Rolex Series Driver David Donohue and Late Night Star Jay Leno Set Speed Records at Talladega
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 13, 2005) -- Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series driver David Donohue teamed up with "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno over the Labor Day Weekend in Grand American sanctioned test runs to set speed records at Talladega Superspeedway in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.
The car, which will be auctioned off by Porsche in efforts to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina, was only fitted with safety equipment. All other features on the German-based machine that is "street-legal," remained intact.
Donohue set three flying speed records in the production category with the Carrera GT, including a closed-course speed record for the 2.66-mile track of 196.301 mph. He also set records for the measured mile, 198.971 mph and the measured kilometer, 195.755 mph.
The records set by Donohue at Talladega also had a historical value to them. Donohue's father, Mark, set similar speed records at the same venue in a similar Porsche 30 years earlier. The elder Donohue set a closed-course record for racing cars, driving a Porsche 917/30 to a speed of 221.120 mph at the track on August 9, 1975, just 10 days before he died in a crash during practice for the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix. The 917, prized by collectors today, was one of the most successful racing machines of its time.
"This was an emotional day for me," said Donohue, who co-drives the No. 58 Red Bull Porsche Fabcar with Darren Law for Brumos Racing in the Rolex Series. "I've driven on many of the tracks where my dad drove, but being able to set a record here at Talladega is special."
Leno set three standing-start speed records in the same car, the fastest being 156.603 miles per hour over the closed-course. Flying records are recorded from a rolling start, while standing speed records are recorded from a complete stop. An avid car collector and historian, Leno was taken back by the sheer speed shown by the "off-the-showroom-floor" Porsche.
"It amazes me that we were able to go nearly as fast in a 2005 street car as David's father did in a 1,000-horsepower race car," Leno said. "This Carrera GT has air conditioning, a stereo, a navigation system and a cockpit full of leather and still goes almost 200 mph around this course. It's outrageous."
The speed runs were overseen by Grand American Director of Competition Mark Raffauf, who verified the speeds and times. Raffauf was also present at Talladega when Mark Donohue recorded his historic speeds in 1975.
"To have been able to witness both Mark Donohue's record runs as well as the speed runs by David Donohue and Jay Leno is pretty amazing," Raffauf said. "To think that Mark Donohue went that fast 30 years ago is simply mind boggling, and it's equally impressive that David and Jay Leno could go that fast in a 'street legal' car."
http://www.grandamerican.com/News/Article.asp?ID=5051
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