Source: Grand-Am Series
Michael Shank Racing used Ford power to sweep the front row Thursday during qualifying for the 46th running of Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Posting a lap that bested the previous Daytona Prototype track record by more than two-and-a-half seconds, Brazilian Oswaldo Negri Jr. drove his No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley to a lap time of 1:40.793 (127.151 mph) around the 3.56-mile road course, capturing the pole for America's longest professional sports car race.
Negri will lead a field of 67 cars - 25 Daytona Prototypes and 42 GT machines - to the green flag on Saturday before passing the No. 60 machine to season-long co-driver Mark Patterson and Champ Car stars Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson.
Second fastest was the Michael Shank Racing sister car, the No. 6 Ford Riley qualified by NASCAR Sprint Cup regular A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger will co-drive the No. 6 machine with Rolex Series regulars Ian James, John Pew and Burt Frisselle.
Belgian Marc Goossens qualified third with a time of 1:41.041 (126.840 mph), also bettering the previous lap record set by Alex Gurney in 2007. Goossens will co-drive with season-long teammate Jim Matthews, IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Ryan Hunter-Reay and sports car star Johnny O'Connell.
Max Angelelli (1:41.161, 126.689 mph) in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley and Mark Wilkins (1:41.413, 126.374 mph) in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Exchange Traded Gold/Barrick Gold Ford Riley qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.
In GT qualifying, the No. 70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec/Mazdaspeed Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay was fastest of four manufacturers in the class's top five. Tremblay's time of 1:50.758 (115.711 mph) topped the previous GT class record of 1:51.800, set by Patrick Huisman in last year's event.
The Rolex Series returns to the track for practice at 9 a.m. Friday, with final qualifying at 11:40 a.m. The final practice for the Rolex 24 At Daytona is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, with the twice-around-the-clock commencing at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and ending at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Michael Shank Racing used Ford power to sweep the front row Thursday during qualifying for the 46th running of Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Posting a lap that bested the previous Daytona Prototype track record by more than two-and-a-half seconds, Brazilian Oswaldo Negri Jr. drove his No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley to a lap time of 1:40.793 (127.151 mph) around the 3.56-mile road course, capturing the pole for America's longest professional sports car race.
Negri will lead a field of 67 cars - 25 Daytona Prototypes and 42 GT machines - to the green flag on Saturday before passing the No. 60 machine to season-long co-driver Mark Patterson and Champ Car stars Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson.
Second fastest was the Michael Shank Racing sister car, the No. 6 Ford Riley qualified by NASCAR Sprint Cup regular A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger will co-drive the No. 6 machine with Rolex Series regulars Ian James, John Pew and Burt Frisselle.
Belgian Marc Goossens qualified third with a time of 1:41.041 (126.840 mph), also bettering the previous lap record set by Alex Gurney in 2007. Goossens will co-drive with season-long teammate Jim Matthews, IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Ryan Hunter-Reay and sports car star Johnny O'Connell.
Max Angelelli (1:41.161, 126.689 mph) in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley and Mark Wilkins (1:41.413, 126.374 mph) in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Exchange Traded Gold/Barrick Gold Ford Riley qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.
In GT qualifying, the No. 70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec/Mazdaspeed Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay was fastest of four manufacturers in the class's top five. Tremblay's time of 1:50.758 (115.711 mph) topped the previous GT class record of 1:51.800, set by Patrick Huisman in last year's event.
The Rolex Series returns to the track for practice at 9 a.m. Friday, with final qualifying at 11:40 a.m. The final practice for the Rolex 24 At Daytona is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, with the twice-around-the-clock commencing at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and ending at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.