On Wednesday of last week 90 cars, including the best endurance cars in the world, set out to try and qualify for the Daytona classic.  By Saturday at 1300 the most successful 80 took the starting flag and set out on a punishing journey.  There were official factory teams from Chevrolet, Cadillac and Chrysler and supported teams from Lola, Reynard, Porsche and Ferrari, plus a myriad of private American teams with state-of-the-art sports racing machinery. The Chamberlain Motorsport Team of Chrysler Viper GTS-R cars are GT cars and, although highly sophisticated race versions, are still road car based. They finished 6th and 7th overall.

The Chamberlain team knows a bit about endurance racing and it did not take many hours for the cars to start climbing the leader board after the start. A complete electrical failure which took 35 minutes to locate and repair on one car and a minor accident losing a similar amount of time for the other were the only major delays and so by early morning on Sunday both cars were in the top 12 places.

Finishing any 24 Hour race is difficult and so finishing both team cars is exceptional.  The prospect of finishing one in the top ten overall is the stuff that dreams are made of.  As Sunday wore on the faster cars became even more unreliable and the Chamberlain Motorsport cars began to menace the top ten and higher.  Two hours before the finish they were on the same lap as each other and in 6th and 7th places.  Orders went out that there was to be no racing and that the drivers must hold station from then on.  Two hours is nothing in the life of a 24 Hour race, but it should be noted that no F1 Grand Prix is longer than two hours and so much can happen during this amount of time.  However nothing untoward did happen, the last pit stops were completed and two very happy and emotional drivers took the finishing flag.  In the pits there was relief that there were no last minute problems, but great pride for all on an exceptional job satisfactorily completed.