Performance Friction teams took 1 st and 2 nd place in both races this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway Rolex 24 Hr race and the Continental Tire Challenge 200 race. Ganassi Racing clenched their 4 TH Daytona 24hr race on Sunday. The No. 01 and No.2 BMW Riley Daytona prototype cars took first and second place. Both of the BMW Riley, Daytona Prototype cars ran full Performance Friction brake packages.
Friday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Grand-Am 200, was no exception as well. APR Motorsports’ VW GTI came away with the win in ST class. Rum Bum Racing’s BMW M3, driven by Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb, cruised to an overall victory in GS class followed by Multimatic Motorsports’ Mustang Boss 302R in second place. In addition to the top two finishers, all four Bimmerworld cars were running PFC brakes.
With Performance Friction claiming top 2 finishes in both Grand-Am races at Daytona including the prestigious Rolex 24, its no fluke PFC dominated the podium, Performance Friction is QUICKER.
In the Rolex 24 hr, the No. 1 BMW Riley car with driver Scott Pruett behind the wheel held off Scott Dixon in the No.2 Ganassi BMW Riley car in the final laps to capture one of the most competitive 24-hour challenges in history. After going down a lap early in the race, both teams battled back to the lead lap and continued to lead a chunk of the race.
The 01 team faced a penalty in the last few hours of the race for hitting a tire in their pit box. Driver Joey Hand was forced to bring the 01 BMW Riley back down pit lane and serve a 20 second penalty. Hand made up nearly the entire 50 second gap to the leader in his stint which put the team back in position to win. Hand pulled down pit lane to turn over driving duties for the final stint the team was able to short pit the car, allowing Scott Pruett to pass 2 cars on pit lane and retake the lead. In the final 10 minutes of the race there was a late caution for the Coyote-Chevrolet of Sascha Maassen. The previous 23 plus hours of racing came down to a one lap shootout. Pruett was able to hold off Scott Dixon in the 02 and claim a record, fourth overall Rolex 24 victory. The victorious 01 driver lineup included veteran road racer Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Joey Hand and Graham Rahal. In the 02 car were NASCAR stars Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray along with Indy Car stars Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.
The 01 and 02 Daytona Prototypes ran full PFC brake packages with the Zero Drag caliper. Ganassi Racing used a quick disconnect system on the caliper which allowed the team to change the entire brake system in a matter of minutes. Ganassi Racing’s success was due in large part to PFC’s unique patented Zero Drag brake technology which was just recently named 2011 Most Innovative Motorsports Product of the Year at the Motorsports Symposium.
Performance Friction’s Zero Drag Caliper system was designed to eliminate brake drag that is associated with traditional caliper designs. Most caliper designs allow the pad to drag against the rotor even while not under braking, creating a significant amount of brake drag. The Zero Drag Caliper System uses a patented pad retraction system that retracts the pad from the rotor thus eliminating all drag. Zero Drag technology allows the car to release cleaner and quicker during transitions, utilize more horsepower, and reduce brake temperatures—all of which are huge benefits in racing.
Speed TV’s Justin Bell, pointed out the superior Performance Friction braking system that Ganassi had on the car and the advantage it was giving them vs. other competitors brake systems. While some teams experienced brake failure during the Rolex 24, the Ganassi Racing DPs never had a single issue as did any other team running PFC.
