Shane Lewis to Race No 32 Orbit
911 in 32nd Carrera 24 Hour Race
Florida Resident Pilots Porsche for 50th
Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona
The perfect car number to act
as a harbinger of success? Perhaps it's fate's way of giving the nod to
sports car racing veteran Shane Lewis. The Jupiter, Fla.-resident has
been named to the driver lineup of the No. 32 GMG/Orbit/Spectra
Resources Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24
At Daytona. The January 28-29 Grand-Am Rolex Series season-opening
event at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) will mark the 32nd
24-hour endurance race of Lewis's career, his second of 2012. The
multi-time Grand-Am sanctioned series event winner will be making his
15th start in America's premier 24-hour race. Lewis will co-drive with
Nicolas Armindo (Colmar, France), Bret Curtis (Valencia, Calif.), James
Sofronas (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Lance Willsey (Chestnut Hill,
Mass.) for the Florida-based operation.
Lewis is a longtime test and
development driver for the Rodger Hawley-owned Orbit Racing. The former
Daytona Endurance Champion assisted Orbit at the January 6-8 "Roar
Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona" to help fine-tune the Porsche's setup
on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn speedway road course. Lewis took part in the
first two days of official testing before departing to compete in the
Dubai 24 Hour.
While the Rolex 24 makes-up
nearly half of Lewis's all-time 24-hour race starts, the
California-born driver has also driven premier twice-around-the-clock
races at Le Mans (1999, 2000, 2003) - leading the GT-class in 2003 -
and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring ('04, '05, '10, '11) - winning his
class in '10 and taking podium finishes in '04 and '11. He also has two
overall victories in the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges. Additional 24-hour
events are joined by other classic endurance races including six Petit
Le Mans ('98-'01, '03, '10) and seven 12 Hours of Sebring ('97-'98,
'00-'03, '10).Lewis's prior Rolex 24 At Daytona starts came in
1997-2002 and 2004-'11.
The Rolex 24 comes two weeks
after Lewis started his 31st lifetime 24-hour race in Dubai. Racing an
Aston Martin Vantage N24 GT4 at the Dubai Autodrome, Lewis started 15th
in the SP3 class and finished fifth. A lengthy transmission repair
interrupted a strong chance at a podium finish.
Lewis has competed in every
major class of sports car in every major international series. He has
raced to Rolex Series and Grand-Am support series victories as well as
earning podium results in the Daytona Prototype class. In 2011, Lewis
won his class in the Six Hours of the Nürburgring.
Official practice for the Rolex
24 begins on Thursday, January 26. The race will be broadcast live on
SPEED. The telecast begins with a one-hour pre-race show at 2:30 p.m.
(ET) on Saturday, January 28. Live event coverage starts with the fall
of the green flag at 3:30 p.m. and continues for the first
seven-and-a-half hours of the endurance classic (3:30-11 p.m.). The
live coverage will resume at 9 a.m., Sunday, January 29, until 4 p.m.
SpeedTV.com will provide live coverage during the nighttime hours.
Shane Lewis on the grid.
Image by John Dagys
Quotes
Shane Lewis
About competing in the 50th
Anniversary Rolex 24 with Orbit Racing: "I have worked with the Orbit
team and their customers for on-track days and club races for many
years now. When Rodger decide to come back to Grand-Am racing at
Daytona this year for the 24 Hour and asked me to be a part of it, I
was thrilled. When you combine our performances at Daytona together we
are really a winning combination."
About racing car No. 32 in his
32nd career 24-hour race: "I am not a superstitious guy or one who
believes in omens. But, I have to tell you that learning I'd be driving
car 32 for my 32nd career 24-hour start, well, only good thing can come
from that!"
About his expectations for the
Rolex 24: "There are 46 GT cars in the field this year and you could
pick 10 to 15 teams that have a real shot at winning this race. I don't
think that has ever been the case in the history of a class at Daytona.
I think we can be one of those top teams."
About the greatest challenges
for an endurance driver in a 24-hour race: "You have to drive smart.
That doesn't mean slow. That means patience, awareness, focus,
controlled aggression, picking your moves carefully and precisely while
always mindful that this is a team effort. Everything you do is for the
betterment of the team. Keeping that mindset and executing it for 24
hours is always the toughest thing."
About the prestige of racing in
the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24: "Just the word 'Daytona' is
renowned on its own. It's known around the world. Add in 'Rolex', then
the milestone of the 50th anniversary and this becomes the most
prestigious 24-hour race in North American history. This is a race and
a grid that will be remembered. It is an honor to be a part of it."
For more on Shane Lewis, visit:
ShaneLewis.com. Follow Shane Lewis on Twitter @Go_Shane_Go and Facebook
at Shane Lewis - Athlete.
To follow the 50th Anniversary
of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Rolex Sports Car Series, visit
www.Grand-Am.com.
Learn about Orbit Racing and
the No. 32 Porsche at www.OrbitRacing.com.
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