Lynn Feels Ganassi is “Getting Back into Sequence”

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Alex Lynn believes that Chip Ganassi Racing is back to hitting its stride after returning to a two-car operation in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year.

Lynn and co-driver Earl Bamber currently lead the DPi standings after three races, in a season that has so far been highlighted by a win in last month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for the No. 02 Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The pairing also finished runner-up in the last round at Long Beach to teammates Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais, who celebrated victory of their own that has put the CGR juggernaut back firing on all cylinders.

For Lynn, who is undertaking his first full WeatherTech Championship season, the off-season ramp up is starting to “bear fruit” for the championship-winning organization.

“I think Chip Ganassi Racing is a great team,” said Lynn.

“It’s been evident for a long time, and now that the program is gaining a lot of momentum and a lot of traction, I think we’re now trying to implement a lot of features going into the future and it’s time to bear fruit for us.

“It’s still early days so we have to remain very humble and continue working very hard.”

When asked by Sportscar365 on what the team has done in recent races to return to its traditional form, Lynn said it’s mainly having the two cars “working together.”

“I know it’s my first year with Ganassi, but it seems that getting that Ganassi work ethic fully integrated now into this program,” he explained.

“Obviously, they came from the Ford, which was a very competitive program for them and one year out and then coming back in with the prototype.

“I think it took a bit of time to get everything back in sequence with how they would want to run a racing team.

“They obviously run a very successful IndyCar team and now it’s really clicking into place with team members really hitting their stride, new personnel coming in and starting to make a difference, new mechanics, engineers that have been promoted with fresh ideas.

“That’s now starting to bear fruit for us. That’s how I see it coming together at the moment.”

Lynn added: “I think the vibe is pretty good, but also it’s funny because we came off the back of Sebring that we were fortunate enough to win but the 01 was very competitive and obviously didn’t have the race they wanted.

“I would say the vibe on the team is very motivated because you have two cars that are really starting to push each other – whether that’s on the pit crew, the drivers, the engineering team. It’s a competitive team.

“Currently we’re leading but there’s a long way to go. But certainly motivated because you have two cars that want to perform al the time and be right at the front.

“That’s keeping all the drivers, all the engineers, all the pit crews to really stay on top of their game to be better than one another. That’s how I feel at the moment, very motivated to continue to get better.”

Lynn Leaning on Bamber for Track Knowledge

With the majority of the WeatherTech Championship circuits news to the 28-year-old Englishman, Lynn said he’s been using the advise of veteran co-driver in coming to grips with tracks that are new to him.

“Having Earl as a teammate is perfect,” Lynn said. “Not only is he an IMSA champion in GTLM, but also a WEC champion.

“As a driver having a teammate in your car that has been there and won it, that is helping fast forward my learning procedure at different tracks.

“Obviously, I won [Sebring] in 2017 – I was the third driver at that point – and puzzling on Ricky [Taylor] and letting him do all the hard work.

“Now, when you’re the main driver as well, you have to really fast forward a lot of learning processes to be able to compete straight away. I’m using that as a good launch pad.”

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