WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Utah) are ready for 100-minutes of racing at this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic of Detroit, June 2-3.
The team gambled earlier in the season and rolled a 7 and 11 at the Long Beach Grand Prix in April by winning that 100-minute race on pit strategy and speed. At the end of that 60+40 event, MacNeil and Jeannette stood atop the No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in victory lane.
Detroit is another closed street course located on Belle Isle in the middle of the Detroit River. The concrete lined circuit will have the 28 IMSA competitors navigating a 2.3-mile, 14-turn crowned and bumpy surface. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 car has received a BOP adjustment for Detroit that will affect the cars exit speed off of the 14-turns.
“I’m excited to be coming back to Detroit because I really like street courses and the Belle Isle circuit is a great location for a race,” MacNeil said. “We won the previous street course race this year and will try to repeat that success in Detroit. We had some negative BOP changes recently which will hurt us, but we won’t know exactly how much until we put the car on the track Friday.”
Jeannette will have to learn the Belle Isle Circuit quickly as this will be his first run on the closed island park street course.
“We are certainly going to try to repeat our Long Beach win this weekend at Detroit,” Jeannette said. “Strategy at these races is super important and due to our lack of points from Daytona and Sebring it allows us to roll the dice. Another BOP change for us, getting more weight and a smaller restrictor again. It is frustrating because I don’t think our single lap pace was better than most of the manufacturers, but our WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 is very good over a stint length. The only thing we can do about it though is just make the best with what we have. Track time will be at a premium this weekend since we are sharing the event with IndyCar. I personally have never driven at Detroit, so every lap in practice will be important for me. I love street circuits so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
Qualifying for the IMSA WeatherTech GTD Class will be Friday at 4:55 p.m. with the race taking the green flag on Saturday at 12:40 p.m.
