Win Again
Another Shelby GT350R-C win makes it two in a row for Multimatic
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
Fresh off a win at its home track in Canada, the Multimatic Motorsports Shelby GT350R-C team chalked up its second win in a row for Ford Performance at Lime Rock Park last weekend. Drivers Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell qualified in the second spot and got great support in the pits to take another victory.
“Our pit stops were superb,” Scott said. “Billy and I didn’t make any mistakes, but really, we won it in the pits today. We gained five or six seconds each time (we stopped). That was enough to win the race.”
It was definitely a clean race as the teammates led a combined 88 of the 150 laps around the 1.53-mile course. It was in the pits where they really picked up an advantage. After the first stop the Multimatic car gained five seconds and on the last stop they only took on two tires to gain more precious seconds.
“I don’t think we had the fastest car or the fastest pace over the run, but we did a good job managing traffic and if anything, were able to maintain, if not pull away there,” Billy explained. “With our awesome pit stops, that was a team win. Multimatic, Ford Performance, everyone won the race in the pits.”
With the win, the Multimatic team stretched its lead in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport championship standings by 13 points. The unofficial tally puts them at 193 points for the season.
Things didn’t got quite as smoothly for the other Shelby GT350R-C team. A broken rear control arms took drivers Paul Holton and Pierre Kleinubing out of the race so they finished in seventh in the class.
“We had a great strategy and were able to execute really well early on,” Paul added. “It was just really unfortunate that we had the issue with the control arm. In qualifying, we went a little aggressive on the set-up and went a little too far, but being right there in p3 was good for what we did. We’ll look ahead to the next race.”
That next race will be the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road American in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin from August 5-7, 2016.
The Multimatic Motorsports Shelby GT350R-C team picked up big chunks of time at Lime Rock thanks to efficient pit stops.
Drivers Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell now lead the Continental Tire Sports Car Championship Grand Sport class points by 13 with 193 points for the season.
The privateer Shelby GT350R-C driven by Paul Holton and Pierre Kleinubing didn’t fare as well. A broken rear control arm took their colorful racer out of contention.
