TUSC: Fourth place at the Rolex 24 at Daytona for VisitFlorida.com Racing with Mike Rockenfeller

VisitFlorida.com Racing netted a repeat fourth place result at the Rolex 24 at Daytona last weekend. The same driving trio also finished fourth last year. Audi Sport DTM factory driver, Mike Rockenfeller, again joined SDR Motorsports at Daytona. He will be taking part in two more rounds of the 2015 Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup with SDR, including the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans. He also competed in these same three events for SDR during 2014. He shared the driving duties with the full-season driving duo of Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante in the #90 Corvette Daytona Prototype.

More can be read in the SDR Motorsports press release below:

VISITFLORIDA.COM RACING FINISHES FOURTH IN THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., January 26, 2015 – VisitFlorida.com Racing vaulted into the 2015 IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship with a fourth-place finish in the 53rd-Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Daytona Beach-based team had their sights set on victory in the twice-around-the-clock endurance challenge, however, the challenges facing the team throughout the race made the top-five finish feel like a win.

“The Rolex 24 at Daytona is a grueling event,” said team owner Troy Flis. “I couldn’t be more proud of the effort that every member of our No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype team made throughout the event. With the updates to the DPs this season, we faced new challenges, but our guys stayed with it all night and back into the afternoon to start our season with a fourth-place finish.”

With the rule changes for the 2015 TUSC season, teams competing in the prototype have a car that is more technologically advanced than ever before; but with those advancements come growing pains. The VISITFLORIDA.COM team experienced issues ranging from fuel mapping to power steering issues, each time the crew was able to make the necessary adjustments and keep the No. 90 Corvette DP in contention.

“We had our share of issues for sure,” said driver Michael Valiante. “The team worked hard making changes and the car continued to get better throughout the event. I think getting through Daytona and seeing what our challenges were, we will be in excellent shape when we unload in Sebring. The DPs are more technologically advanced this year than they ever have been, but we get excellent support from our partners at Chevrolet and I’m confident we can deliver more great results for Visit Florida this year and compete for the championship.”

The team will look to parlay the strong start in the Rolex 24 into an even better Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida.

“A strong start to the season is critical,” said Flis. “Our team battled adversity and earned a fourth-place finish in Daytona. With a short season, and a season in which 50 percent of your laps are completed by the end of the second race, you can’t understate the need to perform well in the opening two events. With our partner VisitFlorida.com, we take special pride in having strong performances in the two events in our home state.”

Photo credit: SDR Motorsports, LLC (BCPix.com - Photo by Brian Cleary)