Lead DP as Westy takes third…and begins his rain dance
Bowmanville, Ontario (12 July 2014) – Visit Florida Racing will look to back up the team’s big victory in the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen two weeks ago with another strong run on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for Round 7 of the 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante will share the driving duties in the No. 90 Visit Florida Corvette DP on Sunday (LIVE broadcast Fox Sports 1 2:00 PM), with Westbrook having secured third on the four-class IMSA grid with a fast lap time of 1:09.642-seconds to take a spot on the inside of the second row.
“Richard did a great job, he had a couple of great runs and got the tires up to temperature and everything worked out pretty well,” said team owner Troy Flis. “We knew the P2’s would be quick here, but he’s ahead of all the DP’s so that was pretty impressive. We’ll just have to see how the traffic plays out in the race. I think we’ve got a car we can race with, we’re gonna push ’em hard, no question.”
“We should be happy really, but you always want that bit more,” admitted Westbrook. “Whenever you qualify, you want to be on the front row, ideally pole. But well done to Gustavo and Brian – they did great laps (front row starters). There’s room for improvement and we’ll try to iron out the imbalances we’ve got before tomorrow. And we have to see what the weather will bring.”
The weekend has thus far been a string of ideal summer days with low humidity and comfortable temperatures under sunny skies. But that could changed dramatically if the forecasted precipitation comes to pass.
“It’s a rain tire that no one has really used,” said Westbrook. “Maybe it will bring the gap between the DP and the P2 closer – but who knows. I like the rain so I’ll be doing my rain dance tonight because I think it’s going to be difficult to beat the guys in front. The team has given me a great car – all the guys from Visit Florida – it just shows we’re on form at the moment. Six months ago we would have been elated with third position and now we’re a little bit disappointed so it shows you how far we’ve come in a short time, and I’m delighted.”
Sunday’s race will take the green flag at 2:05 PM, you can listen to the race via MRN Radio as well as catch live coverage via FOX Sports 1 starting at 2:00 PM ET.
