What was shaping up to be a strong afternoon for the No. 3 8Star Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype team came to a jarring conclusion on lap 46 when Pedro Lamy made hard contact with the turn 4 impact barriers and the resulting damage forced the team to retire 15 laps/33 minutes from the checkered flag.
Stephane Sarrazin drove the bright orange Chevy Vette DP to a fourth-place postion in Friday afternoon’s 15-minute qualifying session. His run of 1:27.862 minutes was a mere 0.165-of-a-second slower than pole winner Jordan Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP.
A crash on the first lap of Saturday’s two-hour race brought out a 20-minute full course caution. The 8Star team determined right before going back to green on lap 7 that the caution laps may have provided enough fuel economy to complete the race with just one fuel stop. Sarrazin kept up the pace and the fourth position for the first hour and, when another full-course caution slowed the field, brought the Enzo Potolicchio-owned entry down pit lane on lap 33 for the driver change with Lamy.
Strong work by the 8Star pit crew maintained position on the stop and Lamy took the green flag in fourth place on lap 38 with 46-and-a-half minutes remaining. The early cautions had, indeed, saved enough fuel to go the distance so Lamy had the balance of the race to pick up as many positions possible. Unfortunately, the opposite proved to be the case as Lamy had slipped to seventh when the team’s day came to a sudden end.
The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing team, with drivers Taylor and Max Angelelli, earned the victory by 0.486-of-a-second ahead of the No. 5 Action Express Racing team of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi.
8Star Motorsports is currently eighth in the Grand-Am Rolex Series team standings with 113 points. The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing team leads with 148.
The sixth race of the 2013 Rolex Grand-Am Series Daytona Prototype season is Saturday, June 15 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The Diamond Cellar Classic begins at 4:30 pm Eastern Time and will be broadcast live on SPEED and MRN Radio.
Quotes
Stephane Sarrazin (after first stint): “I was running the same pace as the guys in the front but it was not so easy with the traffic. I was pushing hard behind third (place) and I was catching a bit, picking up two-tenths a lap so now we’ll see what happens.
Pedro Lamy: “I was pushing and I think I went a little bit too wide on the track and went off. It was my mistake. I’m OK.”
Enzo Potolicchio (team owner): “We’re actually really happy with the weekend. The result is what it is but we’re happy with the progress of the team and we’re looking forward to Mid-Ohio and the rest of the season. I think the podium (top-three finish) is close, closer than ever, so I’m happy with the direction the team is taking.”
Source : 8Star Motorsports