When the 24 Heures du Mans' green flag first flies for Saturday's race it'll come only about 24-hours short of the 13th anniversary of when the last United States-born driver, Davy Jones, would claim overall victory at Le Mans.
Frankly, it isn't likely Jones will be displaced this year as the most recent U.S. driver to win the race. Only 11 U.S. drivers have been the first to take the decades-old classic French event's history.
Nonetheless, below are some of the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series competitors who start today's Circuit de la Sarthe race.
(Driver Name - 2009 Rolex Series team, car, car class; Le Mans team, car, car class; other informational tidbits)
Jaoa Barbosa - Brumos Racing's No. 59 Porsche-Riley, DP; Pescarolo Sport No. 16 Pescarolo Judd, LMP1; Currently seventh in DP championship points with Brumos co-driver JC France, Barbosa started the 2009 season with a third-place in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Jörg Bergmeister - No. 67 TRG Porsche GT3, GT; No. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche GT3, LMGT2; 2006 Rolex Series DP champ with Krohn Racing, Bergmeister is a three-time Rolex 24 At Daytona GT-class and overall (1) race winner won the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT-class race with Patrick Long, Justin Marks, Andy Lally and RJ Valentine in a Kevin Buckler TRG Porsche GT3.
Timo Bernhard - Penske Racing's No. 12 Verizon Wireless Porsche-Riley, DP; No. 3 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15, LMP1; In the Rolex Series and at Le Mans, factory Porsche driver Bernhard will co-drive with his No. 12 Verizon Wireless DP teammate Romain Dumas. Starting seventh on Le Mans grid, Bernhard (134 pt.) is tied for fourth and only six-points out of the lead in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship driver points. Past wins include the Rolex 24 At Daytona (2002, GT class win; 2003 overall and GT class wins) with The Racer's Group owner/driver Kevin Buckler, along with co-drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Michael Schrom. First raced a Daytona Prototype in 2005.
Christophe Bouchut - Level 5 Motorsports' No. 55 Supercar Life Racing BMW-Riley, DP; JMB Racing No. 99 Ferrari F430, LMGT2; Deep on endurance racing ability, Frenchman Bouchut has claimed numerous 24-hour race wins, including the Rolex 24 At Daytona and at his "home" track in Le Mans. Teamed with Level 5 Motorsports owner Scott Tucker, the team has made its presence known in the 2009 Rolex Series with four top-10 finishes in as many races.
Patrick Dempsey - Dempsey Racing No. 40 El Grado Tequila Mazda RX-8, GT; Advanced Engineering No. 81 Ferrari F40 GT, LMGT2; Most famously known for his acting skills, Dempsey continues to build a racing resume that rivals that of many longtime professional racers. Reportedly, ALMS' Don Panoz pitched a fit personally to ACO Le Mans officials, protesting Dempsey's inclusion in the field. Considering Dempsey made the race - who later stayed well within 115-percent of his class' fastest speed in pre-race skill tests - the French evidently didn't much care what Panoz said.
Romain Dumas - Penske Racing's No. 12 Verizon Wireless Porsche-Riley, DP; No. 3 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15, LMP1; In the Rolex Series and at Le Mans Dumas will co-drive with his No. 12 Verizon Wireless Penske Racing teammate Timo Bernhard. Starting seventh at Le Mans, with 134 points through Watkins Glen, Dumas is tied for fourth and only six-points out of the lead in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype driver championship.
Joe Foster - Dempsey Racing No. 40 El Grado Tequila Mazda RX-8, GT1; Advanced Engineering No. 81 Ferrari F40 GT, LMGT2; Most famously known for his co-driver's acting skills, Foster ain't too shabby of a driver, either. Taking a detour to France while on his way to April's Rolex Series' VIR event, Foster turned laps only 3/10-second off the day's fastest times during a pre-Le Mans tryout. Later, Foster wondered as to why, after more than a decade as an instructor at the Panoz Racing School at Road Atlanta, Don Panoz got all in a wad about Foster going to Le Mans for his first-ever 24-hour race there.
Antonio Garcia - Brumos Racing No. 58 Porsche-Riley, Spirit of Daytona No. 09 Porsche Cayenne-Coyote, DP; Corvette Racing No. 63 Corvette C6.R, LMGT1; In the No. 58 Brumos Racing Porsche-Riley is co-winner of the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Garcia is being strongly linked, along with Rolex 24 co-driver Buddy Rice, to a second Spirit of Daytona Porsche Cayenne- Coyote (No. 90). Co-drove most recently with SOD regular Guy Cosmo at the 6-Hours of The Glen last week.
Wolf Henzler - Farnbacher Loles Racing No. 86 Porsche GT3, GT; Team Felbermayr-Proton No. 77 Porsche GT3; teamed with Eric Lux, Henzler scored his second top-5 of 2009 with a third-place in the recent Sahlen's 6-Hours of The Glen.
Nic Jönsson - Krohn Racing No. 76 Lola Ford, DP; Risi Competizione No. 83 Ferrari F430 GT, LMGT2; with more than 50 starts in the Rolex Series - 47 in DP, alone - Jönsson's claimed his two DP wins in rainy conditions and might be hoping for some of the same at Le Mans.
Tracy Krohn - Krohn Racing No. 75 Lola Ford, DP; Risi Competizione No. 83 Ferrari F430 GT, LMGT2; co-driving with Jönsson at Le Mans and until this year for most of the pair's racing stateside, this Houston oilman is the primary mover of Proto-Auto, the consortium behind the Lola DP development program and has made close to 40 starts in Daytona Prototype competition.
Darren Law - Brumos Racing No. 58 Porsche-Riley, DP; Flying Lizard motorsport No. 80 Porsche GT, LMGT2; teamed with Bergmeister for Le Mans, Law hasn't missed a Daytona Prototype race since the class' introduction in 2003 and won the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Patrick Long - No. 67 TRG Porsche GT3, GT; No. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche GT3, LMGT2; Porsche factory driver Long won the 2009 Rolex 24 GT class and has raced in nearly 40 Rolex Series races, 27 of those in a DP.
Other Rolex Series-connected drivers at 2009 Le Mans: Lucas Luhr, Alan McNish, Tomas Enge, Rinaldo Capello, Mike Rockenfeller, Sebastien Bourdais, David Brabham, Olivier Panis, Sascha Maassen, Thomas Erdos, Chris Dyson, Matteo Bobbi, Emmanuel Collard, Guy Smith, Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell, Olivier Gavin, Olivier Baretta, Stephan Gregoire, Patrick Pilet, Marc Lieb, Richard Leitz, Don Kitch Jr., Mika Salo, Dominik Farnbacher, Eric van de Poele.
Later.
DC
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