Scottish ace Glynn Geddie has switched to Bennett Racing for the biggest race of his career at the Daytona Rolex 24 challenge at the end of the month. He will drive for the team in their Ferrari F430 Grand Am model.
Geddie initially signed up to compete in a Crawford Chevrolet Prototype car, but that deal fell through. He was then ready to sign up for Magnus Racing and race a Porsche for them, but Bennett snatched him at the last minute after he impressed them in testing.
The BRDC Rising Star has limited experience in Ferraris, but racing regular in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in recent seasons has left him confident he can perform well on his Daytona debut, with a strong performance possibly opening up the American market for him.
Geddie said: “It was an amazing experience driving on the track during my test trip as it’s the one destination most drivers always strive to reach – I was in real awe of the place when I first arrived because of the history and tradition associated with the circuit.
“The banking is extremely steep but it doesn’t seem so severe when you are whizzing round it at real speed. I was originally meant to be testing in a Porsche only to end up with Bennett Racing and it was a real thrill to get to grips with the Ferrari.
“I’m now feeling confident about returning to the track for the real thing and it’s going to be on a par with when I raced at Monaco in the Porsche Supercup back in 2009.
“I benefitted a lot from the testing session earlier this month especially as I don’t have an awful lot of Ferrari experience. I’ve completed a qualifying session in a F430 before in the Dutch Supercar Challenge at Spa but that wasn’t in a Grand Am model with the added specifications.
“After a few laps at Daytona I felt quite comfortable behind the wheel and it is not only important I familiarised myself with the car and track but the different American racing rules.
“I just can’t wait to get back over there where hopefully I’ll get my 2011 season off to a really good start.”
Team Owner of Bennet Racing, Skip Bennett said: “The entire team were impressed with how quickly Glynn got to grips with a car that he’s never even driven and on a circuit he’s never been to before.
“Daytona can be daunting at first for those that have never attempted it, especially with the level of competition as it is. But Glynn’s times were still dropping significantly at the end of the testing, and I believe he’s only just starting to show the racing community what he’s truly capable of.
“We’re looking forward to building a programme around Glynn and we’re aiming to be right up there at the end of a gruelling 24 hours of intense competition.”
