WeatherTech Racing Posts Strong Qualifying Efforts for PWC Finale
MacNeil qualifies third, Jeannette eighth
MONTEREY, Calif., (October 8, 2016) – Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Utah) will start the Pirelli World Challenge Series (PWC) season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca form the third and eighth positions in their classes tomorrow.
MacNeil will start on the coveted inside from the second row of the PWC GTA field in his No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche. The University of Colorado at Boulder senior posted a time of 1:25.425. Teammate Jeannette will start from the fourth row in GT in the No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Porsche. The seasoned sports car pro put in a lap of 1:24.333 in a field where the top ten cars are within a second of each other.
“I was able to go a tenth faster than the SprintX qualifying session yesterday,” MacNeil said. “I am happy about going faster, that is what qualifying is all about. I am starting third and it is good to be on the inside here going into Turns 1 and 2. The car was really good the whole session. I am really looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
“I think I coughed in between Turns 3 and 4 on a lap, which cost me a tenth, which would have moved me up three or four positions,” a smiling Jeannette said. “Starting on the fourth row, three-tenths off of the pole really shows what the racing is like here in PWC. We are in the top ten, which is nice and I really like the way the car is handling.”
“Cooper and Gunnar put in nice fast laps this morning,” Alex Job, team owner, said. “Cooper will start from the inside which is important here and Gunnar on the outside, so he will have to be a little more careful. Cooper improved on his SprintX qualifying lap from yesterday, so everything is trending in the right direction for the race tomorrow.”
The Pirelli World Challenge series finale will run on Sunday, October 9 at 11 a.m. ET. The race from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be televised on the CBS Sports Network Sunday, October 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET.