Prototype Challenge championship leaders CORE autosport will start the Grand Prix of Baltimore from third tomorrow while the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was fourth in GT qualifying after leading both practice sessions.
Driving the No. 05 ORECA FLM09, Colin Braun was hunting for his seventh PC pole with CORE autosport. The 15-minute qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag when another PC car made impact with the wall. When the session resumed, Braun had four minutes to make one last push for pole. As the checkered flag flew, the No. 05 flashed to the top of the timing screens with a 1:28.716 (82.781 mph), but was soon pushed to third as the remainder of the field finished its flying laps.
Co-driver Jon Bennett will start the No. 05 from third in Saturday’s two-hour race.
After topping both of the GT practice sessions, Patrick Long took the wheel of the No. 06 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for qualifying, hopeful that the team’s first GT pole position was within his grasp. Long climbed to second in the qualifying order before the session was halted by a red flag. When qualifying resumed, Long gave his final flyer everything he had, but ended up fourth fastest with a lap of 1:30.104 (81.506 mph).
Following the disqualification of a competitor in post-qualifying technical inspection, the No. 06 moved to third on the GT starting grid.
Tom Kimber-Smith has the job of starting the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR tomorrow on the 12-turn, 2.04-mile temporary street circuit and finding a way through the typical Baltimore Turn One melee.
Colin Braun, Driver: No. 05 ORECA FLM09 PC :
“We’ve been working to optimize the car under braking. I think we have a handle on that now, but we made a change before qualifying that ended up being the opposite of what we wanted. We still have a fast race car and Jon’s pace has been really good compared to the other starting drivers, which will help us out a lot tomorrow. More than anything, this race is about staying out of trouble, playing it smart and having good pit stops, I don’t think outright pace will be as important. We have a championship team and we’re capable of great pit stops and getting the job done.
“The track has been gripping up a lot. Every time we go out it’s been different and we have to factor that into the changes that we’ll be making for tomorrow, so we’re basically chasing a moving target. As the track gains grip, you go faster, but that makes any setup characteristics worse; if you have understeer, you’ll have more understeer, if you’re loose, you’re going to get looser.”
Patrick Long, Driver: No. 06 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR :
“The car felt good. We bettered our practice times by a second so we’re happy with our performance. We were hoping for P1, but we knew the other teams might find two seconds from their practice times-that’s the spirit of the game. All in all, we have a solid car for the race and we’ve seen that the race pace is a totally different ball game from the practice and qualifying pace. We’re happy with how the car feels on a long run. In the end, it’ll come down to track position and pit stops.
“The track will rubber up because the Indy cars will be out there. What works for or against the track gaining grip will be the ambient and track temperatures fluctuating. It will really depend on the weather, but we’ll definitely be in the mix. We have a tire we’ve never been happier with on this track. A big thank you to Michelin for doing their homework and improving, as always.”
Source : CORE autosport