Daytona 24: JMB, Papis final practice notes

Max Papis prepares for start of Rolex 24 at Daytona.

"Mad Max" Papis and his JMB Racing USA Team Ferrari crew have been busy today preparing the Ferrari 360 Modena for the 41st annual start of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

In this morning's practice session, Papis set the fastest lap of the week for the team with a 1:56.656, an average speed of 109.861 mph. The team will start from the 31st position overall, 12th in the GT class, as the first 36 spots of the qualifying grid were set on Thursday. An expected 45 cars will start the race tomorrow.

"We have made a lot of improvements with the car and now have it set-up for a good race pace," said Papis, a resident of Miami, Florida. "The team has overall done a good job in preparation for the race. This afternoon we didn't participate in the session, because the team was rebuilding the car and making the final preparation changes for the race. They basically rebuilt everything, but not the motor or gearbox. They checked everything -- making sure it was ready to last the endurance."

The anticipated driver rotation during the race will be qualifying driver Augusto Farfus starting the race, Andrea Garbagnati taking the wheel second, then Emmanuel Collard followed by Max Papis. The team expects single stints at the start of the race, then plan driver rotations on double stints.

"I am really looking forward to driving a Ferrari again at Daytona," added Papis, who earned his nickname "Mad Max" in his inaugural Rolex 24 at Daytona race in 1996, where he set the fastest lap of the race in the final hour. Papis was driving the legendary MOMO Ferrari 333 SP with Gianpiero Moretti, Didier Theys and Bob Wollek and finished second overall in one of the most exciting and closest races in the history of the event.

For more information, go to www.maxpapis.com or www.grandamerican.com.

-mpr-