Action Express Racing Pre-Mazda Raceway Report

No. 5

The defending IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions claimed the series point lead following their second place finish in the BUBBA burger SportsCar Grand Prix in Long Beach. Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi will look to carry the early season momentum into the Continental Monterey Grand Prix.

The podium finish in Long Beach marked the second consecutive podium sweep for Action Express Racing and a pivotal points day as the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Chevrolet Corvette Daytona prototype edged out to a three point lead over their teammates in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette DP.

"We had a good result in Long Beach," said Brazilian driver Christian Fittipaldi. "But that was the last race and we have to stay on our game as we head to Laguna Seca. Points are extremely difficult to gain in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship so as much as we want to win every race, second place finishes are the next best scenario."

While Fittipaldi and Barbosa aren't strangers to the podium, it's no secret that Action Express Racing has historically struggled on the West Coast swing.

"Last year we really struggled in both races in California," said Barbosa. "As a team we returned home and went to work on what the problems were and that made us stronger throughout the second half of the 2015 season and helped us to win a second consecutive championship.

"Just like last year it looks like we'll face heavy competition from the Whelen Engineering Corvette DP, which is a great problem to have when you're racing with such competitive teammates. Hopefully the sharing of information from last year at Laguna Seca will help us improve like we did at Long Beach."

With 30 percent of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship completed for the Prototype Class, Action Express Racing will be looking to continue the consistency of the last two races.

"We had some races last year where we lost points that we would have gained if we executed properly," said Nelson. "Our approach remains the same as it always has, 'Expect to Win', but we're focused on maximizing our points when we a win is out of reach."

The Continental Monterey Grand Prix will return to the original race format of two, two-hour races. The first race will consist of the Prototype and GTLM classes, while the second race will feature the Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona classes. The first race gets underway at 11:15 a.m. PT and will be presented live on FOX Sports 1. 

No. 31

Dane Cameron and Eric Curran are looking to continue their streak of podium runs as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship the fourth stop of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The duo currently find themselves second in the championship point standings, following a second place finish at Sebring and a third place result in the most recent event in Long Beach.

Last season, Cameron and Curran were just beginning to jell as co-drivers in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype for Action Express Racing. After a full season of competition, the duo and their team have burst into the 2016 campaign as an immediate threat for the championship.

"We had a great first year with Action Express Racing in 2015," said Curran. "Coming into the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, we had a cohesiveness built, and for the first time in a long time, Dane and I had everything virtually the same as it was the previous season. I think that's been the biggest factor in our strong start to the season."

The Whelen Engineering Corvette DP has been on the podium in the last two consecutive events, in 2015, the team didn't score a podium finish until their breakout win in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in Detroit. Those two podium finishes have Cameron and Curran right on the heels of their two-time and defending champion teammates in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP.

"The competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is as tough as it's ever been," said Cameron. "We've got two great teammates that we're going to have to compete against all season and as we saw at Long Beach, the No. 10 Corvette DP is going to be right there in that fight with us.

"Laguna Seca has always been a home event for me, growing up in Northern California. It was always the race at the end of the season I got to attend with my dad. The Formula Atlantic weekend was always an opportunity to get out and see the champ cars put on a great show. It's still great to go back because you get to see a lot of the people you grew up karting with and friends you went to school with. This year I'm bringing my wife and kids out again to be part of the event, so it's really exciting."

Cameron has two wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; the Northern California native scored his first GRAND AM series victory in 2012, and scored a win in the GTD series in 2014 with Turner Motorsports. Co-driver Eric Curran also boasts four wins around the famous circuit in various classes.

"We had some races last year where we lost points that we would have gained if we executed properly," said Nelson. "Our approach remains the same as it always has, 'Expect to Win', but we're focused on maximizing our points when we a win is out of reach."

The Continental Monterey Grand Prix will return to the original race format of two, two-hour races. The first race will consist of the Prototype and GTLM classes, while the second race will feature the Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona classes. The first race gets underway at 11:15 a.m. PT and will be presented live on FOX Sports 1.