Offical Grand-Am GT RX-8 Thread
#1402
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Missed most of the race, but i caught the end which counts the most. ![Wink](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Congrats to Team SpeedSource for making it TWO. and to rest of the Mazda teams. Here's to a successful season for all the Mazda teams
![Wink](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Congrats to Team SpeedSource for making it TWO. and to rest of the Mazda teams. Here's to a successful season for all the Mazda teams
#1403
Congrats Speedsource!!!!! Nick , Steve and Nathan what a helluva team!!!!
Salenm congrats for finishing, dempsy racing for placing 6th, getting better every year!
Racer edge, better results next year!
Next race March 6th!!!
I am so tired , cold, but is was well worth it!
Salenm congrats for finishing, dempsy racing for placing 6th, getting better every year!
Racer edge, better results next year!
Next race March 6th!!!
I am so tired , cold, but is was well worth it!
#1404
Super Moderator
Great News #70!...Hope to see highlights/race soon here!
#1406
sick race couldent watch much if you happened to pass by the speedgear stand you probably saw me some sick rx8s out there #40 all the way ....there was also a hot white one with gold rims parked near the tunnel entrace nice front bumper gold rims wish i could have bought my car the blue va i was driving made me sick cant wait to get back to jersey and see my baby
#1407
S-Turns + RX8 = Zoom-Zoom
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[EMBED]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6p0lCcNmL8[/EMBED]
About 6:20 is the SpeedSource #70's shining moment
![](http://www.grand-am.com/images/content/story/GT_Winners_2010.jpg)
http://www.grand-am.com/news/index.c...es=r&cid=24991
Congrats again to SpeedSource for making it TWO!!
About 6:20 is the SpeedSource #70's shining moment
![](http://www.grand-am.com/images/content/story/GT_Winners_2010.jpg)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - In the GT class, SpeedSource's "never give up" motto was evident in making up several positions and laps during the latter stages of the race. Once down seven laps to the class leaders, No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 co-drivers Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, David Haskell and Jonathan Bomarito climbed back from a deep deficit to give the team its second Rolex 24 victory in three years. It was the second Rolex 24 class victory for Tremblay, Ham and Haskell, and Bomarito's first. It also marked Mazda's 23rd class victory in the Rolex 24 (complete race results).
"This win is for all the dealers, 900 of them all across North America and Mexico," Tremblay said. "And I think we have over 9,000 members in Mazda Speed Motorsports and club racers, that have the same will to win, the will to never give up. And that's what it was all about."
Tremblay started third in the No. 70, but wasn't able to stay up front early. The car lost two laps between the third and fourth hours and several more when Bomarito radioed to his crew the car was suffering from a vibration. By the 14th hour, the car was sixth in GT, but seven laps off the leader's pace. However, problems - mechanical woes and running out of fuel, among them - plagued SpeedSource's competitors, and by the 20th hour, the Mazda RX-8 led the class. Additional misfortunes by other competitors, coupled with SpeedSource's efforts, put the quartet ahead by four laps over the No. 67 ShoreTel/Openwave Porsche GT3 and co-drivers Seth Neiman, Johannes van Overbeek and 2009 co-winners Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long.
The SpeedSource drivers let the race come to them, and then stayed in position to take the victory. For 16 consecutive hours, no car from a team other than TRG or Stevenson Motorsports led the GT class. In fact, the two teams held the top five positions for most of that time as well.
Van Overbeek, Bergmeister and Long all led laps, both Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, and fought No. 71 TRG Porsche GT3 teammates and two Stevenson Camaros for the top spot.
But during the final quarter of the race, that all changed. Stevenson Motorsports driver Andrew Davis in the No. 57 BryanMark Financial/Stevenson Automotive Group Camaro vacated the lead when he brought his car behind the wall with transmission problems; all three drivers led, and combined for a race-high 217 laps. In the next two hours, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Bobby Labonte in the No. 71 TRG machine ran out of fuel on the superstretch. Though it occurred under caution, it was the last time the No. 71 led during the day.
The No. 67 Porsche GT3 also suffered setbacks - in fact, twice - while leading during the race's final six hours. A broken spring and a stuck throttle forced the team from the point both times.
"There were times where I'm sure the Stevenson guys thought they had it in the bag where we thought we had it," Long said. "The 71 and, of course, the Mazda guys, did a great job."
SpeedSource's No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8, featuring polesitter Jeff Segal, regulars Emil Assentato and Nick Longhi as well as veteran Anthony Lazzaro, was a solid top-five performer until a water leak did the car in after 17 hours. The No. 69 was relegated to 16th in class.
That left Tremblay's No. 70 up front, and by four laps. Overall, Tremblay, Ham, Haskell and Bomarito finished seventh. They finished with 145 laps led among them. Bomarito crossed the start/finish line under the checkered flag to complete the 707th GT lap.
"Amazing," Bomarito said. "I was fortunate enough to do this race with these same three guys last year. And to be able to come back and have that continuity and that relationship, we just felt so confident in all of each other's ability, the car, and we knew what we had to do. We just had to stay out of trouble and keep the car on the track, and we did that. And here we are. I got a new Rolex. I can't believe it."
Ham, who joined Tremblay and Haskell in the 2008 Rolex 24 victory, said prior to the race's finish he would be relinquishing his role as Tremblay's fulltime co-driver for 2010.
"It just feels really wonderful," Ham said. "And it's been an honor and a pleasure to represent SpeedSource and Sylvain and all these people...thank you very much for the opportunity. And it means a lot to me."
Bergmeister, Long, van Overbeek and Neiman finished second. TRG's Andy Lally, Wolf Henzler, Kelly Collins, Ted Ballou and Pat Flanagan finished third in the No. 66 AXA Porsche GT3 after overcoming a sensor failure before the race's halfway point. The field's only three-driver team - Davis, Robin Liddell and Jan Magnussen - finished fourth in the No. 57 Camaro, the new car's first race in Rolex Series competition. Craig Stanton, John Potter, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Richard Lietz were fifth in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3. Fourth through seventh places were separated by only one lap.
The next race for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series will be the Grand Prix of Miami on March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"This win is for all the dealers, 900 of them all across North America and Mexico," Tremblay said. "And I think we have over 9,000 members in Mazda Speed Motorsports and club racers, that have the same will to win, the will to never give up. And that's what it was all about."
Tremblay started third in the No. 70, but wasn't able to stay up front early. The car lost two laps between the third and fourth hours and several more when Bomarito radioed to his crew the car was suffering from a vibration. By the 14th hour, the car was sixth in GT, but seven laps off the leader's pace. However, problems - mechanical woes and running out of fuel, among them - plagued SpeedSource's competitors, and by the 20th hour, the Mazda RX-8 led the class. Additional misfortunes by other competitors, coupled with SpeedSource's efforts, put the quartet ahead by four laps over the No. 67 ShoreTel/Openwave Porsche GT3 and co-drivers Seth Neiman, Johannes van Overbeek and 2009 co-winners Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long.
The SpeedSource drivers let the race come to them, and then stayed in position to take the victory. For 16 consecutive hours, no car from a team other than TRG or Stevenson Motorsports led the GT class. In fact, the two teams held the top five positions for most of that time as well.
Van Overbeek, Bergmeister and Long all led laps, both Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, and fought No. 71 TRG Porsche GT3 teammates and two Stevenson Camaros for the top spot.
But during the final quarter of the race, that all changed. Stevenson Motorsports driver Andrew Davis in the No. 57 BryanMark Financial/Stevenson Automotive Group Camaro vacated the lead when he brought his car behind the wall with transmission problems; all three drivers led, and combined for a race-high 217 laps. In the next two hours, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Bobby Labonte in the No. 71 TRG machine ran out of fuel on the superstretch. Though it occurred under caution, it was the last time the No. 71 led during the day.
The No. 67 Porsche GT3 also suffered setbacks - in fact, twice - while leading during the race's final six hours. A broken spring and a stuck throttle forced the team from the point both times.
"There were times where I'm sure the Stevenson guys thought they had it in the bag where we thought we had it," Long said. "The 71 and, of course, the Mazda guys, did a great job."
SpeedSource's No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8, featuring polesitter Jeff Segal, regulars Emil Assentato and Nick Longhi as well as veteran Anthony Lazzaro, was a solid top-five performer until a water leak did the car in after 17 hours. The No. 69 was relegated to 16th in class.
That left Tremblay's No. 70 up front, and by four laps. Overall, Tremblay, Ham, Haskell and Bomarito finished seventh. They finished with 145 laps led among them. Bomarito crossed the start/finish line under the checkered flag to complete the 707th GT lap.
"Amazing," Bomarito said. "I was fortunate enough to do this race with these same three guys last year. And to be able to come back and have that continuity and that relationship, we just felt so confident in all of each other's ability, the car, and we knew what we had to do. We just had to stay out of trouble and keep the car on the track, and we did that. And here we are. I got a new Rolex. I can't believe it."
Ham, who joined Tremblay and Haskell in the 2008 Rolex 24 victory, said prior to the race's finish he would be relinquishing his role as Tremblay's fulltime co-driver for 2010.
"It just feels really wonderful," Ham said. "And it's been an honor and a pleasure to represent SpeedSource and Sylvain and all these people...thank you very much for the opportunity. And it means a lot to me."
Bergmeister, Long, van Overbeek and Neiman finished second. TRG's Andy Lally, Wolf Henzler, Kelly Collins, Ted Ballou and Pat Flanagan finished third in the No. 66 AXA Porsche GT3 after overcoming a sensor failure before the race's halfway point. The field's only three-driver team - Davis, Robin Liddell and Jan Magnussen - finished fourth in the No. 57 Camaro, the new car's first race in Rolex Series competition. Craig Stanton, John Potter, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Richard Lietz were fifth in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3. Fourth through seventh places were separated by only one lap.
The next race for the GRAND-AM Rolex Series will be the Grand Prix of Miami on March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Congrats again to SpeedSource for making it TWO!!
#1408
It's Not Easy Being Green
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It's a really, really, really nice watch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolex_Daytona
No idea what they're worth but it is certainly more than your car.![Wink](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Does anyone know who is replacing Ham as the second driver of the #70? I'm assuming it's Bomarito based on what the folks on Speed were saying about promoting up through the Mazda racing ranks but it could be Haskell as well.
Great way for Ham to go but I'm sure he'll be around in the near future.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolex_Daytona
No idea what they're worth but it is certainly more than your car.
![Wink](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Does anyone know who is replacing Ham as the second driver of the #70? I'm assuming it's Bomarito based on what the folks on Speed were saying about promoting up through the Mazda racing ranks but it could be Haskell as well.
Great way for Ham to go but I'm sure he'll be around in the near future.
Last edited by RK; 02-01-2010 at 08:23 AM.
#1411
whines all the way home
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They get prize money as well just like any other race, but its not much, pretty much just enough to rebuild the car, I just didnt say anything because I dont know the specific amount,,,
The biggest bonuses come from the Sponsors and Mazda,,,
heres an example of the Continental Challnge payouts, for the SpeedSource MS3s http://www.rotary4life.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668
The biggest bonuses come from the Sponsors and Mazda,,,
heres an example of the Continental Challnge payouts, for the SpeedSource MS3s http://www.rotary4life.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668
Last edited by Rotr8; 02-01-2010 at 10:56 AM.
#1413
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One of the Speed announcers said that when they won the 24 a couple years ago, Mazda Corp flew the team(drivers?) to Japan to meet with the CEO and board because they were so proud of them, calling it the best / most impactful win since their first 24hr win at Leman (sp?)
I HAVE to believe that it translated into additional funding or additional sponsorship or whatnot.
I know that nearly everyone in the lower Grand Am classes have day jobs, drivers and crew alike. It wouldn't surprise me that most of the GT class does as well.
I HAVE to believe that it translated into additional funding or additional sponsorship or whatnot.
I know that nearly everyone in the lower Grand Am classes have day jobs, drivers and crew alike. It wouldn't surprise me that most of the GT class does as well.
#1414
Ok, here ya go
Click on "2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona Race Purse" in the 5th column.
1st place DP and GT get $100k and $50k.
At least they don't call the race a grand prix, since it's meaningless nowadays.
In the grand scheme of things, no one's gonna care who's season champion, but who won the big race. 24 Hours of Le Mans is also part of a series, but many enter just to compete at Le Mans. The racing leagues changed a lot over the years, but the race remains the same.
Click on "2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona Race Purse" in the 5th column.
1st place DP and GT get $100k and $50k.
At least they don't call the race a grand prix, since it's meaningless nowadays.
In the grand scheme of things, no one's gonna care who's season champion, but who won the big race. 24 Hours of Le Mans is also part of a series, but many enter just to compete at Le Mans. The racing leagues changed a lot over the years, but the race remains the same.
#1415
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Ok, here ya go
Click on "2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona Race Purse" in the 5th column.
1st place DP and GT get $100k and $50k.
Click on "2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona Race Purse" in the 5th column.
1st place DP and GT get $100k and $50k.
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
The drivers, however, each get a Rolex which is what they care about. And the ones they get could probably be sold on Ebay for more than 50k each.
No idea if the owner of a team would get one if he isn't a driver but obviously with Speedsource that doesn't matter.
#1416
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More good news
Grand-AM said on Facebook that Speedsource is hoping to run a 3rd car for the next round @ homestead. I hope Nick Ham gets to drive more!!!
________
TopBlond cam
Grand-AM said on Facebook that Speedsource is hoping to run a 3rd car for the next round @ homestead. I hope Nick Ham gets to drive more!!!
________
TopBlond cam
Last edited by Renesis_8; 09-11-2011 at 03:32 PM.
#1417
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That would be great, not only are the more RX-8s the better, but also Nick is a class act, and he deserves to keep on driving for the best team in the paddock.
#1419
Registered
and i believe that's 50k to the team owner - not to each driver in the car. The prize money has always been a joke.
Correct. The money distribution are typically negotiated before hand. Some teams don't distribute as an additional income stream. There is no hard and fast rule for this.
There is large contingency from mazda and additional contingencies from the various rolex sponsors.
24 hr here: http://admin.grand-am.com/assets/201...aracepurse.pdf
rolex here: http://www.grand-am.com/news/index.c...view&cid=13519
mazda here: http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/pdfs...ontingency.pdf
castrol for speedsource funding (not conting.): Who knows. Huge.
Great pics of the watches: http://www.caracingnews.com/photo_en...&eid=235&gid=0
several team income streams come from parts and technical support from sponsors and oem's when they haven't gone under/dumped their racing support (think domestic car manuf.). Porsche typically supports teams via engineering effort.
Anyone who gets into racing for prize money at any level is mentally unfit to drive.
although between that, the money from mazda, and likely more money from other sponsors they might actually be able to pay for the oil, tires, and gas they used. ![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
several rolex teams turn a positive cash flow and make money otherwise they wouldn't be in biz for several years with some fielding increased numbers of cars. Without lots of data to back this up i would guess the average gentlemen driver's seat for the 24 hovers around 30-40k per seat. I've heard higher and i've heard lower.
The drivers, however, each get a rolex which is what they care about. And the ones they get could probably be sold on ebay for more than 50k each.
50k hugely doubtful. 20 maybe. 1968 winner/driver vic elford gave a speech in the driver's meeting this year and he still wore his from the 68' win. The very few drivers that i've talked to that have won one wouldn't sell it for the world.
No idea if the owner of a team would get one if he isn't a driver but obviously with speedsource that doesn't matter.
Correct. The money distribution are typically negotiated before hand. Some teams don't distribute as an additional income stream. There is no hard and fast rule for this.
There is large contingency from mazda and additional contingencies from the various rolex sponsors.
24 hr here: http://admin.grand-am.com/assets/201...aracepurse.pdf
rolex here: http://www.grand-am.com/news/index.c...view&cid=13519
mazda here: http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/pdfs...ontingency.pdf
castrol for speedsource funding (not conting.): Who knows. Huge.
Great pics of the watches: http://www.caracingnews.com/photo_en...&eid=235&gid=0
several team income streams come from parts and technical support from sponsors and oem's when they haven't gone under/dumped their racing support (think domestic car manuf.). Porsche typically supports teams via engineering effort.
Anyone who gets into racing for prize money at any level is mentally unfit to drive.
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
several rolex teams turn a positive cash flow and make money otherwise they wouldn't be in biz for several years with some fielding increased numbers of cars. Without lots of data to back this up i would guess the average gentlemen driver's seat for the 24 hovers around 30-40k per seat. I've heard higher and i've heard lower.
The drivers, however, each get a rolex which is what they care about. And the ones they get could probably be sold on ebay for more than 50k each.
50k hugely doubtful. 20 maybe. 1968 winner/driver vic elford gave a speech in the driver's meeting this year and he still wore his from the 68' win. The very few drivers that i've talked to that have won one wouldn't sell it for the world.
No idea if the owner of a team would get one if he isn't a driver but obviously with speedsource that doesn't matter.
do your homework bro. The big leaguers make money. Trg is a great example of this.
#1421
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Last edited by Renesis_8; 09-11-2011 at 03:33 PM.
#1422
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I loved Nick's comment when he was being interviewed after the race. "Now I have one for each wrist"!
Gonna miss Nick, his great driving skills and sense of humor.
Gonna miss Nick, his great driving skills and sense of humor.
#1423
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Last edited by Renesis_8; 09-11-2011 at 03:33 PM.
#1424
Super Moderator
Gee, I have never seen a BROKEN Rotary Engine Tension Bolt before...
With 18 of them holding the "sandwich" (irons, rotor housings) together...how the hell does it break???
Not installed correctly or perhaps over torqued by the re-builder??
With 18 of them holding the "sandwich" (irons, rotor housings) together...how the hell does it break???
Not installed correctly or perhaps over torqued by the re-builder??