Daytona 'Roar Before The 24' Testing: Day Three

By MotorSportMedia January 16, 2012 4:15 pm EST

Real racing fans know race day is the culmination of extensive prep work. Teams from around the world met in Florida this weekend for the 'Roar Before The 24' event before the Daytona 24-Hour race. Here's a full gallery of hardcore racing porn created exclusively for Jalopnik by MotorSportMedia. — Ed.

Click through the photos to enjoy the final day of Daytona testing (and a special video).

While most of the auto world was in Detroit checking out what every manufacturer had to offer, the boys and girls in the Grand-Am racing series were in Florida running their cars under the warming Florida sun.

If you missed the prior galleries the first day of testing gallery is here, the second day is here.

No 'Eco Modes' on any of these models. Sunny skies, temps in the 70s and a crisp blue sky was the backdrop to a successful three days of testing in preparation for the race at the end of this month. Maybe you have heard of it? The 50th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona would appear to have the biggest field to date. More superstars, racing drivers and celebrities are signed up for the race and were in town to turn some laps.

During the weekend fans were greeting with a slew of new cars. Two manufacturers that have a huge North American following released two made for Grand-Am cars. The 458 Italia Grand-Am from Ferrari and the R8 Grand-Am from Audi were turning laps and the results were very good for such a new vehicle.

Not to be outdone, Dodge has a Viper in the field and it sure looks fast while racing around the track. Both new DaytonaPrototypes were on display as they competed to see who could set the fastest laps. This weekend the new Corvette inspired DP car was the clear winner, but will the Riley and the boys from Ginassi have something up their sleeve when the green flag drops?

In GS and ST it would seem a BMW is the car to have. In GS the M3s from Fall-Line and Turner Motorsports filled the top times in most sessions. A final session saw Billy Johnson in his Roush Mustang setting a fast time and removing the M3s from their throne.

In ST Bimmerworld appears to have come most prepared and looked to be in their 2010 form as they spent most of the weekend in the top spots, but all that goes out the window when th green flag drops.

Enjoy the additional coverage and we'll see you back at the end of the month!

Results:
Daytona Prototype (DP):
Ricky Taylor/Max Angelelli/ Ryan Briscoe – No. 10 SunTrust Corvette DP – 1:41.142 (126.712 mph)
Alex Gurney/Jon Fogarty/Memo Gidley – No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP – 1:41.541 (126.215 mph)
Joao Barbosa/Terry Borcheller/JC France/Max Papis – No. 9 Action Express Corvette DP – 1:41.657 (126.215 mph)

Grand Touring (GT):
Guy Cosmo/Scott Sharp/Johannes van Overbeek/Ed Brown – No. 03 Tequila Patron Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am – 1:49.337 (117.215 mph)
Butch Leitzinger/Marco Holzer/Cooper MacNeil/Emmanuel Collard – No. 23 WeatherTech Porsche GT3 – 1:49.423 (117.123 mph)
Nick Tandy/Bill Lester/Tom Long/Rhett O'Doski.Mark Thomas/Thomas Gruber – No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports Porsche GT3 – 1:49.465 (117.078 mph)

Grand Sport (GS):
Billy Johnson/Jack Roush Jr. – No. 61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R – 1:57.984 (109.553 mph)
Charles Espenlaub/Charles Putman – No. 48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 – 1:57.267 (109.289 mph)
Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana – No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 – 1:57.376 (109.188 mph)

Street Tuner (ST):
Jesse Combs/Jeff Mosing – No. 56 RACE EPIC/Murillo Racing BMW 328i – 2:06.959 (100.946 mph)
Daniel Rogers/Seth Thomas – No. 82 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i – 2:07.578 (100.456 mph)
Robert Stout/Kevin Gleason/Sarah Cattaneo – No. 60 Lucas Oil/Mikita Power Tools BMW 328i – 2:08.078 (100.064 mph)

Full Timing/Results – Credit: Grand-Am Road Racing

Photos and text by MotorSportMedia

Photo Credit: MotorSportMedia

Daytona 'Roar Before The 24' Testing: Day Three

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