Posted (02/04/2011) -
After strong showing in the Grand American fall testing schedule, Team Sahlen was able to cement their stance as one of the top Mazda competitors in the ROLEX GT series in ROLEX 24 Hours Qualifying. Team Sahlen secured the top Mazda spot on the grid.
Qualifying the #42 SpeedSource built Mazda RX-8 was Wayne Nonnamaker. Knowing that the best chance of getting to the front of the grid would be through drafting, Wayne hooked up with #70 SpeedSource Mazda of Sylvain Tremblay and the #69 SpeedSource Mazda of Jeff Segal.
Wayne Nonnamaker shared - “I was very exciting out there. It kind of reminded me of our old Continental Tire ST days, were we were running nose to tail all the way around the track. At one point we had a three car train going on. All of the Mazdas ended up very close on time. To come out on top of this was a matter of getting the right tow. All the drivers were top notch.”
To further emphasize Wayne’s point, the Top 4 Mazda qualifiers were former Continental Tire GS class champions. A line-up of drivers that no other Manufacturer in GT could boast.
Wayne’s ultimate time was a 1:49.961. Unfortunately, this only resulted in a 14th grid spot in 2011, due to significant changes in the manufacturer adjustments from year to year.
Despite an electronic misfire, Joe Sahlen qualified the #43 Mazda in 25th on the grid.
“What a great feeling to have a beautiful day to qualify. The good news that is in the night session after qualifying, we were able to solve the misfire, and I went faster in the dark than during qualifying. The RX-8 is handling great, and I am having a fantastic time out there.” – shared Joe Sahlen
The 2011 Team Sahlen GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is supported by Mazda, Mazdaspeed, HRPWorld.com, Cool Shirt, Racetech Seats, BBS, Racing Print Media, Alcon, Mothers Polish, EMCO, TheRaceSite.com, Western New York Flash, Grassroots Motorsports, Castrol Oil, Holliday Canopies, ASC Industries, Muscle Milk, Iannetti Design Ideas, CM Racing