HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The victory by the Ganassi Telmex Lexus Riley was the first for the Grand Am’s new- generation prototype set. Although there were several of the revised cars wearing their sleeker bodywork at the 2008 Rolex 24 inaugural, the Ganassi team chose to stay with its older Riley.
At Homestead Saturday, the newer car came in handy when it went up against another second-generation DP, the SunTrust Pontiac Dallara of Michael Valiante and Max Angelelli, which during proved equally quick.
With the new Gen II Crawford expected this spring, and others switching, the remainder of the Rolex season seems certain to bring a higher level of performance to the series that could boost both interest and excitement in it.

• The privately funded engine program to transform Porsche’s Cayenne SUV V-8 into a Grand Am Rolex Daytona Prototype winner, appears to be gathering momentum with the revelation that the Riley folks are now in the process of working on fitting it into new chassis.
Currently, the powerplant is running in the Spirit of Daytona team’s Fabcar, which many feel is not quite up to the potential of its Riley, Dallara and Crawford opposition. If the Cayenne V-8 does gather interest, it could re-arrange the powerplant equation for the series.