The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing squad took their second pole position in as many IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events as Ryan Briscoe took top spot in the #67 Ford GT for the Sebring 12 Hours on Friday.
The Australian set a best time of 1:55.939 to beat team-mate Dirk Mueller by 0.236 seconds as the team locked out the front row in the GT Le Mans class around the Sebring International Raceway.
It was Briscoe’s second pole position for Ford in the championship after achieving the first at the Circuit of the Americas in 2016, and the former Verizon IndyCar Series star believes the team can also compete for honours on race day on Saturday.
“The car was really fast in practice all weekend,” said Briscoe, who shares the car with Scott Dixon and Richard Westbrook. “The Ford GT and all the guys and girls at Ford Chip Ganassi Racing have just really been working hard.
“(Today the car) was the best it’s been all weekend, which should make tomorrow even more interesting for us. I don’t think it will be as cold tomorrow night as it was this morning so our set-up should play out just fine. It might tighten up just a little bit, but not much. I can’t wait to get started tomorrow.”
Mueller felt it was a great effort from Ford to finish first and second in qualifying, even if he was forced to settle for second behind his team-mate.
“What a fantastic day for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing with a one-two qualifying effort here at Sebring,” said Mueller, who partners Sebastien Bourdais and Joey Hand again this weekend hopeful of adding to their Rolex 24 at Daytona victory.
“We didn’t really know where the track was going to go this morning, but with the sun out this afternoon it really picked up. The car is just great. We decided to just go for it right away and get a fast lap in when the track was clear.
“I’m really happy with the strategy we used because we had the front row covered with myself and Briscoe going out later on in the session.”
