EditorTurner

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Pole & Podium
The Multimatic GT350R-C starts first and finishes second at Sebring
By Steve Turner

Heading into last Friday’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.

“Sebring is probably the hardest track in the series to find a ‘happy place’ on the car,” Scott said after securing the top qualified spot. “Billy Johnson, myself and the team found a sweet spot for it on sticker tires, but we’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.”

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.

On race day the battle between the lighter Porsches and the muscular Shelbys appeared to being going the same way as it had in Daytona. Scott held his advantage for much of the race so pit strategies were key. As the race headed to the finish line, the Multimatic team opted for a full pit stop for four tires and fuel. Billy was able to get back out on track and finish the race in the second spot.

“Scott did a fantastic job,” Billy, who took over driving duties to finish the race, said. “He just dominated his stint of the race. The Multimatic/Ford Performance guys had great pit stops, pit calls and strategy and they just gave us a fantastic car. I couldn’t ask for anything more set-up wise. The handling was perfect, but it just wasn’t enough for the lighter cars. Given that, it definitely feels like a victory. It was a good points day.”

“We’ve done a lot of damper work,” Scott added. “We’ve got it tuned pretty good. We couldn’t quite do it today, but it’s a solid finish. We keep the championship lead, and that’s what we have to keep doing.”

Meanwhile, the C360R team was able to hold serve in its qualified spot and finish in fourth place, just off the podium in only the team’s second race in the Shelby.

Next up, the GT350R-C teams head west to Laguna Seca Raceway on April 29-30.

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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.

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“This is the first time the car’s been at Sebring, and it’s just awesome,” co-driver Billy Johnson said. “The ride and the outright grip are awesome. It’s a fantastic job for (the Shelby GT350R-C’s) debut at Sebring.”

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The Compass 360 Racing team of Paul Holton and Pierre Kleinubing were able to follow-up their second-place finish at Daytona by qualifying and finishing in the fourth spot at Sebring.

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After qualifying on the pole the team of Scott Maxwell (right) and Billy Johnson were able to finish in the second position, earning their second podium of the young season. That puts them in a strong position in the points going into the third race.
 

DSG2003SVT

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It was a great race. I bet the Cayman GT4 gets slapped with some power limits or added weight in the next race or two. The saving grace is that they missed the first race of the season, so they have 35 points to make up right off the bat.

Definitely a great start to the year for the GT350s!
 

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