Lakeville, Ct., (July 22, 2017) – WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette came home in a solid tenth place in today’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.
Under slightly cooler temperatures, MacNeil had the controls of the No. 50 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG for the start. He was able to move the car forward into the top ten when he turned it over an hour into the race to Jeannette. Jeannette put in a professional run as the entire two-hour-and-forty-minute race went caution free. As the tire stint went later in to the run, the weighted-down Mercedes-AMG GT3 was a handful to drive as tire wear began to take its toll. He was able to come home in tenth, the top running Mercedes at the checker.
“Honestly a top ten is almost a win for us,” MacNeil said. “Since we rolled the car off the truck it was a handful to drive with the weight. The Riley team did their best to try and tune that out of the car as best they could. When you are 45 kilos heavier than the next car it is tough. Gunnar and I drove our best and we finished tenth. I hope we can get a little BoP [Balance of Performance] help before Road America or it will be much the same story.”
“The Riley guys did an awesome job all weekend,” Jeannette said. “We were destined to be uncompetitive in this race with the weight we are carrying. We are so heavy right now. The car is decent in the first quarter of a stint, by half-stint you are just holding on. I could run similar lap times to the guys who are on the podium early on in my run, but the car just goes away quicker and then your just holding on.”
The IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship will travel to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase Aug. 3-6.