All cylinders were firing for Alex Job Racing in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic presented by Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers, both on and off the track. Shortly after the green flag, Porsche and Alex Job Racing announced that the first two new Porsche 911 GT3 R racecars have been ordered for TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competition on behalf of WeatherTech Racing and Team Seattle. Both teams will compete in the GTD class and are the first to announce their intentions to compete in the TUDOR Championship full-time in 2016.
Running in the sixth position, Ian James pitted under green early in the race. The first full-course caution came out one lap following his stop. While the GTD leaders pitted for the lone pit stop of the race, co-driver Mario Farnbacher found himself in the lead. He never looked back, leading the remainder of the race. The quickest lap of 1:33.086 for the team came on lap 45 of 57 circuits.
“When I took the car from Ian, I tried to keep my pace up,” Farnbacher stated. “Then the yellow came out, and it was actually a very long yellow. There was oil in the track and it was the right decision to clean the track. After a few laps I had a bit of the lead and could concentrate on the lead and my driving style so that was good. The second yellow came out and I thought the lead was over, but the Aston was not catching up, so I was driving my style until the second to last yellow when it started to rain. I was actually pretty slow in the wet, I’m still working on getting up and running, I was going so slow.”
Coming in second place were Christina Nielsen and James Davison in the No. 007 Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin Vantage. Davison closed the race out for the pair, finishing 2.679 seconds behind Farnbacher.
Dion von Moltke started the No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi LMS on the pole for Paul Miller Racing. Co-driver Christopher Haase finished third, he set the quickest GTD lap of the race on lap 53 at 1:32.628.
The No. 33 ViperExchange.com Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen was competitive for much of the race but was forced to retire after encountering a mechanical issue on lap 22, resulting in the first of three caution periods..
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
- NHRA announces eight-race schedule for 2024 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series - January 17, 2024
- Forgeline and Pratt Miller Motorsports Announce New Multi-Year Partnership - January 17, 2024
- TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein converts narrow pole to commanding win in the Season 10 opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the 2024 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix - January 16, 2024