies Daytona Prototypes entered in the event led the race
    •    Record race distance in Daytona Prototype era: 755 laps/2687.8 miles
    •    Riley Technologies led 707 of 755 laps
    •    2nd occasion of Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype and GT Class Victory (2008, 2010)
    •    22nd and 23rd Class Victories for Riley family at Daytona (for comparison-Porsche has 65 class wins)
    •    Turner Motorsport Rolex Series Debut-Completed the race, finishing 8th in class
    •    Three Riley Technologies GT machines in top 10/GT Class