This past weekend Barber Motorsports Park played host to the third round of the Grand-Am Rolex Series for the Porsche 250. With two classes being compacted onto a course with 15 technical corners the action was tight, relentless, and also made for some daring passes.

With such a large field patience had to be exercised, although there were a few drivers who may have missed that memo. Tire management would prove to be just as important when considering the nature of the track compounded with the heat, which resulted in many cars struggling to find ample grip. So, who would survive the bumping and banging along with coping with Mother Nature? Click through to find out.

“Who can beat the 01?” was the question posed at the start of the broadcast and while Barber did not answer that question for us, some strong contenders were found. Specifically the number 90 Spirit of Daytona, the pole-sitter for this event definitely seemed to have what it takes to bring down the juggernaut Ganassi team.

The number 90 led for 50 laps and when they weren’t in the lead they remained in the hunt, until engine trouble put them a lap down and dashed their hopes of an upset victory. Scott Pruett of the 01 had the following to say about his competitor. “The 90 team had everybody covered today. We caught up to them after I got in the car, and we cut down about an eight-second differential between us and them. I’m sliding around and he looked pretty pasted down to the ground. I just thought, ‘You know what?’ These guys are really strong here today. You never know how it’s going to play out, but they were certainly in the catbird seat to sneak in a win this week.”

The number 10 SunTrust was always in the mix as well and could have posed a legitimate threat if it wasn’t for their unfortunate setback. Shortly after coming out of the pits their left-rear wheel came loose and knocked them out of contention.

Thus, the Pruett/Rojas and Chip Ganassi streak continues as they were the first to claim the checkered flag with a 28 second advantage over the second place Gainsco driven by Fogarty and Gurney.

To be clear, this was not a stroke of luck victory for Ganassi, to the contrary it was hard-earned and well deserved. The 01 was absolutely unyielding and by-far pulled off some of the most extravagant passes of the race. Ultimately, if you plan on dethroning the 01 you have to be perfect in every realm, perfect reliability, pit-stops, and driving.

The Whelen Engineering Corvette should be apart of GT podium discussions after Boris Said put together an amazing drive, navigating the Vette from last to first, and then leading for 26 laps. Sadly, everything fell apart after a mechanical issue forced the car to retire.

Unlike last year’s trip to Barber the Mazda RX-8’s did not mop-up the GT competition, although SpeedSource was able to place one RX-8 on the podium.

Second place honors were awarded to the Banner Racing Chevrolet Camaro. While the class victory went to the 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M3, making for their second consecutive victory and positioning the team at the top of the standings.

“I will admit that we were a little pessimistic about our chances but we were able to get a great set up on the car and called just the right strategy,” said Will Turner, team owner. “It just missed going our way in the Conti race, but everything went our way this afternoon.”

Bill Auberlen – “They say when it rains it pours and it’s been raining podiums for Turner Motorsport! All of this success is because of the off season planning, design work and development. Turner always shows up with the best BMWs – so comfortable to drive and no issues through an entire stint. In addition to great cars is great leadership from Will (Turner) and great strategy from Don (Salama). Let’s hope it keeps raining podiums!”

Round four will take place May 13 – 14 at Virginia International Raceway

[Photo & Video Credit: Grand-Am]