Just hundredths of seconds separated contenders in GTLM qualifying at Circuit of the Americas, where Ford Chip Ganassi Racing qualified p4-5 for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Friday.
Drivers Ryan Briscoe and Dirk Müller qualified the No. 67 and 66 Ford GTs, respectively, after both cars chased the perfect set-up in practice.
“We made a few small changes before qualifying,” Briscoe said. “We had a really good run. The car was just a little too loose, so I was happy with where we finished. I don’t think we’ve gotten everything we can out of these Ford GTs here at COTA quite yet.”
The 2-hour, 40-minute Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown airs at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Sat., May 6. Viewers outside the U.S. can watch on IMSA.com beginning at 7:35 p.m. GMT.
“I’m so proud of the crew members at Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, especially on the No. 66 car,” Müller said. “They’ve worked so hard the last two days and came in early this morning to tweak our qualifying set-up. We were p1 when the temperatures were cold early in the week and have been trying to get the most out of our Ford GT in the hotter weather. We lost a little in the performance in practice and tried a few more changes for qualifying.
“I’m definitely not happy with p5, but being two-tenths off pole means everything. On a 20-corner lap that long, that’s really impressive for the standards of GTLM racing. We’re really pleased with the lap time. I would have liked to be on the front row, but we still have the race tomorrow, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
This race is the final stop before the team returns to the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
