The Diamond Cellar Classic, featuring the Rolex Sports Car Series Race, was held Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and launched the 52nd season at the course. Grand-Am Road Racing was the sanctioning body for the race.
Located at 7721 Steam Corners Road, Lexington, the race began at 4:30 p.m., with a 3:30 p.m. pre-race grid walk for the fans. Pit & Paddock passes allowed fans to enjoy the Grid Walks before the races. “We let the fans get up-close and personal with our cars,” said Emily Nash Marketing Coordinator for Grand-Am. “The cars are the stars. We strive for engagement between of our fans with the drivers,” Nash said.
“This will be the last year we are here as Grand-Am Racing,” said Nash. September 2013 Grand-Am announced the merger with one of its biggest competitors, American Le Mans Series.
The Rolex Series included two classes of cars: Daytona Prototypes or (DPs) and the Grand Touring (GTs) racing simultaneously. The Rolex is measured in time, not distance, and requires more than one driver. Two-man teams competed in the race and Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, driving an Action Express Racing corvette, won the first-place finish in 2:45.40 on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn course.
Enzo Potolicchio and Michael Valiante were 1.427 seconds behind the number one team, also with a Corvette DP.
An unexpected turn of events included firey destruction of a DP car. The no.6, Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley caught fire and was cleared from the track. The driver escaped uninjured.
Excitement and filled the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as the new season began. The next event will be Mechanics Bank Vintage Grand Prix on June 28-30. For more information about upcoming events, visit www.midohio.com or call 419-884-4000.
For more clips of the race and other Mid-Ohio events, check out their YouTube channel for great videos like these:
