2008 Riley Mk XI Samax Prototype

SAMAX Motorsports was founded in 2005 by team owner, Peter Baron. They field a BMW-Riley car in the Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2007, the team of Duno, Patrick Carpentier, Darren Manning, and Ryan Dalziel finished 2nd overall in the 24 Hours of Daytona. This was the teams' best Grand Am finish to date.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2008

Dalziel Confirms Full Season of Grand-Am Competition

Scotland's Ryan Dalziel is delighted to announce his fulltime participation in the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 having been signed by Florida-based SAMAX Motorsport to co-pilot the No. 2 BMW-Riley Daytona Prototype alongside Orlando's Henri Zogaib.

Having started the season in January's Rolex 24 at Daytona, Dalziel will remain in the SAMAX fold for the remainder of the 14-round Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series schedule, starting with this weekend's second round, the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at the Homestead-Miami Speedway from March 27-29.

The 25-year-old, based in Orlando, is no stranger to Grand-Am competition or the Homestead-Miami Speedway having made his series debut there with SAMAX Motorsport exactly three seasons ago. On that occasion Ryan piloted a GT-entry for Peter Baron's outfit and it proved to be the start of a productive relationship, one which would quickly see both team and driver graduate to the Daytona Prototype class.

While Dalziel's first full season in Grand-Am competition, in 2006, saw him compete for a different outfit, the Scottish racer reunited with SAMAX Motorsport at the start of the 2007 season to compete in the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona. A second-place finish proved the team's competitiveness and Dalziel duly combined an impressive rookie season in the Champ Car World Series, scoring six top-10 finishes, with an additional three Daytona Prototype starts in Grand-Am with SAMAX, reaching the podium once again in the season closing Sunchaser 1000, again a second-place podium finish.

'I'm really excited to be back full-time in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series,' said an enthused Dalziel ahead of his trip to Homestead. 'I'm extremely grateful to both Peter Baron and Henri Zogaib for allowing me the opportunity to resume my sports car career and I'm looking forward to a competitive season together. I have to say Peter was the first team owner to call me and offer me some prospects after my Champ Car season ended prematurely last year. We've always enjoyed a great relationship and I'm delighted to be partnering Henri in the SAMAX line-up.'

'I think it's great that we're kicking of our new agreement at the place where it all began in 2005, Homestead-Miami Speedway,' Dalziel continued. 'We've got a great engine package now with tremendous support and from a personnel perspective SAMAX has really strengthened its capabilities with the addition of guys like Phil Le Pan. I think someone with Phil's professional experience and outlook will give the team the opportunity to mirror the performance bases enjoyed by the likes of Ganassi Racing and GAINSCO / Bob Stallings Racing. This weekend's race will be a big test for us in every department but I think we're set for a good year in what is undoubtedly a highly competitive Daytona Prototype field.'

Source - Team Samax

Dalziel Upbeat Heading to Mid-Ohio

Keen to put a disappointing Watkins Glen race meeting behind him, Scotland's Ryan Dalziel heads to Lexington's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend for Round 7 of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16, the ‘EMCO Gears Classic', Friday 20th – Saturday 21st June.

Having steered the #2 SAMAX Motorsport BMW-Riley Daytona Prototype to victory in Round 5 at Laguna Seca last month, Dalziel, together with team-mate Henri Zogaib, hoped for more of the same a fortnight ago at Watkins Glen but an early trip to the pits for an oil-leak put paid to any hopes of back-to-back wins as the car immediately fell three laps down on the leaders – a gap that proved insurmountable despite the best efforts of both team and drivers on the day.

While Watkins Glen hosted its annual six-hour event, the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course sees a return to Grand-Am's regular 2-hour 45-minute sprint race format this weekend. On his last visit to the track in 2006, at the corresponding race meeting, Ryan enjoyed a sixth place finish in what was his rookie season in Daytona Prototype competition.

The year before the Scottish ace wracked up two starts at Mid-Ohio, the first resulting in a fourth place class finish piloting a GT1 American Le Mans Series entry while the second, later in the year, ended in retirement behind the wheel of a SAMAX-entered Porsche GT3 Cup Car in the GT division of the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series.

Saturday's event marks the half-way stage of the 14-round 2008 Grand-Am season with 19 Daytona Prototype entries lined up to start along with 23 GT runners ensuring a packed and competitive field as witnessed at each event since kick-off at Daytona back in January. Dalziel currently sits 15th overall in the Driver Standings courtesy of the 26-year-old recording three top-ten finishes to-date including his Laguna Seca victory and second-place podium effort in Virginia.

'I think we'll bounce back from our Watkins disappointment and have a good run at Mid-Ohio,' stated Dalziel. 'We're as prepared as we can be and definitely looking forward to a return to the sprint format after a long weekend in New York last time out. The track's up there as one of my favourites so I'm looking forward to getting back out there and hopefully re-capturing last month's form.

'I've been to Mid-Ohio on a few occasions now and for the most part my results have been pretty good but I'm still chasing a podium there. I enjoy the fast, flowing layout of the track and it seems to suit my driving style pretty well. I'm confident we should have a strong package there with the SAMAX BMW-Riley. I love the fact that we're racing every couple of weeks now although I'd race every week if I could! Competing regularly certainly helps build up some momentum as we proved in Virginia and Laguna Seca in May.'

Daytona Prototype qualifying starts at 4:50pm EST on Friday 20th June with the ‘EMCO Gears Classic', Round 7 of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, starting at 5pm EST on Saturday 21st June.

Source - Samax