Rolex24 this weekend

Steve Hoelscher

Steve Hoelscher

True Classic
Greetings from Daytona. If you are planning on watching the Rolex24 this weekend. Keep your eye out for the number 26 GT Porsche driven by Randy Pobst, Shane Lewis, Gerardo Bonilla, Joe Jacalone and Jerome Jacalone.

I am crewing for this team. We are qualified 8th in GT and should have as good a shot as winning as anybody. Watch for me during pit stops, I am the right side tire changer. :D
 
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Coverage on Speed channel

3:30PM US Central time.

I will try to watch for a while Steve. Good luck to you and your team.

Post a pit picture or two when it's all over.
 
11:20AM US Central time

Finally saw the #26 Porsche. It was being passed by the GP leaders. Time stamp at the top of the screen was around 3hrs 13 min remaining.

Looks like they are still running 8th in GT.

Sadly, I was not recording. :(
 
#26 finished 10th in GT. About 21 laps down.

The race is over. Pretty exciting finish with 4 DP cars racing for the lead till about five minutes left, then it was down to 2 cars racing with about 0.5 second separation.

The GT class was settled early on with two cars from the same team leading by enough to take it easy for the last hours of the race.

Most of the views I got of the #26 cars were as the DP leaders passed through the slower GT traffic every few laps.
 
A short video

of some clips from near the end of the race. The car SteveH is crewing for is the white Porsche GT3 Cup with number 26 on it. Sorry all I have is these crappy clips, but I didn't record the whole race.



Anyway, we start off with #26 near the Suntrust car under a yellow. Looks like #26 has a little left rear corner damage. The next clip shows #26 getting tangled up with the leaders as they try to work through traffic. There were way too many cars in that turn. :) Third clip is the leaders catching up to GT traffic again, #26 is towards the infield as the leaders exit the turn. Last clip shows the leaders, Donahue and Montoya (sp?), catching up to #26 and overtaking it. Nice closeup from Montoya's car cam as he works around #26.
 
Wow, GREAT work Jim

Yep, that was Randy being the Pro that he is and trying to let the leaders through but he was locked in a battle of his own trying not to loose a position late in the race.

Thanks Jim :)
 
PHOTOS!!!

Thanks everybody for watching. Great race huh... I wish I had gotten to see it. Seriously, when you crew you dont' get to see much.

Anyway, I am too tired and to worn out to write much this eveing but I can post a few pics. I didn't take my camera to the pits but I did snap a few with my camera phone. I will try to post those later. After the race I did manage to grab it to take some celabratory photos.

You have to realize that this team is nothing but a hand full of brothers who are basically club racers. They ran four Grand Am races last season and this year decided to step up and put some tallent in the car. I offered to help them out at a couple of races last year and came aboard this year to help with car setup and pitstops. This collection of amatures did nearly the impossible. We finished 10th in class and 18th overall at the biggest Sports Car Race in North Amercia. We kicked some serious Pro Race Team butt :headbang:

I am very proud of what we did. You have no idea how much work it takes to keep car going at the Rolex. What this team did is an epic story. I will try to put together some notes tomorrow. Right now all I can think of is sleep. After a shower. The driver team too was 1st class. Our driver team I would stack up against any in that race.

I took one pic with my actual camera before the race. Our Porsche GT3 Cup ready to go:

Rolex24001.jpg


After the race:

Rolex24004.jpg



Rolex24003.jpg


Rolex24002.jpg


Our only contact all weekend. Shane got hit from behind, it bent the exhaust badly and knocked the rear bumper cap loose requiring an ugly duct tape patch. It also put Shane over a curb that broke the rear swaybar bracket and thus ruined our shot improving, or even holding our position.

Rolex24010.jpg


Our driver lineup: L-R front to back: Shane Lewis, Randy Pobst, Gerardo Bonilla, Jerome Jacalone and Joe Jacalone. These guys were a joy to work with. :clap:

Rolex24013.jpg


Shane Lewis:

Rolex24014.jpg


Randy Pobst: (only a moment after getting out of the car).

Rolex24005.jpg


Gerardo Bonilla:

Rolex24006.jpg


More later. There were a ton of photos taken by photographers that stopped by. I have to get some from those guys.

More stories later. I haven't slept since Friday.
 
Great Job Steve!

You and your team has an awful lot to be very, very proud of. We had a LeMons team meeting and was watched some of the Rolex 24.
 
Karfrik said:
after you are rested of course.Great job!!!........:clap:
Click to expand...

Gerardo is an American. Born right here in the USA. :)

Now, I will admit that I too wondered where Gerardo was from. I actually asked him what his ancestory was. His family emigrated from Spain to Pueto Rico a couple of generations ago. Then to the US. He speaks with a slight aristocratic spanish accent.

I was amazed with Gerardo's technical ability. Upon getting out of the car he could relate every detail of what the car was doing. And beyond that; catagorize the characteristics and list them in order of importance. I was impressed. Gerardo IS a Pro.

http://www.gerardobonilla.com/

Read the newest news about the Rolex.
 
Congrats Steve... to you and the team!

I'm kinda exhausted just reading what you wrote and viewing the before and after shots! WOW... I had not idea that SURVIVORS took such a beating!
 
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