Pole & Podium

The Multimatic GT350R-C starts first and finishes second at Sebring

By Steve Turner

Heading into last Fridayâ€™s race it appeared that both the Multimatic Motorsports and Compass 360 Racing teams were in good shape to repeat the one-two finish they had in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at Daytona a few weeks ago. Driver Scott Maxwell earned the IMSA Total Pole award in the Number 15 GT350R-C by running a 2:16.834-minute lap with an average speed of 98.397 mph.

Scott Maxwell started out front and held the advantage for the Number 15 Multimatic Motorsports Shelby GT350R-C for the early part of the race, but there was the matter of those lighter Porsches.

â€œSebring is probably the hardest track in the series to find a â€˜happy placeâ€™ on the car,â€ Scott said after securing the top qualified spot. â€œBilly Johnson, myself and the team found a sweet spot for it on sticker tires, but weâ€™ll have to see if that carries out over the two and a half hours tomorrow. The Porsche Cayman GT4s are a lot lighter than our Mustang, and we might struggle some over a long duration with the extra weight we carry.â€

Just a few slots behind Scott in the fourth qualified position was Paul Holton in the C360R entry thanks to a 2:18.202 lap with an average speed of 97.423. That put the privateer GT350R only 1.368 seconds behind the pole sitter. However, the two Ford Performance Shelbys were surrounded by those pesky Porsches, which filled five of the top 10 qualified spots.

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