Either Lawrence Davey or Gary Duckman will book their passage to Florida as winner of the Sunoco Grand–Am 200 Challenge for a prize drive in the Grand-Am 200 race at Daytona International Speedway.
After a season of racing it comes down Lawrence Davey in the Legends series, deciding his own fate in the Challenge at Brands Hatch on November 3-4. Currently leading the Challenge standings Davey, in the weekend’s six races, needs to score a total of 343.3 points towards the Challenge. 100 points are on offer for each victory, with 20 points for fastest lap and pole position in each event. Disregarding these ‘bonus’ points Davey must average a fourth place finish across the weekend.
If he falls below this mark then victory in the Challenge goes to Production Touring Car Trophy (PTCT) driver Gary Duckman, who has already completed a championship winning season in his series.
“I’ve been watching the Legends more than Formula 1!” said Duckman, who switched to Production Touring Cars after a successful career in Porsche club championships. “I can’t do anything about my point score now but I know I did the best I could. Lawrence is a good racer and I am up against some stiff competition!”
Like Duckman his Challenge rival started in karts, Davey making his first starts in Cadet Karts aged eight before graduating to Ministox and then Legends, where the Surrey based driver has been a series stalwart for 12 years.
“We were looking for a formula that was very affordable and fun to be involved in,” he explained. “We saw the Legends and were hooked. The cars are very fun to drive and affordable compared to other series.”
“I’ve lead the Challenge for a while and for it to get down to my last round is amazing! The Challenge is really on but I would love to race at Daytona and am ready to fight for it, so bring it on!”
“My aim is the BTCC for the future but as with most racers it comes down to sponsorship. I’m really excited about the prospect of racing at Daytona as I know it could bring with it a lot of opportunity – plus driving a Camaro on that famous banking would be mega!”
The prize on offer in a drive in the Continental Tire Series race at Daytona International Speedway, supporting the Rolex 24 at Daytona in late January. The inaugural Grand-Am 200 Challenge winner Aaron Steele travelled to Daytona to drive a Chevrolet Camaro run by Mitchum Motorsports. However, his race ended early due to mechanical issues.
As well as the race weekend in Daytona the winning driver will participate in the traditional ‘Roar Before The 24’ test at the famous high-banked oval. In travelling to Daytona under Sunoco’s wing they will join Italian Ivan Bellarosa, the Speed EuroSeries champion, who secured the Sunoco Rolex 24 at Daytona Challenge title and with it the opportunity to drive a Daytona Prototype in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
