Daytona Beach, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2022) - WeatherTech Racing’s three entries continue to circulate at the halfway point of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 At Daytona.
No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 went a lap down as a result of an extensive penalty for passing the pace car. The three-minute-and-thirty-second penalty put the team down two laps. By the halfway point, they had gotten both laps back and classified in seventh.
“My stint was really good in the cold of the night,” Gounon said. “We made a small mistake with the team when we thought we had a second pass around which we didn’t. So, we had to take a penalty. That put us two laps back. It is a long race. We can get them back and be there at the end. The car is running good and let’s hope it continues for the second half of the race.”
The No. 15 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 is running strong in third with each driver having completed double stints and Cindric started the second round for the driving trio.
“My second stint in the car was eventful,” Cindric said. “Cold tires have been a big issue for everyone in the field. I got smoked by a guy on cold tires. He put me in the grass, got us behind a little but I kept it on the lead lap. Lot of cautions and lot of restarts. We were able to get one of our double stint tire runs out of the way, so good job by the team. We are going to re-establish ourselves and get back into the top four of GTD Pro and keep circulating.”
The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche GT3 R returned to action after its electrical gremlins were solved, but is running some 36 laps down.
“Once we got the electrical issue fixed it is running good,” MacNeil said. “Hats off to the Proton guys and Porsche techs to get us back out there and going. We are going to click off laps and see where we end up with the 79.
“We had a pretty big penalty with the 97, a three-minute-thirty for passing the pace car. We should be able to get the laps back. That car is running strong and still in contention.”
WeatherTech Racing Rolex 24 driver lineup:
No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R will be Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill), Julien Andlauer (France), Matteo Cairoli (Italy), and Alessio Picariello (Belgium).
No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill), Maro Engel (Germany), Jules Gounon (France), and Daniel Juncadella (Spain).
No. 15 WeatherTech Racing with Mercedes of Billings (Montana) Mercedes-AMG GT3 Dirk Müller (Germany), Patrick Assenheimer (Germany), and Austin Cindric (Mooresville, N.C.).
The Rolex 24 broadcast schedule:
Sunday, Jan. 30
USA - Midnight – 3 a.m.
Peacock - Midnight – 1:40 p.m.
USA - 6 a.m. – Noon
NBC - Noon – 2 p.m.