Alex Job Racing Daytona 24H qualifying report

Alex Job Racing Qualifies Seventh and 24th for the 50th Rolex 24 At Daytona

#23 Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3: Emmanuel Collard, Marco Holzer, Butch Leitzinger, Cooper MacNeil

Photo by: Greg Aleck

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla, (Jan. 26, 2012), Alex Job Racing (AJR) will start the 50th Anniversary GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Rolex 24 At Daytona from the fourth and 12th rows in GT for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. start.

Under near perfect 80-degree temperatures at The World Center of Racing, Marco Holzer had the controls of the No. 23 WeatherTech/Alex Job Racing Porsche. Holzer, Porsche factory driver, put in a time of 1:49.766 good for a fourth row starting position in GT. The top 15 GT cars in the field are all within a second of each other. Joining Holzer behind the wheel of the 23 car is Cooper MacNeil, Butch Leitzinger, and Emmanuel Collard.

Qualifying was OK," Holzer said. "We changed a few things on the car before qualifying and that made it better. My last lap was the quickest, but I had to overtake two cars, costing me a few tenths. Seventh place is a good position, it is a long race. We will have a good car over the distance. I am looking forward to the race. The work we put in on the test days is really paying off. The car is handling really good. We have two more practices before the race, so we will work on it a little more."

"Practice was great today," MacNeil said. "The car is really good, the AJR guys have it really handling. However the track was not so good. There was a lot of debris and oil everywhere. There was grass and dirt all over the Bus Stop. I was getting comfortable, getting back into rhythm. I was trying a few things in the car, and just getting back in the groove. Strategy for the race is to go fast and don't hit anything."

Cort Wagner took to the track in the No. 24 McKenna Porsche/Battery Tender/Kensington/Koss Stereophones/Alex Job Racing GT3 Cup car and put in a time of 1:50.824, that will have them starting from the 12th row on Saturday. Wagner is joined by Michael Avenatti, Bob Faieta, Bill Sweedler, and Fred Poordad.

"Qualifying was good," Wagner said. "Qualifying here is about having the tire temps match the pressures perfectly. The first few laps I thought I was driving harder than on my fastest lap. It is all about managing these tires. To get the magic time out of the tires, you have to be right on with the pressure and temperatures to get the best lap. I need a little more experience with these tires to get the most out of them. It is a long race. I am happy with where the car is right now."

#24 Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3: Michael Avenatti, Bob Faieta, Fred Poordad, Bill Sweedler, Cort Wagner

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

"Practice went pretty good today," Avenatti said. "We are sorting through a few things. We put a new engine and gearbox in the car before practice and that has given us more power. We are looking to last 24 hours and be there at the end. Our strategy is to drive the race for the first 21 hours and race the last three."

Alex Job, team owner, has everything hitting on all cylinders for this weekend.

"The cars are really temperature sensitive here at Daytona," Job said. "We had higher air temperatures during practice than in qualifying and that changed the dynamic a little for us. Marco and Cort both did a great job and we have both cars in great positions for the start. Everyone on the team is working well together and we have had a great day of practice, with all the drivers getting quality laps. We will get the time in tonight, getting everyone comfortable with the track in the dark. Tomorrow we will do a final shake-down and get everyone maximum rest for the race."