Rockenfeller Back in Prototype competition to bookend 2014 IMSA schedule
Daytona Beach, Fla. (29 September 2014) – The inaugural IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship will come to a close this weekend at Road Atlanta with the prestigious 10-hour Petit Le Mans event. Visit Florida Racing enters the season-finale third in the championship and just one point out of second place in the standings.
As the team pursues a victory in the season-ending race, Visit Florida Racing also targets a runner-up position in the championship when the checkered flag flies on the 2014 season at Petit. A second place result in the standings would be the Visit Florida squad’s best-ever IMSA championship result.
Full season drivers Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante will once again be joined by Mike Rockenfeller at the wheel of the No. 90 VISIT FLORIDA Corvette Daytona Prototype. The trio combined for a fourth place finish in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. The three last raced together in the 12 Hours of Sebring in which Visit Florida Racing placed 10th.
“I am looking forward to being back in the Visit Florida car with Spirit of Daytona Racing for Petit Le Mans,” said ‘Rocky’. “We have a little unfinished business because we were strong in Daytona but didn’t have the podium result to show for it. The team is working hard to finish well in the championship and hopefully we can close the season with a good race at Road Atlanta. A big thanks to Audi for letting me do this during the DTM season and I am really looking forward to the race.”
Even without Visit Florida Racing’s championship ambitions, the Petit Le Mans event is a race that every team would like to win. After not having the outing the team had hoped for in the previous round of Circuit of the Americas, Visit Florida Racing is more motivated than ever for a run at victory on Saturday.
“I hope and expect us to be back to where we were a few races ago, which was very strong and consistent,” said Westbrook. “We need to get back to that. Petit Le Mans is an amazing event, and even if it wasn’t a part of the championship, as a standalone event you still want to do well there. I am really looking forward to going there and getting back to our good ways.”
Visit Florida Racing recently tested at the 2.54-mile road course located outside of Atlanta and will look to translate the data collected into a positive performance in the final race of the year.
“We had a good car at the test at Road Atlanta, so hopefully we can have a shot at the win this weekend,” said Valiante. “Petit Le Mans is just a matter of staying out of trouble until the last half an hour or so. So the goal will be to get to the end of the race and see where we are and if we are racing for the lead we will definitely go for it.”
A win at Watkins Glen and four podium results in the highly competitive inaugural TUDOR Championship shows just how hard the entire Visit Florida Racing team has worked this year and a victory in the Petit Le Mans would be the perfect way to close out the season.
“I’d like to get another win and it would be great to have a win at Road Atlanta – we’ve never won that race,” offered Team Owner Troy Flis. “It would be cool to win Petit. We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’re still in the hunt for second in the championship so that’s what we’re shooting for now.”
The TUDOR Championship will hold four practice sessions ahead of prototype qualifying which is set to take place Friday evening at 5:25 PM ET. The 15-minute qualifying session will be streamed LIVE on imsa.com. A 20-minute warm up Saturday morning will precede the 10-hour Petit Le Mans which will go green at 11:15 AM.
IMSA.com will carry LIVE coverage of the race and Fox Sports 2 will pick up the race in progress beginning at 3:00 PM ET Saturday. FOX will televise a recap show on Sunday – check your local listings.
