Rain puts Angelelli, Fogarty on front row at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Leading the GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype point standings had an unexpected benefit for Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor Saturday at Watkins Glen International. A rain shower moments before the start of DP qualifying for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen caused the DP field to be set by the point standings.

#10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP: Max Angelelli, Jordan Taylor

Photo by: Jackie Buys

“I rank Watkins Glen very high on my list of my favorite tracks,” said Angelelli, a five-time WGI winner who was nominated as the team’s starting driver.

“I personally need to be a little more patient at the start of the race. If it’s wet tomorrow, I need to be very patient.”

Jordan Taylor captured TOTAL Pole Awards at the two most recent races at Belle Isle Park and Mid-Ohio. The team leads the standings by one point over Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney, who will start on the outside of the front row in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP.

Ryan Dalziel, Alex Popow and Sebastien Bourdais, drivers of the No. 2 Starworks with Alex Popow Ford/Riley, will be joined on the second row by Action Express Racing’s Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa, winners of the Mid-Ohio race in the No. 5 Corvette DP.

While the DP session was canceled due to rain, competitors in the GT and GX divisions had to earn their starting positions. Robin Liddell, driver of the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro, led GT qualifying with a lap of 1:52.583 (108.720 mph).

It was his first pole of the season but third for the car, with co-driver John Edwards winning poles at Barber Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio. Eric Curran, who shares the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette with Boris Said, qualified second with a lap of 1:52.751 (108.558 mph).

In the first run for the GX class at Watkins Glen, Sylvain Tremblay captured his first pole of the season with a lap of 1:58.478 (103.310 mph) in the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/SpeedSource Mazda 6 co-driven by two-time 2013 pole winner Tom Long and Andrew Carbonell.

Sunday’s race also serves as Round 2 of the North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com. The unique “championship within a championship” opened with January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona and will conclude with the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26.

In qualifying for Saturday afternoon’s Continental Tire 150 At The Glen, Jade Buford captured his fourth Grand Sport pole of the season, while Andrew Novich recorded his first career Street Tuner pole in his five-year career. Both drivers broke their classes’ respective track records. The race begins at 3 p.m. ET.

GRAND-AM