Detroit Pre-Race Notebook

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

***Dane Cameron led the way in warmup, pedaling his No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DP to a quick lap of 1:24.195 in the 30-minute session. James French (PC) and Markus Palttala (GTD) led their respective classes.

***The session was interrupted for an incident involving the No. 70 Mazda of Joel Miller and Mikhail Goikhberg’s No. 85 JDC Miller Motorsports Oreca FLM09. Goikhberg slammed into the wall to avoid Miller, who has looped his car and was stranded on track.

***The impact resulted in tub damage for the JDC car, which is currently tied with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports for the lead of the PC championship. While the team is currently exploring a possible option to use another team’s spare chassis that’s on-site, it’s unclear if they’ll make the race, which gets underway in just a few hours from now.

Damaged tub for @JDCMiller PC in warmup. Talk of a number of different options to get them in race today. #DetroitGP pic.twitter.com/H1XfeHyrL3

— John Dagys (@johndagys) June 4, 2016

***The No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP intends to start on pole with three of its four qualifying tires, according to team manager Chris Mitchum. Christian Fittipaldi spun in qualifying, flat-spotting the tires. Mitchum told Sportscar365 that track position is too valuable to give up, particularly on the 2.3-mile street circuit.

***Some GT Daytona teams have gone with split strategies, in having its Gold/Platinum start the race, and the Bronze/Silver driver finish.  Bryan Sellers, Spencer Pumpelly and Robin Liddell all qualified their cars, in a strategy class pole-sitter Sellers said was down the minimum 35-minute drive time for Ams-only. “If a yellow comes out, it really opens the window in terms of strategy,” Sellers told Sportscar365. “That’s why a lot of people made the decision.”

***Stevenson Motorsports is carrying a special livery this weekend in support of the Lady in Red initiative to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The team’s No. 6 Audi R8 LMS of Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis features names of individuals battling, in remission or passed from Leukemia, Lymphoma or Myeloma.

***Wayne Taylor Racing heads into today’s 100-minute race seeking its fifth win in the last seven street races, a streak dating back to Belle Isle GRAND-AM race in 2013. Action Express Racing’s Dane Cameron and Eric Curran claimed victory here last year, the first together as a pairing.

***Following an initial rollout at Daytona, Detroit marks the first race with the full integration of Alkamel Systems. The timing and scoring platform, used in series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship and FIA Formula E Championship, is accessible with detailed post-session reports at http://results.imsa.com/

***Continental Tire has teamed up with Fittipaldi Exotic Driving to be the official tire of the experience. The experience gives individuals and groups the opportunity to drive Ferrari, Lamorghini, Nissan GT-R, and Porsche cars, operating at MSR Houston, Texas Motor Speedway and Driveway Austin.

***Continental is once again the presenting sponsor of the Hot Rod Power Tour set to kick off in Baton Rouge, La. on June 11. The tour will run over 1,600 miles and end in Kansas City, Ks. Follow Continental’s social media channels for live updates.

***Watch the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic live on FOX Sports 1, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio will also have full, flag-to-flag coverage, with IMSA.tv providing on-board videos for all audiences and race coverage for those outside of North America.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John