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Rolex 24 At Daytona Qualifying Quotes
Oswaldo Negri Jr., co-driver No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley, pole winner for the Rolex 24 "This is a great way to start our relationship with Ford Racing and I have to say thanks to the Roush Yates guys because they've really helped us move forward and I can't say how pleased I am to be on pole. This is nothing compared to the effort we have ahead of us for the race, but it obviously feels good to set this record time and to have my teammate AJ right next to me on the front row. I've been saying that this Michael Shank Racing team is the best, and it's fantastic we can show that here today, and hopefully we can do what we came here to do and win this race."
AJ Allmendinger, co-driver No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley, outside pole "Mike Shank has put together a great team and I love coming to race for these guys, so it feels good to put them on the front row. Mike (Shank) is a racer to the core, and this team is full of a lot of good guys-everyone has fun, but they are focused on getting the job done. The car was strong, and is a great way to start the weekend, but everyone knows that this is a long race, and the work really happens on Saturday once the race starts."
Sylvain Tremblay, co-driver of the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, pole winner GT class “The prestige at this event has grown by leaps and bounds. To us, it’s a real achievement just to compete. For Syntec and Mazda, this is everything they work for. We’re so proud and fortunate to be here starting first. Just a little tiny step for this big 24 hour race coming up.” “The main thing for us is validation of all of our hard work. You need to have a fast car to win here. Obviously, not the fastest car always wins the 24 hours, but it definitely doesn’t hurt. Also, because of the depth of the field, we really felt that starting up front and staying up front especially early on. The DP’s, they do yellow flag rules, there’s a lot of uncertainty that felt we could be more control of our own destiny being at the sharp end instead of being more reactive at the rear. By being up front, we can be proactive and we can hopefully run our own race regardless of what other people are doing. To us, it’s a way of not really controlling destiny, because you really can’t do that. It is Daytona. The weather will change in three minutes. But it’s one variable that we don’t have to deal with by being up front. We felt it was a safer spot.” Christian Montanari, co-driver of the No. 56 Mastercar Ferrari, second-place qualifier GT Class “Honestly, we were really surprised, me and the team. I think we did a very good job today. It is my second time in Daytona at the 24 Hour. First time with Ferrari, first time in GP, first time with the team. I think it’s very good job today. We’ll see for the race because it’s very long.”
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