Jan Magnussen took the pole in the GT1 class for Saturday’s Detroit Sports Car Challenge. Summer showers soaked both practice sessions, limiting practice time and slowing the field considerably on the 2.096 mile temporary street track. Magnussen turned his quickest time on his fifth and final lap in the #3 Corvette C6.R at 1:24.477 (88.213 mph) while Oliver Gavin was 1.024 seconds back at 1:24.501 (87.1587 mph) in the #4 Corvette C6.R.
With the wet conditions, the team changed their practice plans by running a single timed lap and then returned to the pits so the track could dry. With 10 minutes remaining, both Corvettes returned to the track and ran five timed laps.
“The first dry lap I had all day was the first lap in qualifying,” Magnussen said after claiming his second pole of the season on a street circuit. “The track was getting better and better, and we needed a few laps to get the Michelins up to operating temperature. The Corvette C6.R worked very well under the circumstances.
“It was very, very tough,” the Dane added. “It was a matter of thinking about how I drove the track last year, remembering my braking points and so on. Everybody was trying to find the right line. I didn’t get a clear lap, but I don’t think anyone did. I’m happy with the result; this makes the race a little easier.”
“The track was drying and it wasn’t as good at the beginning of the session as it was at the end,” said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt. “We sent the drivers out to get a time and then brought them back in. If the drivers don’t get a qualifying time and the session ends early because of a red flag, the cars would start at the back of the grid. Our strategy was to put a time down, let the track dry out, and then run when the conditions were better.”
Corvette Racing will hit the streets of Detroit on Saturday at 2:35 pm. The two-hour, 45-minute race will be televised live on SPEED starting at 2:30 PM.
Bondurant School of High Performance Driving
Source:
CorvetteRacing.com
Photo Credit: American LeMans
Related:
Corvette Racing: Celebrating The 100th Race At The Detroit Grand Prix
[VIDEO] Corvette Racing: A Day at the Races
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