3/4/2011
Bill Lester
Solid Qualifying Effort At Homestead By Bill Lester In The Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R
Set amid the backdrop of palm trees and blue skies, the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 GT Competitors took to the track for a 4:10 PM qualifying session for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Miami. Bill Lester drove the Autohaus Motorsports No. 88 Pratt & Miller Katech Chevrolet Camaro to a fourth row start, for tomorrow’s race, when on his first flying lap he ran a time of 1:21.436 earning him 8th position.
“Obviously I would have liked to qualify better, but the 88 Autohaus Camaro has made huge improvements since the first session this morning, and I’m happy with my 8th place run,” explains Lester. “This morning was tough with the spotty rain, it set us behind time wise, and it is my first time at this track in a GT car. Our biggest challenge this morning was grip, and being able to keep the power on. This is a difficult track to set a car up for, but Charlie and the guys have done an amazing job – we found a second of time from afternoon practice, to qualifying. The real challenge now will be tire wear, and saving the tires during the race. The teams that do that the best will be on the podium, and I believe we can be a contender.”
General Motors factory driver Jordan Taylor will co-drive tomorrows race with Bill Lester.“From where the car started this morning, I am very happy with Bill’s qualifying,” said Taylor. “I’m looking forward to racing tomorrow, and think our engineers have a strong strategy and a solid car that will bring us great results.” Pole position for the GT class was won by fellow Chevrolet GM Racing key partner in the No.57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, piloted by Jan Magnussen, who ran the pace setting time of a 1:19.772.
Autohaus Motorsports would like to acknowledge the support of their partners, Kirland Aviation, a specialist in Jetstream 41 aircraft renovation and sales, Pfadt Race Engineering, specializing in suspension upgrades for Camaros and Corvettes, and Firehouse Atomic Energy Shot, the drink with a new 10 hour boost of energy. The green flag flies for the Miami Grand Prix tomorrow, Saturday, March 5th at 12:00 PM EST and will be broadcast live on SPEED TV.
Follow Autohaus Motorsports on Twitter at www.twitter.com/autohaus88, and on our website at www.autohausmotorsports.com.
Submitted By: Philip Hampton
