Heart of Racing Team Takes Third in Detroit
Detroit, MI (1 June, 2024) - After starting from sixth on the GTD Pro grid, the Heart of Racing Team finished third in Saturday's Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic with drivers Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas. The race, which marked round five of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Championship, featured the GTD Pro class as well as the GTP class runners.
Staged on the 1.7-mile temporary street circuit set on the streets of downtown Detroit, the 100-minute sprint developed into a street fight, with five different caution periods slowing the action. The short race distance gave the team the chance to use both strategy and pit lane execution to push towards the front.
Gunn opened the race from behind the wheel in fifth. The English driver took to pit lane just 20 laps into the event, turning the car over to Riberas to take to the finish after a rapid stop for service from the crew.
Rejoining the field in fifth, Riberas was up to fourth as the race was slowed for the second caution just over 40 minutes into the race. Three more cautions followed as Riberas continued to push forward, racing for a podium position until the closing moments of the race as the Spaniard made a bold move to score third and secure a podium finish.
“Well, this is definitely a very good result for the whole team here in Detroit, we arrived with a car that was not really a car to be in the top five in terms of pace, but the team once again executed to simple perfection,” said Riberas. “The strategy, the pit stop driver change, the car set up, it was all optimized as much as we could. And in the end, we go home with the hardware that feels really like a victory considering the pace that we currently have. At the end of the day, that's what great teams do. It's all about staying in the hunt for the championship. Ross (Gunn) is looking very strong this year, he's doing a phenomenal job as well and we are already looking forward to Watkins.”
“It's been a pretty good weekend,” offered Gunn. “All things considered, we came here, and I think we were probably the fifth or sixth quickest manufacturer and to come out with a third place finish is a testament to the amazing job and execution of the team. Alex was really given the tough stint there where he had lots of yellows, and had to battle past the McLaren and had a few things thrown at him. The guys did a great pit stop. We came out in P4 and then Alex battled the McLaren for P3 in the end. I’m really happy to get our first podium of the year. It's been relatively tough from a pace perspective, but we’ve had pretty consistent results across the whole year. I think we've really started to improve lately, so I'm confident going forward."
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will reconvene later this month for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of Watkins Glen on Sunday, June 23.
