More on qualifying:
- 3GT Racing’s Lexus RC F GT3s qualified in 13th (No. 14) and 20th (No. 15) at Daytona International Speedway in a 15-minute qualifying session for the GTD class prior to Saturday’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
- Five-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Pruett qualified the No. 14 Lexus in the 13th position with a best lap of 1:48.541 on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course.
- Austin Cindric qualified the No. 15 Lexus in the 20th position with a best lap of 1:49.130 at Daytona.
- Following qualifying, the team will participate in one evening practice on Thursday and a final practice on Friday morning prior to Saturday’s race.
SCOTT PRUETT, No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3
How was your first qualifying effort in the Lexus RC F GT3?
“It was a solid effort. We know we have some ground to cover. The Lexus RC F GT3 ran strong – no issues. We have a lot to learn, which we knew going into this. Qualifying is tough. There’s a lot of great cars out there. I’m really proud of the team and we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing. Now we’re focused on a good race car and seeing what we can come up with for 24 hours. Just overall we just don’t have as much history as some of these other teams on the car. When you look at some of the teams who’ve had years of experience, we’ve had months of experience, so we’ve got our work cut out for us, but it’s time to go racing. Again, I’m proud of the team – Lexus, TTC (Toyota Technocraft), TRD (Toyota Racing Development), 3GT. Just going to keep doing what we do.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3
How was qualifying and what are your next steps before the race?
“It’s been a busy week for the 3GT camp. I think with a new race car, obviously you want to have everything right before the first race and I think that’s what we’re doing. I think our main focus is for the race, so I don’t think qualifying was a big concern for us, so just got to make sure the car is ready to go here in night practice so we can be nice and reliable and hopefully have a good 24 hours. We’re working on race setup for the RC F GT3– that’s what we’ve been working on all weekend. We haven’t even thought about qualifying and that shows on the time sheets, but like I said it doesn’t mean too much for a 24 hour race, so I’m looking forward to seeing the progress we make in this night practice and a little bit of practice on Friday, so the guys are working hard to figure things out and hopefully we can have some fun. I think the best spots for the Lexus are to be honest – well one is driving it, but the bus stop. I think that’s one of our strongest areas, so we obviously don’t want to hurt that while we’re improving the infield. I do believe the infield is our weak spot, but as any race team we have our weaknesses and we have our strengths, so we have to build on the strengths and build up the weaknesses.”