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| Click to enlarge |  | | For 2006 Team Seattle has again teamed with Synergy Racing to compete in the GT class with two brand-new Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars. Photo: Will Diefenbach | | | Click to enlarge |  | | The No. 86 Team Seattle Porsche undergoing pre-race preparation in the garage area. Photo: Rick Dole/ LAT | | | advertisement | | | | Click to enlarge |  | | Team Seattle raced two Porsche GT3 Cup cars in the 2005 Rolex 24 at Daytona, painted in red, white, and blue livery. Photo: Mike Meredith | |
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| Click to enlarge |  | | Team Seattle entered two Ford Multimatic Daytona Prototypes in the 2004 Rolex 24 at Daytona. | | | Click to enlarge |  | | In 2003 Team Seattle won the Sports Racing Prototype II class and finished second in class with two identically prepared Nissan Lolas in the Sports Racing Prototype II class. | | | Click to enlarge |  | | For the first five years Team Seattle competed at Daytona in GT class Porsches like this GT3 R. | | | Click to enlarge |  | | One of the Team Seattle Porsche GT3 Rs during the 2001 Rolex 24. | | | Click to enlarge |  | | In the 2002 Rolex 24, Team Seattle used the parts from the two Saleen S7Rs to get one car to the finish. | | | Click to enlarge |  | | The number 51 Team Seattle Saleen S7R finished the 2002 Rolex 24 with the nose from the 53 car. | |
Last year Team Seattle returned to Porsche GT3 Cup cars to compete in the 2005 Rolex 24 at Daytona and had their most successful year ever, raising a record $380,000 for Seattle's Children's Hospital while competing in the famous sports car endurance race.
For the past nine years, Team Seattle has competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and has raised a total of $1.8 million for Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center of Seattle in the process.
The interest in Team Seattle was at an all-time high last year and the momentum continues into the 2006 Rolex 24, which will be held on January 28-29th. Last year the cars competed with pledges to Children's Hospital at race time totaling $527 per lap—the largest number ever to ride on the Team Seattle cars during the race and this year the team goal is $600 per lap.
To support the Team Seattle fundraising effort for Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, you can visit the Team Seattle site or e-mail Barbara Koler directly at the Children's Hospital Guild Association. Team Seattle members have raised the funds from corporate and private sponsors to cover the expenses of the race and all pledges go directly to Children's Hospital.
Last year Team Seattle made a new $2 million commitment to Children's Hospital to fund the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, which was named and dedicated in honor of Children's Hospital spokesperson and Team Seattle member Kami Renee Sutton.
"This is the year Team Seattle has put it all together," Team Seattle co-founder Don Kitch explained to MSN Autos. "The package is the best it has ever been. We are in our second year of working with the GT championship team, Synergy Racing, and we are in the GT weapon of choice cars, the new Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars. For the first time ever, all eight drivers are from the Seattle area, the chemistry is excellent, and it all adds up to a fantastic and successful formula for our Children's Hospital, the city of Seattle and the team's race result."
Racing fans can follow Team Seattle's progress at Daytona beginning at noon (ET) on January 28th on SPEED Channel. This marks the sixth year of SPEED's extensive live coverage of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The 2006 coverage will include the first six hours beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern on January 28th, a three-hour segment at 8 p.m. Eastern, and the final four hours of the race beginning at 8 a.m. Eastern on January 29th.
Live timing and scoring will also be offered on the Grand American Rolex Series site.
Racing to Help Kids
"We are racers and when we go to Daytona every January it is to race in the Rolex 24, but we never forget that every lap completed means more money for the kids at Children's Hospital," Kitch explained.
While last year's fundraising result was excellent, Team Seattle had a tough year on the track and had to keep the fundraising effort in mind throughout the event. The challenges on the track began early for Team Seattle, with both cars experiencing issues during the first hour that dropped them back several laps. To be successful in this event, teams must deal with adversity and push on, never letting up until the checkered flag flies.
Unfortunately things got worse for the No. 81 Team Seattle Porsche which made contact with two other cars and all three cars sustained heavy damage. The No. 81 car required extensive repairs, which took more than three hours to complete and returned to the race in 59th position. The No. 80 also encountered other problems during the race, including contact with other cars and numerous small mechanical issues. But the team continued to push forward with the knowledge that every lap completed meant more money for Children's Hospital.
The No. 80 Team Seattle Porsche finished the race 14th in the GT class and 29th overall out of 62 cars that started the race. The No. 81 Team Seattle entry finished 21st in class and 39th overall.
For 2006 Team Seattle has again teamed with Synergy Racing to compete in the GT class with two of the brand-new Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars, the latest racing version of the production Porsche 911 Carrera. Don Kitch told MSN Autos that returning to Porsches last year was great for the Team Seattle program, because team supporters can more easily identify with the Porsche since it is based on the Porsche 911 production car.
"It is an honor to once again represent Team Seattle in their 10th anniversary visit to Daytona," Cole Scrogham, Synergy Racing partner told MSN Autos. "We had a great season in 2005, winning the 2005 Driver's Championship in GT, but when you consider the reality of what is being done to benefit the Seattle Children's Hospital, the championship does not seem that important. We have our eyes on the lap goals for our new Porsche 997 GT3 race cars, to be able to create the maximum revenue for the hospital and have a great time with the supporters at the Race."
The No. 86 Team Seattle Porsche will be driven by Don Kitch Jr., Bellevue, WA; Chris Pennington, Redmond, WA; Don Gagne, Redmond, WA; and Chris Pallis, Mercer Island, WA. The No. 87 Team Seattle Porsche will be driven by David Gaylord, Graham, WA; Wes Hill, Bellevue, WA; Ken Hill, Snohomish, WA; and Will Diefenbach, Kirkland, WA.
Team Seattle History: A Variety of Race Cars
For the first five years Team Seattle contested the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the latest version of the Porsche 911, winning the GT class honors in 1999.
Three years ago, Team Seattle teamed with 2001 Grand American Rolex Series GTS Champion Chris Bingham to field a pair of Saleen S7Rs for the 40th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
But Team Seattle faced significant adversity during the 2002 race, with both cars suffering damage that would normally have put the machines out of the race.
But the Team Seattle crew pushed on and created one car from the pieces of the two broken cars to finish the race. The result: the team raised $200,000 for Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center.
In 2003 Team Seattle recorded its most successful year ever on the track at the Rolex 24, winning the SRP II class and placing seventh overall, with the second team car finishing second in class and ninth overall.
The following year in 2004, with the move up to the top Daytona Prototype class, Team Seattle faced a potential opportunity for the overall win. But it was a very difficult year with adverse weather and the exotic Daytona Prototype. The team still won for the kids, raising more than $176,000 for Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. Given the adversity of the race in 2004, the team returned to its GT Porsche roots for 2005.
World's Toughest Endurance Race Requires Discipline
The Rolex 24 at Daytona is first and foremost an endurance race, and Don Kitch knows the discipline required to win this grueling event.
"To win the Rolex 24 at Daytona, you first have to finish the race," explained Kitch. While on the surface this statement seems obvious, its simplicity has been lost on many racers who have entered this event, raced hard and failed to see the light of day.
The Rolex 24 will require everything physically and mentally that the drivers and the cars have to give. After the race the drivers are exhausted and the cars will need to be rebuilt from the ground up.
The Team Seattle drivers will maintain a pre-determined pace for the race, in the neighborhood of five to six seconds per lap slower than an all-out qualifying lap. This pace is designed to preserve the car and eliminate repairs that eat up precious time while the car sits in the pits. Many times during the race the Team Seattle drivers will need discipline to resist racing head-to-head with another competitor who is lapping at a quicker pace.
But the goal is to finish the entire 24 hours, and complete as many laps as possible. "To help us finish, we have adopted a motto over the years," explains Kitch. The motto: "Don't Hit. Don't Get Hit. Make No Mistakes. Drive To Daylight."
If you would like to learn more and pledge your donation to race for the kids, visit the Team Seattle Web site, or e-mail Barbara Koler at the Children's Hospital Guild Association.
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