- Helio Castroneves qualifies second for Sunday’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, Presented by Acura
- Juan Pablo Montoya will start his Acura ARX-05 prototype from the second row after qualifying fourth
- Acura NSX GT3 Evo’s to start third, fourth after strong qualifying runs from Trent Hindman and Bia Figueiredo
Helio Castroneves led the Acura qualifying effort at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and will start Sunday’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, Presented by Acura from the outside of the front row, second, in his Acura Team Penske prototype.
In GTD, Trent Hindman continued his run of strong 2019 qualifying performances and will start third in tomorrow’s two hour, 40-minute race for Meyer Shank Racing in his Acura NSX GT3 Evo.
Acura Team Penske ARX-05
Castroneves and eventual pole qualifier Colin Braun battled throughout the 15-minute prototype qualifying session. Each took a turn at the top of the time sheets before a quick spin at Turn 5 for Castroneves, in the final minutes of qualifying, ended his last attempt at a pole run. He will start on the outside of the front row, second, in the Acura ARX-05 he shares with Ricky Taylor.
Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who holds a one-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship with co-driver Dane Cameron on the strength of two wins earlier this season at Mid-Ohio and Detroit, will start fourth in his Acura Team Penske prototype. Just four-tenths of a second separated the top four qualifiers today at CTMP.
Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
In GTD, championship leader Hindman took his MSR Acura to third in qualifying with a time of 1:16.353, less than two-tenths of a second off the pole time set by Robby Foley around the fast and challenging 2.459-mile CTMP road course,
Hindman already has two GTD poles to his credit in six races this season, and with co-driver Mario Farnbacher, leads the GTD Drivers’ Championship by 16 points following their win last weekend at Watkins Glen International Racecway.
Making her fourth appearance – but first qualifying run – of 2019 in the #57 NSX GT3 Evo, Figueiredo will start alongside Hindman, fourth in the car she shares with four-time Acura GTD race-winner Katherine Legge.
Where to watch
Live US network television coverage from Canadian Tire Motorsports Park begins on NBC at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 7. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.
Quotes
Helio Castroneves (#7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) qualified second: “We really pushed [in qualifying]. The Acura Team Penske [car] was definitely on the limit. Unfortunately, it looks like I had a good lap going, but I pushed a little too hard and unfortunately ended up spinning out [in Turn 5]. However, the car felt really good, better than it felt [here] last year for sure. I feel much more confident this year as well. It’s just a shame we didn’t get another pole position for Acura Team Penske, but now we’ll focus on having a good race tomorrow.”
Trent Hindman (#86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) qualified third in GTD: “We have to be smarter to get on the front row [in qualifying]. CTMP is an incredibly fast track, but [as a result] it is hard to pass. The Meyer Shank Racing boys always give us a good race car, so I am not too worried about starting in third. It is the best we could do today and we are already ahead of where the team was last year. The Acura NSX GT3 Evo package has improved greatly over the last year. We know we are good in traffic, we know we are good on our tire runs, so we will use those tomorrow.”
Bia Figueiredo (#57 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) qualified fourth in GTD: “This is my first time here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s a difficult track, with fast corners, but it has been fun getting to learn it. During our qualifying run the tires were not where we needed them to be able to get the No. 57 on the front row. We will have to use the whole Acura NSX GT3 Evo package to be able to make our way through traffic and have a good race. I am really excited to get back in the car tomorrow and get this race underway!”