Verizon Wireless Porsche Riley Finishes 11th at Daytona
July 4, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 4, 2009) – Romain Dumas drove the Penske Racing No. 12 Verizon Wireless Porsche Riley to an 11th-place finish in the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.
Team co-driver Timo Bernhard qualified the car earlier in the day, securing the sixth starting position in Round 7 of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.
“We had a short practice session this morning,” said Bernhard. “We had little more than an hour to set the car up before qualifying then a quick turnaround to get it race ready. It has been a very fast-paced day.”
With the heat index in Daytona nearing 100 degrees, the Grand-Am Series completed a one-day shootout on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course and both Penske drivers were happy to see the checkered flag.
"This was for sure the toughest of the events this year,” said Dumas. “After practice this morning, we thought we had a competitive setup but the guys all agree – we missed something.”
For the first half of the 70-lap event, the Verizon Wireless Porsche Riley ran inside the top-10. Shortly after Bernhard turned the driving duties over to Dumas, things took a turn for the worse as problems with the gear box forced the Verizon Wireless Porsche Riley off the pace.
“All of a sudden I was down a gear,” said Dumas. “Then some laps later, I lost another gear. This race really took a lot out of me between the heat and our problems. We just need to look over everything and figure out where it went wrong.”
The next stop for Penske Racing’s Grand-Am Series team is the Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. on July 19.