The 52nd Running of the Rolex 24 was a Spectacular First Race for the USCC

The 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona did not disappoint. Close racing and several class and overall lead changes along with good media coverage made for an exciting event.

The third hour of the race, however, saw a massive collision between the pole sitting No. 99 GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP of Memo Gidley and the Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia GT driven by Matteo Malucelli.  The incident caused a red flag that lasted over an hour as debris was cleared from the track.

At this time, Malucelli has been released from the hospital after suffering a concussion.  Gidley has had surgery on both his left arm and leg and may require an addition surgery to his back. He remains hospitalized.

The Prototype class finished with the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP drivers Sebastian Boirdais, Joao Barbosa, and Christian Fittipaldi winning a late race battle over the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP. The No. 10 car did a fabulous job catching up to be in contention for the win following Max Angelelli’s spin caused by contact with the No. 32 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS of James Sofronas during the seventh hour.

In the spec Prototype Challenge class, CORE Autosport won their inaugural Rolex 24. It was not an easy victory for CORE Autosport.  Jon Bennett was spun by a GTLM car at the start and the team fought to make up a lost lap. Bennett and co drivers, James Gue, Colin Braun, and Mark Wilkins won in PC with a ninth place finish overall.

In GTLM the 24 hour long race came down to a 2.838 second margin of victory for the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Porsche North America.  Patrick Pilet beat the No. 55 Z4 GTE of BMW Team RLL’s Joey Hand to the checkered flag after BMW Team RLL’s driving and pitwork helped them made up a two lap deficit.

The large GTD class faced a controversial finish that took the win away from the No. 555 Ferrari 458 Italia of Level 5 Motorsports. On the final lap, Level 5 driver Alessardo Pier Guidi, and the Flying Lizard Motorsports No. 45 Audi R8 LMS of Markus Winkelhock were battling for the class win. On the infield section Pier Guidi moved wide exiting a corner, forcing Winkelhock to drive into the grass, thus losing track position to Pier Guidi. At the finish line, the No. 555 car was issued a stop-and-hold plus 75 second penalty for, what the race director deemed avoidable contact.  An hour after the conclusion of the race IMSA retracted the penalty, giving the win back to Level 5 Motorsports.