Rocketsports PR Following Daytona

[Liz]

Rocketsports Racing Notes and Quotes Following Sunday's GTS Class Victory at Daytona

The Rocketsports Racing Team, featuring defending Trans-Am Series champion Paul Gentilozzi and former champions Brian Simo and Scott Pruett, captured the GTS class victory in a Jaguar XKR last Sunday in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

The victory was Jaguar’s first at the Rolex 24 since 1992, when Pruett was joined by Davy Jones, David Brabham and Scott Goodyear in claiming the checkered flag. Gentilozzi and Pruett were also teammates in driving to the overall Rolex 24 victory in 1994 in a Nissan GTS.

It marked the first Rolex 24 victory for Simo and for Michael Lauer, who rounded out the victorious GTS quartet.
Here are some quotes from the four drivers following the victory:

PAUL GENTILOZZI: “This one [victory] is even more special because our team did it, Rocketsports, that came here and did what we had to do to win. It was not the overall win [as in 1994] but hey, GTS isn’t supposed to win the overall. We [the GTS class] win the overall only if someone else fails, and that’s not how we like to win. It happened the way it was supposed to happen. We prefer to earn it, and boy, did we ever this weekend … right down to that last pit stop in the last half hour.

“I’m so fortunate to have a great group of guys that I trust implicitly. They worked so hard to turn this Trans-Am car into a Grand-Am GTS mount. This is the care that I won my Trans-Am championship last year with … 30 days ago it was still a Trans-Am car.

“And don’t forget the stellar co-drivers I had. There’s not a more talented or more wonderful group of guys to spend all day and all night with!”

SCOTT PRUETT: “I’m fortunate to have had several really great experiences here in the Rolex 24. But there are two reasons why this one stands out as being the most special. First, it was 10 years ago [1992] that I won in a Jaguar, and to be able to come back 10 years later and give them a repeat victory means a lot to me.

“The second reason is to be able to win here with Rocketsports Racing and Paul Gentilozzi. We’ve shared a friendship and passion for racing for many years, and to be able to incorporate them both here at the Rolex 24 is the epitome of winning. All the things we’ve done together, this is just one more.

“This is such a team effort and nowhere is that more evident than at Rocketsports. Everyone works so hard, and not just at the track. It always starts weeks, months ahead of time, and continues to the checkered flag. So, it’s no wonder why the car performs so well, so consistently throughout the race.”

BRIAN SIMO: “Winning has taken on a new meaning for me today. This is one of my driving career highlights - driving in this race with Rocketsports and drivers like Paul Gentilozzi and Scott Pruett. It means to be able to drive to win, to be picked as a co-driver with Paul and Scott because they think that I can contribute to that win.
It’s validation by people in my own world. That really means something, and so does this victory in the Rolex 24. I just wanted to be a teammate and give whatever, whenever I could, and I feel like we all did that this weekend.
“Everyone knows that Paul and I are friends, but competitors on the Trans-Am circuit. But we were teammates here. I just drive the cars, I don’t build or engine them, so my only mission this weekend was to race … to do one of the things that Paul and I do best together - as teammates or competitors.”

MICHAEL LAUER: “This is ‘The Dream Team.’ There’s not a better bunch of guys or drivers to work with. They all make winning seem really easy. The car was fantastic. It ran like it could go another 24 hours. All I had to do was drive easy, stay out of trouble, and they all took care of the rest.”

[Es Nes]

will we see anymore agt cars in gts now?

[Simon Pullan]

I liked the quote in I thinkit was USA Today which said in relation to Paul Gentilozzi's bad experience with Saleen last year:

'Whoever you are, there is someone with a paddle big enough to spank your ass. Today we brought ours.'

Fantastically put.