Michelin is the technical partner for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing or CGR as it is popularly called, and Michelin has helped the automobile company to win IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class pole, and not only this, they also helped set the fastest lap and scored 1-2 finish at the Watkins Glen.
Drivers and their Response
Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe, the dynamic drivers representing the Ford team behind the wheels met the all new and revamped 3.4 mile Watkins Glen International circuit. It is considered to be one of the fastest, hottest, and most challenging tracks in the world.
Ken Payne, the technical director for Michelin North America said in an interview that the new track is about 3 seconds faster than the last year, but at the same time it is also able to quickly absorb heat.
They were closely monitoring the temperatures and found that there was a sudden increase from 93 degrees at the start of the race to 120 degrees in the middle of the race. A lot of teams decided to change from their regular tires to hot weather tires resulting in some of the fastest laps near the end of the race. That only makes sense right?
The Competition
Ford drivers saw some real competition from the BMW team who were constantly on their heels for most of the race. Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen were behind the wheels of number 25 for BMW but they could not snatch away the victory from the hands of Ford.
Westbrook admitted that they had a great fight with the BMW team for about first five hours of the race. Talking about the competition, Brooke said that both the teams were really quick beating one another at one point or another, and that it was only in the final hours of the race that Ford managed to win the race.
Joey Hand, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, along with co-driver Dirk Mueller made the final pass that proved decisive, as this happened in the final minutes of the race when BMW was battling Ford for pole position but BMW lost and came in third. Bill Auberlen, with co-driver Dirk Werner, was behind the wheels for BMW while Joey Hand came a close second.
Praising the tires that were manufactured and supplied by Michelin, Westbrook said that all the three wins for Ford GT had come after using the especially designed Michelin tires. The winning streak began at Monterey; Westbrook also won this one for Ford along with Briscoe, and continued to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and then to the FIA World Endurance Championships.
Brisoce was especially happy on this day as it called for double celebrations. Not only was he part of an astonishing team that is on a winning streak, but he also became a father to a beautiful girl. A perfect ending to a tremendous weekend that he will remember forever. He left early on Friday evening to meet his wife Nicole, and spent some time with her before returning again for the driver's meeting that was scheduled for Saturday.
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will now move to Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park that is scheduled on July 8th – 10th.