Michael Shank Racing Pre-Mazda Raceway Report

Round 4 of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
 
TRACK: 2.238 miles, featuring 11 corners at the permanent road course facility located in Monterey, California
 
MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA DRIVERS: John Pew and Ozz Negri 

 

NEW LIVERY: Known for its stunning liveries, Michael Shank Racing has another new paint design from team partner AERO Advanced Paint Technology for the team’s West Coast swing. 
 
LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION: Despite dominating early in both of the season opening rounds at Daytona and Sebring, Michael Shank Racing hasn’t had the results to show for it. The squad led 99 laps in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, only to retire during the night time hours due to an engine failure. The team showed strength at Sebring, leading 34 laps and was poised for a podium result when a broken suspension saw the car retire on the final lap of the 12-hour race.
 
Long Beach saw the team take its first checkered flag of the year, but the lack of torque compared to that of the Daytona Prototypes saw the Michael Shank Racing squad fight to a seventh place finish.
 
THE REARVIEW: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was the site of John Pew’s best-ever qualifying position last year when he put Michael Shank Racing’s No. 60 Honda-Ligier fourth on the grid. The group went on to take a podium finish of third. It was the first of three podium results the team scored last year.
 
LAGUNA FUN FACT: Co-drivers since 2011, John Pew and Ozz Negri have completed all but one race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (2014, gearbox). The duo has run 500 of 522 laps at Laguna Seca, or 1,119 of 1,168.236 miles.
 
A LOOK BACK IN TIME: In 2005, the visit to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca saw Michael Shank Racing make its first-ever start as a two-car program. The weekend was a toe in the water for the duo of Mark Patterson and Ozz Negri, and they had an immediate impact. Negri stormed to the pole position with the pair coming home 10th in their first race together.
 
Additionally, John Pew made his first prototype start at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2007.
 
JOHN PEW TALKS LAGUNA: “It’s one of my favorite tracks and our car loves that kind of circuit. I think Laguna is a track that will suit us pretty well. I have some fond memories at Laguna and I have put a lot of laps in there, so I’m really looking forward to our return.”
 
OZZ NEGRI TALKS LAGUNA: “We always love coming back to Laguna. We finished third there last year which was just our first year with the new Honda-Ligier package. This year, we have over a year of experience to build from, so hopefully we can go one or two better and finish even higher on the podium. We have to do our homework and make sure we get the car going as well as we can and we’ll give them hell there.”

Friday, April 29
8:45 AM - 9:45 AM Practice 1
2:20 PM - 3:20 PM Practice 2

Saturday, April 30
11:05 AM - 11:50 AM Practice 3
2:15 PM - 3:00 PM Autograph Session at MSR Transporter
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM Qualifying

Sunday, May 1
8:00 AM - 8:15 AM Warm Up
9:50 AM - 10:50 AM Grid Walk
11:15 AM - 1:15 PM Race