Mercedes-AMG GT3 Teams Shift Focus to Race Strategy and Preparation After Early End to IMSA WeatherTech Qualifying at The Glen
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams quickly shifted their focus to race strategy and preparation at Watkins Glen International after an unexpected early-end to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying Saturday for tomorrow's Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen. The No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports, No. 50 WeatherTech Racing and No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries all qualified for Sunday's six-hour race but missed out on a final chance to improve their respective lap times and starting positions after another competitor's accident ended the session several minutes early.
Ben Keating, who co-leads the IMSA WeatherTech GT Daytona (GTD) driver championship standings with teammate Jeroen Bleekemolen, will start tomorrow's race in the No. 33 from the inside of the sixth row. Keating posted the 11th fastest qualifying lap in the shortened session that was held on a track that was still damp in spots after heavy rain showers earlier this morning.
Keating's top lap time of 1:48.282 was the fastest of three Mercedes-AMG GT3s competing this weekend at The Glen. He was in the middle of an even faster lap late in the qualifying run only to see the session-ending red flag wipe the time out.
Boris Said, who was also on a final flying lap when the red flag was waved, will start alongside Keating in row six. Said clocked in 12th fastest in the SunEnergy1 No. 75 with a top lap time of 1:48.778.
Cooper MacNeil completed the Mercedes-AMG customer team lineup for the Sahlen's Six Hour in the WeatherTech No. 50 with a top lap time of 1:49.879, the 15th fastest lap of the session.
A victory by any of the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams in tomorrow's race would be the second-straight endurance race win – and fourth overall 2017 IMSA GTD victory – for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 this season. Keating, Bleekemolen and Mario Farnbacher co-drove the No. 33 to a milestone win in March's 12 Hours of Sebring, the last endurance run this season before tomorrow's Sahlen's Six Hours.
The Sebring win was the first for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and gave Mercedes-AMG, Keating, Bleekemolen and the No. 33 team leads in the respective IMSA GTD manufacturer, driver and team championship standings they have held ever since.
Farnbacher has returned at The Glen this weekend to co-drive the Mercedes-AMG Team Riley No. 33 with Keating and Bleekemolen.
Season-long co-drivers MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette – who co-drove to victory on the streets of Long Beach in April – are joined in the WeatherTech No. 50 this weekend by their usual endurance-race teammate and debuting Watkins Glen driver Shane van Gisbergen.
The SunEnergy1 No. 75, which has a pair of third-place race finishes to its credit this season, will be co-driven by Said, Kenny Habul and Tristan Vautier.
Tomorrow's race marks the halfway point of the 2017 IMSA racing season and the third round of this year's Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup (NAEC).
In addition to leading the full-season IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD standings, the No. 33 team, drivers and Mercedes-AMG are also at the top of the GTD standings in the NAEC, a four-race sub-series within the overall IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship that honors the top points earners in the year's endurance races.
Keating, Bleekemolen and the No. 33 team currently lead the full-season IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD driver and team championship standings with 150 points, nine points ahead of the second-place Ferrari drivers and team.
Mercedes-AMG has also has a nine point lead in the full-season IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD manufacturer championship, gapping closest challenger Ferrari, 159 – 150.
In the NAEC GTD standings, Keating, Bleekemolen, Farnbacher and the Mercedes-AMG Team Riley No. 33 lead the respective driver and team battles with 25 points, three points in front of the second-place Ferrari drivers and team.
Mercedes-AMG has a six point lead over Audi in the NAEC GTD manufacturer championship, 29 – 23.
Sunday's race-day schedule begins with a 20-minute warmup session at 8 a.m. with the official start of the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen scheduled for 10:10 a.m. EDT.
The Sahlen's Six Hours of Glen can be seen live in flag-to-flag television coverage on the FOX Sports networks. Coverage begins tomorrow Sunday, July 2, at 10 a.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). At 1 p.m., coverage will switch to FOX Sports 2 (FS2) for the conclusion of the six-hour race. International viewers can watch live streaming on IMSA.com.
Ben Keating, Driver – No. 33 AMG-Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: "It rained pretty hard about an hour before qualifying. We made the decision to go out on slick tires, and I was pretty timid the first few laps, those painted curbs are really slippery. Luckily, we realized pretty quickly the track was very dry, very good for slicks, and every lap the times kept just getting better and better. That last lap would have given me a couple of more starting positions. Likely ninth instead of 11th, and that would have been very nice, but all in all, given the track time I have had, I am happy. That was my fastest lap here this weekend, but the good news is that I am the slowest guy in our car. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 isn't the fastest car here this weekend, but we are going to do the best we can with what we have. I feel really good where we are for the start of the race and where our strategy is for the start of the race. Six hours is a long time."
Mario Farnbacher, Driver – No. 33 AMG-Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: "First of all, it is super great to be back here with the team and in the championship battle for the North American Endurance Cup. I also want to help Ben and Jeroen in the overall IMSA GTD championship. We are missing a little top speed because of the current BoP (Balance of Performance) but the Mercedes-AMG GT3 feels good, well balanced, we still have some things to figure out, but we should be OK for the race. We won't be the fastest car but we will have a consistent pace, and everybody on the team does a great job. I am sure the Riley Motorsports team will pull out some shockers when it comes to race strategy and I am looking forward to that."
Cooper MacNeil, Driver – No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "Qualifying was not ideal because the track was drying and a lot of the curbs were still wet. Actually, a lot of the track was still wet. I was taking my time, working up to speed. I had two more laps to go before the end of the session. I was ready to do a quick lap and unfortunately the session went red because somebody crashed. The good news is the car is in one piece for tomorrow and it's a long race."
Gunnar Jeannette, Driver – No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "The Mercedes-AMG GT3 was developed in Germany, and we all know that Germany has some great race tracks like Hockenheim, and especially the Nürburgring. They have a lot elevation change, very similar to this place, so the car suits this track well. It's designed for it. So far so good. It's handling pretty well. Mercedes-AMG really did their homework with GT3."
Boris Said, Driver – No. 50 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a great car. You can drive it 100 percent every lap for six hours, so this is basically a sprint race. You always want to be the quickest but we have what we have within the current rules. I was really hoping for rain in qualifying, I think we could have had a good car then, but it's a six-hour race. The really important thing is no mistakes. There are so many chances for drivers and crews to make mistakes. In the two races I've won here, one in a Prototype and one in GT, we had perfect races where we made no mistakes. That's what we're going to look at, just executing and driving as hard as we can. It really comes down to us not getting tangled up with a Prototype or a slower car and the crew guys doing their job in the pits."
Kenny Habul, Driver – No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: "Boris did a good job. That was a little tricky, a little slippery for slicks, and unfortunately the red flag came out while he was on his best lap, but that's the way it goes. Where you start doesn't really matter in a six-hour race. We were quick, fastest in the third practice session, and my times are good, so I'm happy. I think we're in it with a shot. We're suffering on horsepower, I think all the Mercedes-AMG GT3s are suffering on horsepower with the rules, but we'll do the best we can and hope with consistency in the six hours we can get up to the front."
# # #
