Doran Racing has confirmed the driving lineup for its No. 77 Ford-powered Dallara Daytona Prototype for the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona. IndyCar star Paul Tracy is set to rejoin the team alongside neurosurgeon Dr. Jim Lowe on the team led by Kevin Doran. The team will run a Gen 3 Ford Dallara in the 2013 Grand-Am North American Endurance Championship, the miniseries consisting of three endurance races held within the Grand-Am Rolex Race Series that opens with the 51st Rolex 24 at Daytona, scheduled for Jan. 26-27. The team will take part in the official test session, the "Roar before the 24," at Daytona starting on Friday.
The expanded driver lineup for the NAEC races, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sahlen's 6 Hour at the Glen, will be Jim Lowe and Paul Tracy along with Colin Braun and Jon Bennett, the current ALMS Prototype Challenge Driver and Team Champions in the No. 05 CORE Autosport Composite Resources ORECA FLM09. Tracy and Lowe will return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard Grand Prix. The first additional race outside the NAEC schedule will be at the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, with Braun and Bennett at the wheel, on March 2. Other races for the team may be announced at a later date.
“The best part about this year is having continuity,” said Lowe. “I'm excited to run with Kevin and his team and to drive again with Paul. There is a level of comfort and familiarity among all of us, and especially with Paul. We get along real well, we race well together and we are both looking forward to the new season. Kevin and his team have been a good fit and I am looking forward to the opportunity of running with the same bunch of guys. It makes for a good formula for success.”
This will also be the second pairing for Lowe with Colin Braun. The two shared the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford Riley at the 49th Rolex 24 in 2011 along with Tomas Enge, Mike Forest and Ryan Dalziel. The young yet highly experienced Braun proved to be a valuable mentor to Lowe, who was making the jump to prototypes after six years in a Porsche GT3 Cup car.
“I'm very, very, pleased to be running as a teammate again with Colin Braun,” said Lowe. “I really enjoyed working with him my first year in the Starworks Prototype back in 2011. He was very helpful coaching me to get faster in the DP and proved to be an excellent teammate. Colin is a big addition to our team as he brings another level of speed and is probably one of the faster shoes on the property in a prototype. Having his ALMS partner, Jon Bennett with us is also a bonus and he should have no trouble maneuvering around the road course at Daytona.”