For the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge teams in attendance, they were greeted with 35 degree temperatures on Sunday morning at Daytona International Speedway. Despite that, teams hit the track at 9 a.m. for the first of two one hour sessions.
Session No. 5
In the early morning session, Multimatic Motorsports continued to develop their new Ford Mustang GT4. So far, its looking pretty good for the Ontario-based team. 52-year old Scott Maxwell turned in the fastest lap of the weekend with a lap of 115.750 seconds (110.721 mph) to top the charts in the new Ford. The lap was roughly one-sixth of a second faster than The Racers Group’s Gregory Milczik in the team’s No. 71 Aston Martin. When TRG announced their return to the CTSC, they noted that only the No. 3 of Kris Wilson and Craig Lyons will run for the full season. However, they did note the possibility of a second car. We’ll have to wait and see if the No. 71 ends up racing in the BMW Endurance Challenge on Jan. 28.
Dylan Murcott was third quickest in the new No. 28 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Rennsport One. Muehlner Motorsports America’s Cameron Lawrence was fourth quickest, while MIA/Pfaff McLaren’s Jesse Lazare was fifth quickest.
In Street Tuner, Murillo Racing’s Eric Foss was on top of the sheet once again with a lap of 123.765 seconds (103.551 mph). This turned out to be the fastest Street Tuner lap of the entire weekend. The lap was more than a second faster than Connor Bloum in a similar Porsche Cayman for Rennsport One.
Bloum had another half a second on Devin Jones in the No. 31 Porsche Cayman for New Jersey-based Bodymotion Racing. Justin Piscitell was fourth quickest in the No. 65 for Murillo Racing. For 2017, Murillo Racing has acquired a new Cayman to replace the team’s BMW 328i that has been in use since at least 2012. Mark Pombo was fifth quickest in the No. 73 MINI.
Speaking of MINI, part-time Verizon IndyCar Series racer Pippa Mann drove the No. 52 MINI John Cooper Works for MINI Team JCW on Sunday. For the English open wheel racer, it was a completely new experience.
1st time on track @DISupdates, 1st time FWD! TY @lapmotorsports @MINIUSA for incredible opportunity to turn a few laps today! ??? #IMSA pic.twitter.com/wZAGNFfxeI
— Pippa Mann (@PippaMann) January 8, 2017
Mann turned in the fastest lap for the No. 52 in session No. 5. It was good enough for ninth fastest in ST.
Session No. 6
The final session of the Roar Before the 24 for CTSC teams saw teams scrambling to complete their checklists. Multimatic Motorsports was part of that group.
Despite the slightly warmer weather in the afternoon, Maxwell was able to improve on his quick time from the early morning and turn in a lap of 115.703 seconds (110.766 mph). That lap, which just so happened to be the final lap the car took on-track for the weekend, ended up being the fastest Grand Sport lap of the test.
TeamTGM’s Guy Cosmo took the team’s No. 4 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport to second in class, two-tenths of a second off of Maxwell’s time. Compass360 Racing’s Matt Plumb was the fastest of the McLarens in third, followed by Alan Brynjoffsson in the Automatic Racing/VOLT Racing McLaren. Rennsport One’s Dillon Machavern rounded out the top 5.
In Street Tuner, MINI Team JCW’s Derek Jones topped the charts with a lap of 124.585 seconds (102.870 mph) in the No. 73 MINI. That lap was nearly a half-second faster than Rennsport One’s Bloum. Devin Jones was third quickest in the Bodymotion No. 31, followed by Compass360 Racing’s Pierre Kleinubing in the Audi. Murillo Racing’s Jeff Mosing rounded out the top 5.
For 2017, IMSA has instituted schedules for the CTSC that will include less days at the track, but potentially more on-track time. Practice for the four hour BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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