The Heart of Racing on Pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Riberas and Farnbacher, third pole of the season
BOWMANVILLE, Ont., Can. (July 9, 2016) - Mario Farnbacher (Germany) and Alex Riberas (Spain) will start the sixth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix to run at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) tomorrow from the GTD pole position.
The Heart of Racing Porsche duo worked through the three practice sessions to get the car handling around the 2.4-mile, 10-turn undulating CTMP natural terrain road course located northwest of Toronto. Riberas had the controls of the No. 23 Porsche for the 15-minute qualifying session. On his sixth lap of the
Riberas on pole at CTMP.
historic track, he turned a time of 1:18.245 good for the pole. The top starting spot is his second on the season (first at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca), the team's third (Watkins Glen), to start tomorrow's two-hour-and-forty-five-minute race from the head of the class.
"Fantastic job by The Heart of Racing and Alex Job Racing guys," Riberas said. "We have worked hard to get the car handling around this great track. We barely got any running in the dry yesterday, which made things difficult. This is my first time here, it is a very challenging circuit. We were able to put our heads down last night with Mario and Ian James and reviewed the data and improved the car. We are starting at the front on the pole which is a great way to begin the race."
Farnbacher likes the way the team is working.
"Great job by Alex to put The Heart of Racing Porsche on the pole," Farnbacher said. "The Audi and the Lamborghini cars didn't go as fast in qualifying, I am not sure what they are doing. Alex was able to put in a couple of fast laps and we have our third pole position of the season. We have a good handling race car, thanks to the hard work by the Alex Job Racing team. I am looking forward to a very competitive race tomorrow."
"Great work by The Heart of Racing team," Alex Job, team owner, said. "Alex and Mario worked great with the team to soldier through the rain portions of practice yesterday. With only one dry session, which was this morning, we have hit on a very drivable set-up. It is going to be a very interesting race tomorrow."
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will travel to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, July 8-10. The race will be broadcast on FoxSports 1, Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.
The Heart of Racing
Founded in 1996, by Don and Donna Kitch, Team Seattle and The Heart of Racing is a group of sports car road racing fans, drivers, and corporate partners making a difference in our community by combining two passions: A love of motorsports and a commitment to Seattle Children's Hospital and pediatric cardiac health care nationally. The team uses the promotion and exposure of the racing program to fund raise and increase awareness of the financial needs for quality pediatric medical care. Since inception, Team Seattle has generated over $5.5 million for their cause. The Heart of Racing accepts donations and pledges for Seattle Children's Hospital at teamseattle.com.
Alex Job Racing
Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in sports car racing with 70 wins (since 1995); including two Rolex 24 GT Class wins in 1999 and 2013. This record is supported by 51 pole positions and 106 podium finishes. The team has won five championships (GTC 2013, 2012, GT in 2004, 2003 and 2002) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts ten Sebring 12-hour wins.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD (GT Daytona) Class is made up of some the world's most sophisticated cars, including the Porsche 911 GT3 R, Ferrari 488 GTB, Lamborghini Huracan, Aston Martin DB9, BMW M6, Viper SRT and Audi R8 LMS. All GTD Class cars run on the spec Continental tire.
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=22943.msg115505#msg115505
