Back on track in round four of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the No. 55 Supercar Life BMW-Riley Daytona Prototype posted a solid qualifying time of 01:22.915. Qualifying 13th in a field of 38, the team will start in the seventh row of the grid for Sunday's race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will start in first position after posting a qualifying time of 01:19.874.
Driven by team principal Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut-three-time FIA GT champion and winner of both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans-the No. 55 recently took its first Rolex Series' Top Five finish of the year in the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway. That race saw a dramatic chase to the finish line, when Bouchut took advantage of a last-minute collision and slid into fourth as the checkered flag came down.
"The race at VIR was unbelievable," Bouchut said. "Thanks to our expert crew, the No. 55 drove in true Series form, resulting in a fantastic finish. Going into the race tomorrow, our team will look for even better results as we cross the finish line."
With minutes left during Saturday's qualifying session, the teams of SunTrust Racing and GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing battled head to head for second and third positions. Brian Frisselle of SunTrust Racing qualified for second position on the grid in the No. 10 Daytona Prototype, clocking in at 01:20.254, with Jon Fogarty close behind in the No. 99 DP at 01:20.349.
Rounding out the Top Five on the grid for Sunday's race are teams AIM Autosport (01:20.469) and Penske Racing (01:20.493) in the No. 61 and No. 12 cars.
The Supercar Life team is no stranger to leveraging from-behind starts; Tucker and Bouchut won the hard charger award at VIR after gaining an overall 12 positions-more than any other team. A repeat performance in Sunday's race will put a top 10 finish squarely in the team's sights.
"This car is a competitor," Tucker said. "Since day one the No. 55 has proven time and time again that it can run with the best. With a great crew behind us, we are sure to see a successful weekend here at Laguna Seca."
Racing fans will be treated to another hard-charging race from the Daytona Prototypes and GT cars in Sunday's headlining race. For live national coverage of round four, tune into SPEED TV, Sunday, May 17, at 4:00 p.m. EST.
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