Potolicchio departs while Starworks stays in for rest of season

Enzo Potolicchio elected to leave the Grand-Am Rolex Series due to the officiating of the series stewards and race director. Just recently word was leaked that the Starworks team had tossed in the towel after the series debut race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Today, team owner Peter Baron confirmed that the team will continue for the rest of the season with a two-car effort.

Apparently that did not sit well with Potolicchio, who decided to withdraw as the co-driver of the No. 8 Ford Riley. Starworks’ Ryan Dalziel and Potolicchio are currently in second in the Daytona Prototype points to the powerhouse Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley’s Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.

Potolicchio told Speed.com that the reasons were two-fold: The first one is “the disparity between the Grand-Am approved bodywork of the Corvettes and all others is insurmountable at high downforce tracks such as Barber, Detroit and the final two races at Laguna Seca and Lime Rock; and that series officials, while acknowledging the facts, are not prepared to do anything about the situation.”

The Venezuelan’s second reason is due to the officiating. “… the ridiculous inconsistencies and preferential treatments that have become a routine part of the race control and administration process, it has just got to the point where we have said, ‘enough is enough’ and decided to focus our energy, our investment, where we can participate on a level playing ground.”

Baron will move Dalziel to the No. 7 Ford Riley. The driver lineup for this weekend’s event at The Glen has not yet been announced. IndyCar is not racing this weekend, which leaves the Sebastien Bourdais who teamed with Alex Popow to land the victory at Indy.