SONOMA, Calif. - Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team driver Bill Auberlen, of Redondo Beach, Calif., will start sixth in tomorrow's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Armed Forces Grand-Am 250 at Infineon Raceway.
Driving the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Riley, Auberlen turned a time of 1:26.799 (102.443 mph) around the 2.47-mile road course. He turned his fastest time nine laps into the 15-minute qualifying session.
"The car is not bad," Auberlen said after qualifying. "We are very close [in terms of time] to the four cars right in front of us. The car just needs to be fine-tuned a bit and then we'll be right up there. We have a tendency to race a lot better than we qualify. Now the team will go to work. They'll make some changes before the race tomorrow and we'll be good."
"Qualifying is about having bragging rights," Team Owner Alex Job said. "We would have liked to have bragged a little more. But, we're in the third row, which is a fairly good position to start. We always race better than we qualify. So, I think we're in good position for the race."
Auberlen and his co-driver Joey Hand, of Sacramento, know just how difficult it is to pass at Infineon. In fact, they will have to rely on their home track knowledge and a solid race strategy to pass their way to the front.
"It is very hard to pass here," Auberlen said. "But, we have a car that runs consistent lap times over and over. Strategy is also really important here. Everyone who has won a race here has won it based on having great pit stops. So, we'll have to do the same."
Auberlen has four career SPEED World Challenge wins at Infineon. He won the SPEED GT and the SPEED Touring Car races in 2003, and followed that effort with SPEED Touring Car wins in 2004 and 2005. He also won the IMSA GTS-3 class race in 1997. Hand has two Formula Mazda and one Star Mazda win at Infineon.
In preparation for the Armed Forces 250, the Daytona Prototypes will take to the track for a final 30-minute practice session at 10:45 a.m. (PT), Saturday, Aug. 23, followed by the start of the Armed Forces 250 at 3 p.m. (PT). SPEED Channel will air the race at noon (ET), Sunday, Aug. 24. However, fans can watch live timing and scoring at www.grand-am.com.
|
