Chevrolet Racing

CORVETTE DPs AT BELLE ISLE: Action Express Racing’s Fittipaldi Leads Front-Row Sweep

CORVETTE DPs AT BELLE ISLE: Action Express Racing’s Fittipaldi Leads Front-Row Sweep
Close battle between Corvette DPs in TUDOR Championship Prototype qualifying

· Fittipaldi outduels Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor by 0.050 seconds

· Four Corvette DPs in first five positions for Saturday’s race

· Corvette DPs unbeaten on Belle Isle since 2012

DETROIT (May 29, 2015) – Christian Fittipaldi led a Corvette Daytona Prototype sweep of the top three positions in qualifying Friday for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic presented by the Detroit Metro Chevy Dealers with a Prototype lap record at the Raceway on Belle Isle Park.

With Chevrolet’s world headquarters overlooking the track, Fittipaldi set a time of 1:24.746 (99.828 mph) in Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP. He outpaced Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor by just 0.050 seconds in a close battle. Corvette DP teams took four of the top five positions in qualifying for the fifth round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

“It was a great qualifying battle between the Corvette DPs of Christian Fittipaldi and Ricky Taylor,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Program Manager for Corvette Daytona Prototypes. “Congratulations to Christian and Action Express Racing for taking Chevrolet’s fourth consecutive pole position on Belle Isle. We are optimistic of another great result for Chevrolet in Saturday’s race – rain or shine.”

The Corvette DP is unbeaten on Belle Isle in three previous races and finished 1-2 in each Belle Isle round. Fittipaldi is the fourth consecutive Corvette DP driver to claim pole position in Chevrolet’s home event.

Fittipaldi and teammate Joao Barbosa are hoping to give Action Express Racing its second win on Belle Isle as the team finished 1-2 in the 2012 race. Barbosa was part of the winning Corvette DP entry then, and the pairing hope to add a victory Saturday to their win at the Sebring 12 Hours in the second TUDOR Championship race of 2015.

Taylor qualified with a best lap of 1:24.796 (99.769 mph) in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP that he shares with brother Jordan. The pairing won last year’s race, and Wayne Taylor Racing also claimed victory in 2013.

Michael Valiante was third in VisitFlorida.com Racing’s No. 90 Corvette DP with a time of 1:25.156 (99.347 mph). He and teammate Richard Westbrook lead the TUDOR Championship Prototype standings following a victory earlier this month at Laguna Seca. They finished second on Belle Isle in 2014 with Westbrook setting the fastest race lap.

Action Express Racing’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette DP qualified fifth with Eric Curran’s time of 1:26.009 (98.362 mph). He is teaming with Dane Cameron.

The Chevrolet Sports Car Classic Presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers, the fifth race of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, is set for 12:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 30 from the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Live TV coverage begins at noon ET on FOX Sports 2 with a tape-delayed broadcast on FOX Sports 1 starting at 2 p.m. ET. Flag-to-flag radio coverage also will be available via IMSA Radio.

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – POLE WINNER
THAT QUALIFYING SESSION WAS A LOT OF FUN TO WATCH. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO DRIVE? “Well yes, not only me but all the other guys out there were trying to do their very best. Qualifying is sometimes pretty tough in this series and very close. We managed to put in a quick lap this morning, and the car was pretty good. I still don’t think I was able to extract the best out of my car. I think I might have had one lap that could have been slightly quicker because I made a small mistake. I might have braked a little too deep, locked it up, and I had to abort that lap and start all over again. I never saw the same splits again that I saw in that lap. All in all I am very happy for Action Express, Chevrolet and Mustang Sampling. We just came out of two very difficult races and we have been trying to analyze why we had two hard races. We went testing and let’s hope for a good race tomorrow. believe we have it figured out and will put it together tomorrow and see if we can finish up the show.”

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED SECOND: “I am disappointed in second but Christian (Fittipaldi) did a good lap. I told the guys on the radio that I had not pushed that hard and been that close to the wall ever. So hats off to those guys because they seem to be back on their game after two races where they seemed to be in a funk. But you know, it’s back to hard IMSA racing and it’s going to be a tough fight tomorrow, especially in the wet.
HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT TO BACK OFF AND TRY AND GET A GOOD LAP AT THE END?
“Yeah, I must have sounded a bit panicked in the car and I was asking if I could get another lap if I backed off. And on that lap that I caught him, they said it was a good lap and to keep pushing. Maybe there was a little bit more in it, but I am not sure we could have gone a bit quicker.”

MICHAEL VALIANTE, VISITFLORIDA.COM NO. 90 CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED THIRD: “We made a lot of progress. We didn’t roll off the truck very strong, so we kind of winged it during qualifying. Our Corvette DP was pretty good. We have a few areas we need to improve on. Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow (with the weather). We’re in a good spot and we’ll see what happens. The car needed to be a little better, and I probably could have done a little better job. I think we had a shot at pole if we had a little bit more in the car. We just need to keep our consistent streak going in the race.”