The 2012

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

season was the thirteenth running of the

Grand American Road Racing Association Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...

's premier series. It began with the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

on January 28–29.

Schedule

The schedule was announced on November 9, 2011. It consists of thirteen rounds. Twelve were announced that day. The final round at Lime Rock was announced November 14.

Teams and drivers

Team changes

*On August 31, 2011, it was announced that Jeff Segal was testing a Ferrari F458 at the infield road course of Homestead-Miami Speedway in preparation for the 2012 season. Segal's Grand Am career dates back to 2003, with Ferrari as his primary choice of manufacturer. *On September 1, 2011, it was announced that

Riley Technologies Riley Technologies LLC is an American auto racing constructor and team specializing in the design and manufacture of complete race cars, as well as prototype development for racing and manufacturing applications. In 2001, Bob Riley and son Bill, ...

will be debuting a new

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specifically ...

at the 2012

. *On September 7, 2011, it was announced that Audi was developing a version of their R8 for the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class. *On October 20, 2011, it was announced that Eric Curran and

Boris Said Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports and in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 2 ...

would return to

Marsh Racing Marsh Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. The team is owned by Ted Marsh, a longtime Chevrolet team sporting the No. 31 with backing from Whelen Engineering. His cu ...

, driving

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

s. *On October 26, 2011, it was announced that AIM Autosport would be fielding a new

Ferrari 458 Italia The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...

in the 2012 season. *On November 22, 2011, it was announced that three-time series champion

Andy Lally Andrew J. Lally (born February 11, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the Audi R8 for Magnus Racing and previously part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, dr ...

would return to Grand-Am competition full-time, joining John Potter in the Magnus Racing

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...

for the full 2012 GT schedule. *On December 3, 2011, it was announced that Racers Edge Motorsports will be switching from the Mazda RX8 to the Dodge Viper. *On December 3, 2011, it was announced that

AF Corse AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Chal ...

Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and published author. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He is the younger brother o ...

and Rob Kauffman will make a partnership for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team will field a Ferrari F458. *On December 3, 2011, it was announced that two teams will field a Ford Mustang in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The former Mustang team TPN Racing/BlackForest will return with the car alongside the

Rick Ware Racing Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the NTT IndyCar Series. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with ...

, which switched from a Porsche GT3 last year.

Daytona Prototype changes

On May 13, 2011, Grand Am announced that various changes would be made to the Daytona Prototypes for the 2012 season: *The greenhouse (cockpit) area will be nearly identical for all newly constructed cars. The roll cage will be narrower on each side of the car, although the driver's position will not change. There will be a one-inch zone throughout the greenhouse surface to allow for individual styling cues, including windshield implementation and window outlines. *New minimum body cross-section provisions will give the new DPs a more upright front fascia and nose, rather than the more sloped layout of today's cars. This will allow manufacturers to add more design character to their cars, making them closer to their production cars while still offering the dramatic message embodied by a prototype. *Flexibility has also been introduced into the rules for side bodywork, including production-derived sidepods and open vents behind the front wheels that will enable styling elements from street cars to be functional on the race cars.

Additional changes

*On May 27, 2011, it was announced that BMW was developing a new 4.5 liter V8 which debuted at the 2012 Daytona 24. The engine is primarily derived from that of the E92 generation

BMW M3 The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986. The initial model ...

. *On November 15, 2011, Chevrolet unveiled its new Corvette-inspired DP. It made its debut at the Daytona 24.

Results

Championship standings

Daytona Prototypes

Drivers

=Notes

= * Drivers denoted by † did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.

Chassis

Engine

Grand Touring

Drivers (Top 30)

=Notes

= * Drivers denoted by † did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.

Engine

North American Endurance Championship

The 2012 season marks the start of a three-race "endurance championship" featuring the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Six Hours of Watkins Glen, and the new race at Indianapolis. In Daytona, there are points in 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours. In Watkins Glen 3 and 6 with double points, and quadruple points in Indianapolis at the end of the race.

References

{{IMSA GT Championships Rolex Sports Car Series