DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2017) – WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Utah), Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), and Thomas Jaeger (Germany) are currently running ninth in the GTD class at the 55th IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Rolex 24 At Daytona.
On the very next lap that MacNeil took over the No. 50 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG from van Gisbergen he had an issue with the tire on the NASCAR Turn 4 high-bank. He was forced to limp the black-and-white GT3 car back to pit lane to save it from further damage.
“I took over the car from Shane in the lead,” MacNeil said. “The first time by the pits something didn’t feel right. I didn’t hit anybody, no contact and coming around NASCAR Turn 4 the tire shreds into pieces. I think something was caught in the caliper. I pulled right into the pits which was a good decision. The Riley guys got it fixed and we will make it up. After that it was battling the variable conditions from pouring rain to dry and then it sprinkles again. There was a dry line forming on the banking at the end of the stint. Crazy conditions out there, very tricky. “
“It is a bit of a mess out there right now,” Jeannette said. “We have had quite a few issues, but the car is driving alright. Toward the end of my stint the tires were pretty fried. An Acura took us out on our in lap, which is tough to take. I don’t think there is any heavy damage. We have over 14 hours to go.”
“It was very difficult out there,” Jaeger said. “It is so slippery and you have so much tire degradation you just battling the track like crazy. It is not like driving in the rain it is like driving on snow or ice. There is no grip and was getting worse lap by lap. Not really fun at all.”
The 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona gets underway at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, Jan. 28, with pre-race coverage on FOX starting at 2 p.m. (ET). FOX will carrying the first two and a half hours of the race before switching over to FOX Sports 2 from 5 to 10 p.m. (ET) and then again from 11 p.m. (ET) to 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. Race coverage will continue on FOX Sports 1 at 1 p.m. through the end of the race.
For more information on WeatherTech Racing, including race recaps, photos and team gear, please visit the newly designed team site at www.WeatherTechRacing.com. The new team site can now be accessed on any device and is quicker, easier to navigate and features extensive photo galleries, videos, team updates and more.