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Ford Shelby GT350R-C Wins SportsCar Challenge Race at Daytona
- Billy Johnson, Scott Maxwell win season-opener with Ford Shelby GT350R-C
- Ford Shelby GT350R-C sweeps p1-2 as Compass360 Racing finishes p2 in their first race with Ford
- It’s Johnson and Maxwell’s second win and third podium in the Ford Shelby GT350R-C since the car debuted at Watkins Glen in 2015
DAYTONA, Fla., Jan. 29, 2016 – Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell drove the Ford Shelby GT350R-C to its first win at Daytona International Speedway on Friday in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race.
Johnson hunted the lead, trading spots for p1 several times in the closing stint. It’s the duo’s second win and third podium in the Shelby GT350R-C since the car debuted at Watkins Glen in 2015. They first won at Lime Rock last season. It was the Shelby GT350R-C’s third overall win in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.
After primary challenger Matt Plumb suffered a fuel pump failure in his Porsche, the battle was between two Shelbys – Johnson in the No. 15 Multimatic entry, and Pierre Kleinubing in the brand new No. 76 AERO Advanced Paint Technology/Children’s Tumor Foundation Shelby GT350R-C fielded by Compass360 Racing, the first customer team for the Shelby GT350R-C.
Kleinubing and co-driver Paul Holton finished p2 in their first race together in the Shelby GT350R-C.
“It was great to see two Ford Performance Shelby GT350R-Cs on the podium after all the hard work everyone’s done getting the car to where it’s at,” Johnson said. “It’s the first time the car’s competed at Daytona and we’re really happy to be in victory lane with the car and a 1-2 finish for the GT350R-C.
Scott did a fantastic job on the first stint and I just can’t thank him and the team enough for all the hard work and good job they do.”
Maxwell qualified the No. 15 Multimatic entry p3, while Holton put the No. 76 AERO Advanced Paint Technology Shelby p4 on the grid.
The Shelby GT350R production car was unveiled January 2015, and is one of more than 12 new vehicles Ford Performance will bring to market through 2020. Both production and race car versions feature the first-ever production car V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft. This unique layout – typically reserved for the world’s most exotic sports cars – helped create the most powerful naturally aspirated engine Ford has ever produced.
“It was my first race in this car, and it’s a very different car to drive, for me,” Holton said. “I’ve driven Street Tuner and GT cars, nothing with that kind of torque and that small of a tire. The Continental Tires are really good. We had a really green track because it was raining all week and this was the first dry day. I didn’t have a single dry lap going into that race, so as we went on, the track got grippier and grippier and then greasier and greasier, so it was quite a handful. The car changed a lot. The track changed a lot over the course of the race.
“The car is awesome. I can’t give the car enough praise. It’s going to be a really good car for the (Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge championship) this year.”
https://media.ford.com/content/ford...wins-sportscar-challenge-race-at-daytona.html
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Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell took the GS and overall victory in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Shelby GT350R-C.
And it came after a thrilling neck-and-neck battle with Rum Bum Racing’s Porsche 997.
On the 54th of 68 laps, Johnson made it around the outside of Matt Plumb going into Turn 1. The two were side-by-side through Turns 1 and 2 before Johnson made it fully past.
The hopes for Matt and Hugh Plumb in the venerable No. 13 Porsche were dashed after a late-race restart, with fuel pump issues meaning the car was slow to gather momentum.
That promoted the pair of new or returning GS entrants, Compass360 Racing and CJ Wilson Racing, into podium positions.
The No. 76 Ford Shelby GT350R-C of Pierre Kleinubing and Paul Holton finished second, 2.238 seconds behind the winner following a late charge, although both drivers had spells in the lead for Karl Thomson’s team.
Meanwhile Wilson watched his new pairing of Marc Miller and Daniel Burkett claim a podium finish on the debut of the new No. 33 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Burkett, too, led the field briefly, following a fantastic move to the outside of Hugh Plumb at the second hairpin in the opening 45 minutes.
In ST, Murillo Racing captured its second Daytona win in three years. Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing drove a flawless race in the No. 56 Porsche Cayman to claim the victory, in their first of two races this weekend. They will share the No. 93 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R with three other drivers in Saturday’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Mosing, in particular, stood out during his stint. He battled James Clay’s No. 84 Bimmerworld 328i and polesitter Elliott Skeer’s No. 8 Rebel Rock Cayman but stayed in front more often than not, before handing off to Foss.
The No. 17 Rennsport One Porsche Cayman finished second in the hands of Spencer Pumpelly and new co-driver Nick Galante. LRT Racing made it past Rebel Rock for the final podium position, with Jorge Leroux edging Skeer’s teammate Robin Liddell in the No. 4 Honda Civic Si.
The No. 83 Next Level European Porsche Cayman of Greg Liefooghe and Ari Balogh completed the top five finishers.
Of note, the CRG-I Do Borrow Honda Civic Si of Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler drove from last on the grid in the 29-car ST field up to seventh, behind the Strategic Wealth Racing Porsche Cayman of Matthew Dicken and Corey Lewis in sixth.
http://www.motorsport.com/imsa-others/news/mustang-1-2-in-daytona-s-ctsc-opener-670554/
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