TeamTGM had a nearly perfect start to the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge weekend at Lime Rock Park as the squad locked in a front row start in qualifying on Friday. Owen Trinkler posted a 55.167-seconds lap time during Friday’s qualifying session to score second on the grid as he posted the fastest time among the six Mercedes-AMG entries in the three-class field.
A picture perfect day at Lime Rock Park kicked off the short, two day IMSA Lime Rock Park 120 race weekend as three practice sessions building up to the late afternoon qualifying run.
Both TeamTGM Mercedes-AMG GT4s rolled off of the trucks with set ups that required minimal changes right out of the gate. The No. 46 Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis (JKTG) Foundation / Camp Boggy Creek Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by Hugh Plumb and Trinkler topped both morning practice sessions and left the team feeling confident heading into qualifying.
The sister car of Guy Cosmo and Ted Giovanis (No. 4 JKTG Foundation / Camp Boggy Creek Mercedes-AMG GT4) had an equally strong morning where both sessions saw the No. 4 machine seventh and eighth fastest in the order.
Trinkler and Giovanis took the controls for qualifying. Both drivers did a great job finding a good gap to post their fast speed which can be challenging around the 1.5-mile track. Trinkler’s lap times consistently got quicker until his ultimate fast lap of 55.167-seconds, just one tenth shy of pole.
“I really wanted the pole for the boys since we were P1 for the first two practice sessions,” said Trinkler. “We matched our time even when the track got hotter. I feel good since we have a really good race car. Track position is important here and to be on the front row helps. When we left Mosport we knew we needed to qualify up front so we will take the front row spot and run as hard as we can. Hugh (Plumb) and I have been doing that all season and he is a great co-driver. Joe Varde and everybody here has been doing a great job. I think we will be fine tomorrow since our car is so good on long runs. It’s a good qualifying result but we want to get the win to gain some points on everyone.”
Giovanis got the most out of the 15-minute session, completing 14 laps to continually improve before breaking Lime Rock’s legendary 60-second benchmark with a quick time of 59.994-seconds to claim a spot on the tenth row.
“I feel pretty good right now,” said Giovanis of his session. “If you look at my practice sessions, the first session was a long one for me, around 38 laps and the fastest lap was my last lap. It’s good to see that I am getting faster as the session goes on which will be good for the race. One of the things (Guy) Cosmo focused on for me was that I have to attack every corner on every lap no matter where it is. So that has been my main focus for the sessions.”
Source. Sunday Group
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