The MOMO NGT Motorsport racing team will return to the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona race, January 26-27, 2013, with a familiar line-up of drivers.

Henrique Cisneros, the 2010 and 2011 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge champion, returns behind the wheel of the No. 30 MOMO-sponsored Porsche 911 GT3 race car. Also returning to the MOMO team for 2013 is Sean Edwards. Edwards won the 2012 running of the 24 Hours of Dubai, is a former Supercup race driver since 2008 and co-drove with Cisneros at the Rolex 24 last season. The duo, paired with Carlos Kauffman and Nick Tandy, finished 18th in class and 29th overall in the 2012 running of the Rolex 24.

Cisneros and Edwards will be joined this year by 22-year-old Kuba Giermaziak, a three-year Porsche Supercar pilot who previously partnered with Cisneros in the 2012 ALMS Petit Le Mans race for a GTC class victory. The fourth driver for the 51st Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona is Porsche factory driver Patrick Pilet. The young Frenchman has been a Porsche factory pilot since 2008 and was the 2007 Carrera Cup France champion, as well as the 2010 24 Hours of Dubai winner.

The MOMO NGT Motorsport team previewed a demonstration to their commitment to the MOMO brand and its heritage at last year’s 50th annual running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona with a press announcement and unveiling of the car in a rather familiar red, yellow and black livery that evoked memories of its founder, Gianpiero Moretti’s glory days of racing. Look for a similar livery for the car for this year’s twice-around-the-clock running of the historic race.

“We are proud to be returning to the Daytona 24 Hours this year and with an exciting driver line-up,” said MOMO co-owner and team driver Henrique Cisneros. “We had some successes last season, including our class victory at Petit Le Mans and numerous podium finishes in the American Le Mans Series. We plan to build on that in 2013 and no better place to start than Daytona.”

“We are looking forward to the upcoming 24 Hours of Daytona,” said Wahab. “We are proud to have MOMO again for 2013 and are thankful for Porsche Motorsport’s support. I’m very confident for a posi tive achievement this year as we have some of the best Porsche drivers on our team representing successes from around the world.”

The No. 30 MOMO NGT Motorsport team will be present at the Roar Before the 24 Daytona Test Days on January 4-6, 2013. Drivers Sean Edwards and Kuba Giermaziak will be the only drivers represented at The Roar testing.

MOMO made a successful comeback at Daytona this weekend. The MOMO NGT Motorsport team had a great driver line-up with Porsche Super Cup and Porsche GT3 Cup Champions and Vice Champions Henrique Cisneros, Sean Edwards, Carlos Kauffmann and Nick Tandy. The MOMO team also had a very fast Porsche GT3 that really could have finished in the top five of the 50th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The team practiced well on Thursday and Friday and Sean Edwards was the qualifying driver. For his second participation in the Rolex 24 At Daytona Edwards was given the honor to qualify the No. 26 MOMO NGT Motorsport Porsche GT3 on Thursday afternoon. Sean qualified the MOMO car in 13th place and he started the race from the 7th row before an estimated 80,000 spectators.

Sean Edwards was able to show his muscles and the competitiveness of his MOMO NGT Motorsport Porsche. He went from 13th to leading the race after only 75 minutes of racing. Each of the drivers were able to run their stint without any major problems.

The MOMO NGT Motorsport team continued their problem free race and the drivers started to build top five finish expectations until 6:30 AM Sunday morning.

Following a routine pit stop and a brake change, a MOMO NGT Motorsport crew member discovered that the car had a damper problem and the car was immediately pushed back to the garage for repair. Sean Edwards was behind the wheel at the time and was 10th before the incident. Unfortunately the problem cost the team several positions and after a 20-minute repair job, the 26 MOMO car restarted in 17th place.

After that problem that put the car too many laps down, the MOMO NGT Motorsport drivers were never in contention to come back in the top ten. Another problem 51 minutes before the end of the race forced the 26 car driven at the time by Nick Tandy to visit the garage because of a battery problem. The problem was fixed by the crew and Carlos Kauffmann was able to return to the track and cross the finish line for the MOMO NGT Motorsport team.

Led by team owner Ramez Wahab, the NGT Motorsport team raced and finished its first Rolex 24 At Daytona. The next major rendez-vous for the MOMO NGT Motorsport team is the MOBIL 1 12 Hours of Sebring next March.

NGT Motorsport has announced MOMO as primary sponsor for the team’s No. 26 GT class entry in the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona to be run Jan. 28-29 at Daytona International Speedway. The MOMO brand is closely associated with the great history of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, having achieved an overall win in the event back in 1998.

The No. 26 MOMO Porsche GT3 entry will be driven by Porsche Carrera Cup standouts Nick Tandy and Sean Edwards, 2011 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Champion Henrique Cisneros and multiple IMSA GT3 Cup race winner and pole award winner Carlos Kauffmann.
The car bears bears a striking resemblance to that of the MOMO Ferrari teams from past Rolex 24 events, including the 1998 race-winning Ferrari 333SP. Gianpiero Moretti, who had made it a personal goal to win the Rolex 24, finally won the event that year in his 15th attempt in a Kevin Doran-prepped machine. He was joined by drivers Mauro Baldi, Arie Luendyk, and Didier Theys.

NGT Motorsport was founded in 2003 by Ramez Wahab and has competed actively in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge ever since. The Miami, Fla.-based team won team and driver IMSA GT3 championships in 2010 and 2011 and has participated successfully in various other endurance races. The team will make its Rolex 24 debut in January.

Rolex 24 At Daytona takes place January 26 – 29, 2012
European viewers can catch the race Live on Motors TV.