LISTA DALLARA ON POLE
With Didier Theys of Scottsdale, Ariz.
behind the wheel of the Doran-Lista Dallara Judd #27, the Lebanon, Ohio-based
Doran-Lista Racing team won the pole for this weekend’s Rolex 24 Hours of
Daytona at Daytona International Speedway, the most prestigious endurance
sports car race in North America.
Theys’ fastest lap was clocked at 1:42.058, which computes to an average
speed of 125.576 mph.
Theys did six laps in all during the 15-minute qualifying session on the
3.56-mile track.
"The most important thing for me was to try to find a clean spot on the
track where there wasn’t much traffic in front of you," Theys said. "It’s
always good to win the pole because it shows the teamwork and the good
chemistry that the Doran-Lista Racing team has. The track was very slippery
today; mainly the heat did that. The colder weather that’s forecast for this
weekend will be better for the car and the engine."
Thursday’s temperatures were in the mid-80s compared to the 40s in the
three-day test session here earlier this month.
Co-driver Max Papis of Miami Beach, Fla. had set an unofficial track
record here during that test session with a lap at an average speed of
127.942 mph.
"We really didn’t make too many changes on the car for today’s session
from the set-up we came up with at the test because the weather forecast will
be for cooler conditions for the race this weekend," Theys added.
Theys will start the race on Saturday at 1 p.m. Team manager Kevin Doran
said he hasn’t determined the driver rotation yet but it will probably be
Theys, Fredy Lienhard of Erlen, Switzerland; Mauro Baldi of Monte Carlo (who
celebrated his birthday Thursday) and Papis. No matter what the final driver
rotation is, Doran said the plan for the race will be for each driver to do
double stints (a stint in this car is about 50 minutes) and then begin triple
stints.
"The track is slower today and greasier and the air conditions were
worse, so getting a lap that was as good as that one was was pretty
difficult. It’s pretty slippery out there," Doran said. "We always thought
that this car was fast enough to get the pole. Now we’ll concentrate on
trying to get it to run fast for all 24 hours.
"Tonight all four drivers will get used to the car," Doran continued.
"After the night practice session tonight we’ll put the race engine in and
then skip tomorrow morning’s practice session. We’ll use tomorrow
afternoon’s practice session as sort of a warm-up session and a systems check
to make sure everything is in order for the race."
Theys was pleased with his pole, which is actually his second pole in
this event. The Belgium native sat on the pole in 1996 and won this race in
1998.
"I haven’t checked the record book but it seems like nobody wins this
race from the pole, so I hope we can change that this weekend!" Theys said.
Theys’ car finished second the other year he won the pole.
"Winning a pole shows the effort that the Doran Racing team always puts
forth," Theys added. "Kevin and Jeff [Graves, the crew chief] and the rest
of the team have worked very hard. Everything on this car is brand-new since
the test and it came to the track ready to go. Winning the pole is always an
accomplishment, but I give all the credit first and foremost to the Doran
Racing crew for all their hard work."
Starting in the front should also help the sometimes hairy start of this
race.
"If you can start in the top five rows you’re in good shape," Theys
said. "Those drivers are usually drivers that you know and they’re pros,
which makes it easier."
The top 35 positions on the grid were locked in during that qualifying
session.
The top three cars in qualifying all use the Judd engine. This
particular engine has never finished a 24-hour race due to other problems the
cars encountered, but Theys and the rest of the Doran-Lista Racing team hope
to change that this weekend.
"There’s not much we can do about it as drivers but try to be smooth,"
Theys said. "I guess we’ll know Sunday afternoon.
"Gearboxes also take a great deal of punishment in a 24-hour race, but
they can be changed if necessary," he added. "The rules stipulate we can’t
change the engine though."
Goodyear is the spec tire for this series this year. Two compounds are
available; a hard one and a softer one.
"We qualified on the hard compound, and the Goodyear tires were very
good," Theys said. "We ran more or less the same set-up as we’ll run for the
race, so I think they’ll be fine in the race too."
Back to 2002 Rolex 24 Index
Created and Designed by John Favata
Last updated Jan.22,2002
