Michael Shank Racing started the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship weekend at Road America by taking the fastest lap in the first practice session for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase.
Ozz Negri set the lap (1:58.036) in the #60 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype he shares with John Pew. The Brazilian’s time was just 0.086 seconds faster than Ricky Taylor’s time in the Wayne Taylor Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP. Spirit of Daytona Racing and Action Express Racing’s teams were third and fourth, Christian Fittipaldi’s time in the #5 car a little over half a second slower than Negri’s time around the 4 mile long circuit.
The #2 Extreme Speed Motorsport HPD of Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek completed the top five.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ford-Riley with Memo Rojas reunited with Scott Pruett in the #01 were tenth fastest over all, one spot behind the fastest of the Prototype Challenge cars, the #08 RSR Racing entry of Chris Cumming and Brit Jack Hawksworth who set the time of 2:01.165 on the final lap of his session.
The DeltaWing, making a welcome return to the championship after missing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway weekend entirely, was 15th fastest overall with the James Hinchcliffe and Scott Mayer driver Honda-Riley DP run by Starworks Motorsport was 18th fastest. Mayer – with Brendon Hartley as co-driver – won for Starworks when the Rolex Series raced at Elkhart Lake last season.
Marc Goossens was nearly a second faster than his nearest rival in GT Le Mans. Posting a best lap of 2:05.659 in the #91 SRT Motorsports Viper he shares with Dominik Farnbacher he was over eight tenths faster Pierre Kaffer in the Risi Competizione Ferrari. Class points leaders, Corvette Racing men Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen were fourth fastest in class.
James Davison enjoyed a similar margin at the top of the GT Daytona class in the TRG-AMR Aston Martin, his 2:10.607 comfortably clear of the 2:11.574 Jan Heylen recorded in Snow Racing’s Porsche. Andy Lally was third fastest in the Magnus Racing run 911 GT America.
