Mercedes-AMG GT3 Teams Look to Extend IMSA GTD Manufacturer, Driver and Team Championship Leads at Detroit Grand Prix
Three Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams look to give the Mercedes-AMG GT3 its fourth-consecutive GT Daytona (GTD) class victory in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend at the Detroit Grand Prix. Taking place at the Raceway on Belle Isle Park, the three Mercedes-AMG customer teams competing include championship leading and multiple-race winning Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports, Long Beach race winners WeatherTech Racing and SunEnergy1 Racing, which has finished third in two of the year's first four races.
Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen co-drive the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 and started the current Mercedes-AMG GT3 win streak with a victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. The breakout Sebring win was the first for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
The No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, with co-drivers Cooper McNeil and Gunnar Jeannette, won the following race on the streets of Long Beach in April.
One race ago at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Keating and Bleekemolen became the season's first GTD-class repeat winners and gave the Mercedes-AMG GT3 its third-straight class victory.
The defending Detroit GTD class race winners, Keating, Bleekemolen and the No. 33 team also have the momentum of a perfect, four-race run of podium finishes this season heading to Motown. In addition to the pair of race wins, Keating and Bleekemolen finished third in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in January and second at Long Beach to the WeatherTech team. The one-two Long Beach finish was the first for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
The third Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer team racing this weekend in Detroit is the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 that finished third at both COTA and Sebring. The No. 75 team gave the Mercedes-AMG GT3 its first IMSA WeatherTech Championship pole position in qualifying at Sebring at the hands of Tristan Vautier. Vautier co-drives the No. 75 with team owner and driver Kenny Habul.
The early-season success by its Customer Racing teams has given Mercedes-AMG a 17-point lead in the IMSA GTD manufacturer championship standings, 135 – 118 over Ferrari.
Keating, Bleekemolen and the Mercedes-AMG Team Riley No. 33 also bring their biggest championship lead of the season to Detroit. In the IMSA GTD driver and team standings, Keating, Bleekemolen and the No. 33 team have 133 points coming to Detroit, 24 clear of the second-place Ferrari team and drivers that have 109 points.
Following practice and qualifying on the 2.3-mile street course on Friday, the 100- minute Detroit Grand Prix IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race is scheduled to start at 12:40 p.m. EDT this Saturday, June 3. Live coverage of the race begins at 12:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), with live in-car cameras, timing and scoring and IMSA Radio available on www.IMSA.com. A repeat telecast of the race will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) this Sunday, June 4, at 9 a.m. EDT.
Ben Keating, Driver – No. 33 AMG-Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: "Last year we did not have the best car for this circuit, but our amazing pit crew was able to get us out front, and Jeroen was able to keep it there. Detroit is a street circuit where track position is the most important thing. There are many and various strategies that can be used during a 100-minute race, and you need a little bit of luck for the race to fall your way. Having said that, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 should suit a street circuit and we believe it will race very well at Belle Isle. We need to have a clean race and bring it home to the finish as this is one of those tracks where the Mercedes-AMG GT3 should shine. No doubt that this is a race where we can extend our championship lead. We need to get it while we can."
Jeroen Bleekemolen, Driver – No. 33 AMG-Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3:"It will be another tight fight at Detroit. The field is really close. We will have to work hard to get some results, but our Mercedes-AMG GT3 performs well on street circuits, like we saw at Long Beach. At the same time, it's all about track position because overtaking is very hard. It's very hard even on a permanent track, but at a street track it's almost impossible, so it's crucial to have a good strategy and a fast pit stop. I always love racing on street tracks. It is very challenging, and you can't get away with mistakes. Detroit is a nice track with some high and low speed corners and bumps, as you would expect on a street track."
Cooper MacNeil, Driver – No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "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. We won the previous street course race this year and will try to repeat that success in Detroit. We had some BoP [Balance of Performance] changes recently, which could slow us, but we won't know exactly how much until we put the car on the track Friday."
Gunnar Jeannette, Driver – No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "We are certainly going to try to repeat our Long Beach win this weekend at Detroit. 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. Our WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 is very good over a stint length. 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."
Tristan Vautier, Driver – No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "The car has performed really well on every track so far, so I think we should be OK at Detroit. Passing will be tough, both because of the track and because our strength is corner speed more than straight-line speed. So, qualifying and good pit stops are going to be very important. Strategy and execution have to be perfect on these kinds of races. They are real sprints, and if you do a single mistake you have no chance to recover. We will have to nail everything. I raced at Belle Isle in Indy Lights in 2012, and in IndyCar in 2013 and 2015, when I finished fourth. I love this track, it's just extremely challenging with all the bumps and pavement changes. It's a constant fight in the car. I love it."
