Road America Saturday Notebook

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

***Four cars received post-qualifying technical infractions and will be moved to the rear of its respective grids on Sunday. Both BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM cars had boost control violations, while the No. 67 Ford GT was, which qualified third in class, was below the minimum ride height.

***In Prototype Challenge, the No. 7 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09, which originally qualified second, was found to be below the minimum weight, and will start from the rear of the Prototype field on Sunday.

***All qualifying times from the No. 22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Cooper MacNeil, meanwhile, were deleted as adjustments were made to the car, while on pit road, during the session.

***Dirk Mueller became the 20th different driver to earn a pole in WeatherTech Championship GT Le Mans competition. It came after the German’s GTE-Pro class pole, and win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

***BMW has reverted to its test chassis this weekend, after its No. 25 car sustained chassis damage in a race-ending accident at Lime Rock Park. The team has actually swapped cars, with Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner taking over the No. 100 car that was run at Lime Rock and Lucas Luhr and John Edwards in the test car, the same chassis they drove at Daytona.

***The damaged No. 25 car is being sent back to BMW Motorsport in Munich for repairs, although no word has been given on when it will be race-ready again. The team had utilized its third car for testing and development throughout May and June, prior to it being put back into service this weekend.

***Lone Star Racing makes its second WeatherTech Championship start of the year, as part of its previously announced four-race program that will also include the next two rounds at Virginia International Raceway and Circuit of The Americas.

***The Dan Knox-owned team is again getting support from a handful of Riley Motorsports crew this weekend, as was the case with the first race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

***Continental Tire is again serving as the title sponsor for this weekend’s IMSA event, known as the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase. Continental has brought more than 2,700 tires to Road America for both the WeatherTech Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.

***“What’Cha Got”, presented by Continental Tire, has returned for a third season, putting 14 Major League Soccer players, legends and celebrities behind the wheel of an Audi R8 for their chance to win the car for a year. The show, hosted by Townsend Bell, airs as part of the “Soccer Sunday” lineup on FOX Sports 1. Episodes are also available on Continental’s YouTube channel following the TV airing.

***Be sure to download Andy Blackmore’s official Spotter Guide for tomorrow’s race, featuring all 41 entries for the ninth round of the WeatherTech Championship.

***FOX Sports 1 will carry live coverage of tomorrow’s race, beginning at 4 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio will provide full coverage, with international viewers able to watch the race feed on IMSA.tv and on-board cameras for everyone.

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