TAVARES, Fla. (July 6, 2016) - WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Leh Keen (Charleston, S.C.) are ready for round six of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 Grand Prix to run at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) this weekend, July 8-10.
Coming off of a top five finish at The Glen just three days ago the focus of MacNeil and Keen turns to the 2.4-mile, 10-turn CTMP natural terrain road course located an hour north of Toronto. The track played host to Formula 1 in 1967 and the layout has changed very little. The all-new 2016 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 R with its vastly improved aero package should adapt well to the high-speed turns at CTMP. MacNeil and Keen sit fifth in the GTD driver standings with 121 (41 behind the leaders).
"Canadian Tire Motorsports Park should suit our Porsche well as it is a high speed track," MacNeil said. "We will use all of the aerodynamics we have in order to keep our WeatherTech Porsche planted. The track is similar to Watkins Glen with the high speed corners, but the surface is a bit older and bumpy so that will be slightly challenging coming straight from the newly repaved Glen. My favorite section of CTMP has to be a few of the high speed corners such as Turn 1 and 2. They are so much fun, yet high consequence so we need to be on our game. Leh and I have won together at CTMP back in the ALMS days so we are looking to repeat!"
Keen likes the speed of CTMP.
"We are going from a fast track, Watkins Glen, to a REALLY fast track at CTMP," Keen said. "I believe is is the fastest track in North America. We will see the most number of fast corners and some with massive elevation changes. This is no doubt a track you have to really respect. This will be the first time at this track in the new Porsche GT3 R and the aero on the car will really show its strengths. I can't wait to feel the speed through Turn 2. We will take a few things we learned at The Glen and try to get more out of the car. I am looking forward to getting out of Atlanta where it's so hot during July and going up north, crossing the border and feeling some cooler air."
"Leh and Cooper liked the handling of the car at The Glen last weekend," team owner, Alex Job said. "A lot of that data will translate to CTMP this weekend. The Porsche 911 GT3 R has a lot more downforce than cars we have run there in the past. That kind of aero provides confidence and confidence begets speed."
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. Qualifying can be viewed via livestream at IMSA.tv.