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Napleton Racing Delivers Dominant GX Class Debut Victory in Rolex 24 At Daytona

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
http://www.planet-9.com/gallery/files/3/napletondaytonanews.jpgNapleton Racing Delivers Dominant GX Class Debut Victory in Rolex 24 At Daytona

No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman S with Shane Lewis, David Donohue, Dr. Jim Norman and Nelson Canache Concludes Stellar Month of January in Daytona’s Victory Lane

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (January 27, 2013) – Napleton Racing led January’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 test, paced practice, captured the pole position in qualifying, and Sunday, secured the inaugural victory of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series’ new GX class in the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

In the most dominant performance of the race, Napleton team drivers Shane Lewis, David Donohue, Dr. Jim Norman and Nelson Canache led nearly the entire 24 hours aboard the team’s debuting No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman S. It’s easily the biggest victory ever for the emerging Napleton team, based out of Chicago-area dealership Napleton Porsche of Westmont.

“It's a testament to these guys,” Lewis said. “When I say they started this project in November and it was 24/7, it was 24/7. When they left the Roar, the flu goes around and everything, every single one of them got sick, every one, and yet they were in the shop every single day working on the car.”

Ed Napleton, owner of the Ed Napleton Automotive Group and a Cayman competitor as well, was the team principal behind the effort along with Napleton Porsche of Westmont General Manager Ron Barnaba. Barnaba is also the founder of the Pirelli Cayman Interseries. Additional leadership came from team manager Mike Colucci, who has also managed Brumos Racing in the past.

Donohue, also a former Brumos veteran and winner of the race overall for the team in 2009, praised the Napleton team’s preparation and the performance of the Cayman this weekend.

“We did push pretty hard for a long time through the night,” Donohue said. “I wasn't pushing towards the end, obviously, but I think it's a testament to Porsche and the Cayman. Each of these cars in our class was independently built by small shops and Napleton is probably the biggest shop because it's actually a Porsche dealership.”

The only minor issues that delayed the Napleton Cayman throughout the 24-hour endurance classic were early radio issues, a small spin, and a couple pit lane violations. Otherwise it was a near flawless race for the No. 16, adorned in a “Hippy” paint scheme that paid tribute to the famous purple and green Porsche 917L that raced in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car did not make one single trip to the garage area.

“That was probably the key to our success,” Lewis said. “If it wasn't for the pit lane violations that we had and a couple other minor incidents on track, we would have had the cleanest run that I think anybody has had at Daytona for a long time. But not one time to the garage, not one mechanical issue other than putting tires, fuel, I think they added some oil on occasion. I requested a tear off one time. That was about as mechanical as it was. It was flawless.”

The race’s first half did see the two other Caymans entered pose a threat at times, but each lost laps throughout. Napleton ended the day with a comfortable 10-lap margin of victory after at times holding leads of two or more laps.

“I found it a little bit odd that we got a couple-lap lead early in the race, and really didn't continue to extend it at the same rate, which was a little disconcerting,” Donohue said. “But once we were on our own lap, it helped with our pit strategy. We were able to keep their laps off so they couldn't come up to us.”

This race marked the Napleton team’s major endurance racing debut, but didn’t show signs of looking like a first-time effort.

“For us it was a race of preparation, and our guys did a superior job when this program was conceived in early November of building a car and making it reliable and keeping the stock parts,” Donohue said. “There are surprisingly many, many stock parts on this car, where they needed to be, and the proof is in the pudding.”

Canache, who made his first Rolex 24 start last year, achieved a significant milestone as the first Venezuelan driver to win the race.

“For me, many Venezuelan drivers have been trying to get this Daytona 24 win, and for me, I'm just so happy to bring this to my country,” Canache said. “This is going to be big in Venezuela, so I can't wait to get there and be with all my people there and celebrate this win.”

Norman completed the quartet and adds his first Rolex 24 victory to winning GRAND-AM Rookie of the Year honors in 2012.

Before tasting this success, the 2012 season was a successful one for Napleton, which earned a pair of GTS-class victories with two different Caymans in the Pirelli World Challenge series.

Additionally, Napleton Porsche of Westmont also owns and operates the Pirelli Cayman Interseries Endurance Cup Championship that completed its third full season of competition last December at Daytona.

Noteworthy

- Lewis’ hot streak of wins in races he enters continues. He began 2013 with a win in another 24-hour race, driving a Cor Euser Racing Lotus Evora in the 24 Hours of Dubai, and now has two in the span of two weeks. This is his first Rolex 24 victory.

About Napleton Racing: Napleton Racing is a performance and competition division of the Chicago-area auto dealership Napleton Porsche of Westmont. An established and full-service racing division and prep shop, Napleton Racing specializes in amateur and beginner-level competition on up to entry-level and top-tier professional racing series. The performance-focused operation is just one division within Napleton Porsche of Westmont, which is the Ed Napleton Automotive Group’s flagship Porsche dealership. A family business that was established in 1931 by their grandfather Edward W. Napleton with a single dealership on Chicago’s south side, Ed Napleton and his brothers today own 69 franchises in 39 locations in four states. The Ed Napleton Automotive Group operates 36 of these franchises in 21 locations while his brothers operate 33 dealerships in 18 locations. Learn more at Napleton Porsche Motorsports Performance Center for All of your Race Car Needs and Ed Napleton | New Porsche dealership in Westmont, IL 60559.

















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#3 ·
yeah cayman kicks *** those old fogees with the 911 with the engin in the wrong place ,:crazy: got there asses whiped,yeah thats what you old fogees desreve for making drugs illegal ,
But apparently not totally inaccessible - right???;)
 
#4 ·
Alcohol and the net......not a good combination.
 
#5 ·
Congrats to everyone at Napleton you made us croc owners proud, you showed Porsche, you showed the doubters that our reptiles if treated fairly, can and will defeat Stuttgart's sacred cow.
 
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#6 ·
To be fair, the GX class had no 911's in it...

But that doesn't take away from their accomplishment, they basically drove a stock Cayman with an upgraded 911 3.8L engine for 24hours without any issues. Incredible reliability and pace.
 
#7 ·
Originally Posted by hawc
Here's an (ignorant) question:

We all go on and on and on about how if only you gave the Cayman the proper engine, it would run rings around the 911. Well here's a case where the Cayman was given the same engine as the 911 (the 3.8L DI “X51” Mezger engine) and I assume any suspension bits it wanted so why wasn't it faster than the 911s out there? How close were the lap times? Shouldn't the inherently better chassis and engine position of they Cayman won? Or am I missing something? Honest question, I just don't know.
No you are missing several things.

1) Engines are different, Caymans DO NOT have the GT3 Metzger engine
2) Inlet restrictions are different
3) Weight and suspension allowances are different

etc. etc. you have to read the rules but they are designed to have the cars operate within a window of lap times.

The fastest Cayman times were around the slowest 911 GT3 times during the testing days and there was some overlap during the race but on average the 911 times are faster. NOT because the car is inherently faster but because of what the different classes allow and don't allow.

IF you built a Cayman to GT class specs, then yes it could beat the 911's, it would be more like say an Audi R8 or Ferrari 458


The above was posted by Ken on another thread, in reply as to 911/cayman comparison.
 
#8 ·
This what the Mazda spec'd at:


2014 MAZDA6
Weight 2450 lbs
Horsepower 380 HP @ 4800 rpm
Torque 450 lb-ft @ 3750 rpm
Max RPM 5200 rpm
Top Speed 170 mph
Chassis Construction SpeedSource/Riley fabricated steel tube
Transmission Emco Transaxle – 6 speed sequential
Suspension 4 Wheel Independent Wishbone
Braking System Alcon/Pagid
Shock Absorbers Dynamic DSSV
Wheels BBS
Bodywork Carbon Fiber
Seat & Steering Wheel Sparco Motorsports
Seat Belts Schroth
Data System Bosch/Motec ADL3
Fuel Capacity 14.5 gallons

Courtesy of SpeedSource site.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I don't think many realize the magnitude of what the Caymans proved, given the venue. This was a slap to PMS's face. How? Unsupported, ignored platform gave the only victory PMS could muster in premier 24 hour race. It more than proves that Porsche's unreasonable, recalcitrant attitude toward the Cayman borders on ridiculousness and utter stupidity. Blame marketing for scaring the powers that be as to the inviolable status of its 50 year old sacred cow, otherwise execs might not want to buy said cow, due to 'little brothers' athletic prowess.

Also:
Re: Caymans in Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona!
Originally Posted by hawc
Really? You could build a Cayman to the specs that would beat the 911s if rules allowed?


Absolutely, put in the 4.0L GT3 motor, the sequential transmission, and you'd be looking at 911's in your rear view mirror all day long. Heck back in 2006 that's what Alzen motorsport did (although it was a smaller GT3 motor) and ended up placing what was it 3rd or 4th overall in the 24 hours at Nurburgring. Porsche was so pissed that they bought off Alzen with giving, not selling, him new 911 GT3 RSRs to run instead.

So yeah, you can build it if you know what you are doing, I'm sure either Napleton or BGB could build such a car, but it's not allowed in the rules.

If you watched the race you saw that the 911's had more HP and would pull away on the straights but the Caymans more than held their own in the corners, give them more power and a sequential tranny and the 911 becomes irrelevant. You'd end up having a car like the Audi R8 but probably lighter, or like the Ferrari 458.

There's a reason that mid-engine trumps rear-engine when the conditions are equal, Audi showed that today with their R8's, in fact the Audi and Ferrari are handicapped more than the 911 is, so on a level playing field it wouldn't even be close the Audi and Ferrari would run away from the 911 all day long. However, that wouldn't make for interesting racing and you'd lose participation, so they try to balance the cars within a class to make them competitive with each other.

If the GX class doesn't pan out (get more entries from more manufacturers on the approved list) then maybe, just maybe they'll let the Cayman have the same goodies the 911 has and bump it up to GT class, however, given that you can buy a 911 that way and it would take work and $$ to make a Cayman that way, I think it would still be some time until you saw teams fielding Caymans over 911s if the above somehow happened.

Thanks Ken, well said.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Well give credit where and when it's due, this excerpt from Porsche's web site, Motorsport

"At the wheel of his Porsche Cayman, the 2009 overall winner from America David Donohue won the GX class with his compatriots Nelson Canache, Shane Lewis and Jim Norman. With this, he earned Porsche, the most successful manufacturer in the history of the race, the 75th class victory in Daytona."

No mention of 1-2-3 finish, unbelievable.

Here's link, notice write up on GT3.

News - Motorsports - Events and Racing - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG


Ae you getting this! The 75th class victory no less and just a blurb at the end! Come on Porsche give credit when it's due!

The Caymans gave Porsche 35 points toward the manufacturers championship, the GT3s 26 points and in a major sports event with teams from all over the world, you're right we have something to be proud about!
 
#12 ·
Well give credit where and when it's due, this excerpt from Porsche's web site, Motorsport

"At the wheel of his Porsche Cayman, the 2009 overall winner from America David Donohue won the GX class with his compatriots Nelson Canache, Shane Lewis and Jim Norman. With this, he earned Porsche, the most successful manufacturer in the history of the race, the 75th class victory in Daytona."

No mention of 1-2-3 finish, unbelievable.

Here's link, notice write up on GT3.

News - Motorsports - Events and Racing - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG


Ae you getting this! The 75th class victory no less and just a blurb at the end! Come on Porsche give credit when it's due!

The Caymans gave Porsche 35 points toward the manufacturers championship, the GT3s 26 points and in a major sports event with teams from all over the world, you're right we have something to be proud about!
They were racing against theirselves for the most part. It wasn't a given the Mazda's would crumple quite like they, but they weren't likely to be strong with the previous issues.
 
#13 ·
They were racing in their class, where their competition didn't survive, they finished ahead of faster cars in GT, through reliability and down right better driving skills, this is not about who was racing against them, look at what they accomplished outside their class.
 
#15 ·
What a great parting shot for the 987! Give the dummkopfs their 75th!

Daytona, along with with the 24 hours of Le Mans are a litmus test of a team's engineering philosophy, strategic skills, driver talent, pit crew talent, all magnified to the nth degree, you not only race against opponents but against time, the elements and mechanical uncertainties. I give lots and lots of credit to Mazda for bringing new technology to an endurance race, it shows they're in it for the long haul. SpeedSource gets support from Mazda; Napleton, BGB and Bullet Racing got nothing from Stuttgart and yet performed like true sportsmen and returned the "favor" with a sweep.
 
#17 ·
Nice pics! Too bad Caymans don't belch fire.....lol. Oh we'll, at least they win.
 
#19 ·
Ahem.....

Dont forget that a Cayman finished 2nd in GX. A total independent from Canada. Bullet racing. Unlike Napleton, they didnt have the wealth of info that running a spec (Cayman) racing series brings to the party, yet they made it to the second step of the podium. Pretty dizamn good if you ask me! They ran through 2 sets of Pagid pads, that's it....other than gas, of course.
 
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#21 ·
Great job! That car was out in front the entire race with much more it could have shown:D

All in know is a want a 1:18 scale model of it for my collection.


Best Regards,
Scott Slauson
 
#24 ·
Excellent idea, I'd buy one and have a brass plaque engraved "This car gave Porsche its 75th Class Win at the 2013 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Porsche wasn't gracious enough to thank them." And have all the drivers sign it.
 
#28 · (Edited)
And.....they did it while driving backwards for part of the race!! Now that IS impressive. Those Mazda's never had a chance even if they wouldn't have broke!

Great save by whoever was behind the wheel at that time. The Park Place GT3 pushed them offline.
 
#29 ·
Are you guys coming back to GX? BGB was left to keep the Mazda's at bay!
 
#31 ·
Great! Love to see hippie lizard........
 
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