Spring has truly sprung in the world of motorsports this weekend. This weekend is a busy one across the globe, and if the third round qualifying of the IMSA WeatherTech SCC is any indication, it’s going to be a weekend full of close racing.
Up in the top class, Cadillac continued to set the pace in qualifying yesterday. The #10 Konica Minolta DPi-V.R of Ricky and Jordan Taylor topped the timing charts by the end of the evening with a blistering 01:13.549, a useful amount over the 01:13.753 achieved by the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac of Fittipaldi and Barbosa.
The Prototype top five was rounded out by the #55 Mazda (Bomarito/Nunez, 01:14.128), #85 Oreca LMP2 (Simpson/Goikhberg, 01:14.408), and #31 Cadillac (Curran/Cameron, 01:14.444).
Down in GTLM, variety was indeed the spice of life, as five different cars all occupied the top of the leaderboard. Veteran racer Jan Magnussen brought the #3 Corvette home in the top spot, just dipping under the 1:17 mark (01:16.909 to be exact). The ever-speedy Ford GT wasn’t far behind, with the #66 car landing at 01:17.001.
The rest of the GTLM top five was less than 0.2 seconds off Magnussen. Risi Competizione’s #62 488 GTE clocked a 01:17.043, the mid-engined 911 RSR slotted into fourth with a 01:17.056, and the big BMW M6 of Sims and Auberlen managed a 01:17.072.
GTD wasn’t quite as close, with a half-second separating first from fifth, and three mid-engined cars from the VW Group. Up top was the Huracan GT3 of Paul Miller Racing, clipping off a 01:19.243, just enough to pip the #15 3GT Racing Lexus RCF.
Third place in-class went to the #28 Porsche 911 of Morad and Christensen, with the smallest gap of qualifying separating it from the fourth-place Change Racing Huracan (01:19.375 plays 01:19.379). The Huracan should be familiar to Forza players, as it recently arrived in the game thanks to its Xbox sponsorship. The #57 Stevenson Motorsport Audi R8 LMS was further back with a 01:19.752.
Racing kicks off at 1605 EDT today. You’ll be able to tune in online to watch for free on IMSA.TV. Traditional television coverage is provided by FOX. Other useful links are below:
Good luck to all racers this weekend!
See more articles on IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge 2017 Season.
