Bell on pole and Davis set to start alongside as team returns to site of first-ever win for Z/28.R
Sebring, Fla. (19 March 2015) – After taking second and third with the two Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R machines to open the 2015 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship, the team continued to show strength on Thursday as the team locked out the front row in qualifying for Friday’s Visual Studio 150 at Sebring International Raceway.
The No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Z/28.R will start on the pole after Matt Bell notched a flyer of 2:15.846-seconds in Thursday’s 15-minute qualifying. Bell will open the two hour, thirty-minute race from behind the wheel before turning the controls over to Lawson Aschenbach to take to the finish.
“Huge thanks to Team Chevy and Stevenson Motorsports, they definitely did their homework on all this stuff and made the most of all the track time we’ve had,” said Bell. “The setup on the car was exactly what I needed. This track is rough on the Continental Tires but we’ve been working to be ahead of the game on that. We are starting up front and have a good car so we’re all looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
The No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports entry of Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell will start alongside Bell with Davis behind the wheel after he posted a fast lap time of 2:16.353-seconds as the duo look to repeat their history-making run to the winners circle last year.
“I’m just really happy with the Stevenson crew, it’s great to be able to lock out the front row with these Camaro Z/28.Rs,” said Davis. “They’ve been working really hard. I think we are in really great shape for the race. We will have to see how the race rolls. Matt (Bell) and I have to drive smart and bring the car to the guys (Lawson and Robin) to be there at the end.”
“It is really exciting for the team to have such a good start to the season—that’s not like us!” joked team manager Mike Johnson. “We normally have some kind of early set back but for us to open the year with both cars on the podium at Daytona and then be starting up front like this, the cars are working really well. Pratt and Miller always makes great cars over the bumps, and there are a ton of them here. We are still fighting some overall reliability issues we’ve been having this year but overall this is a good start.”
Fans can stream Friday’s race live starting at 1:00 PM ET at IMSA.com.
