Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty put their No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac-powered Riley up front and in the spotlight today at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez during the first day of practice for Saturday’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Mexico City 400k.
In the afternoon’s second session, Gurney set a quick time of 1 minute, 22.843 seconds at an average speed of 108.639 mph around the 2.5-mile, 15-turn road course, set in the heart of the world’s third-largest metropolitan area. His time was good for fourth-quick on the day, and Alex was one of only four drivers to break the 1:23 barrier. Fogarty, who before today had never seen the famed track, wasn’t far behind, with a fast lap of 1m, 24.314s at an average speed of 106.744 mph.
The GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac also took center stage for a photo shoot by Reforma, one of Mexico’s leading newspapers — which gave the team a chance to show off the 99’s new colors. Featuring a splash of green and white on the traditionally all-red machine, along with Spanish-language logos, the scheme honors GAINSCO Auto Insurance’s commitment to the Hispanic market.
Fogarty will take the wheel of the GAINSCO machine again tomorrow for qualifying at 11:40 a. m. Central time.
Driver/Owner Quotes:
Alex Gurney: “We’re up there in the times, which is where we want to be, so with just a little more fine-tuning I think we’ll be money. This track is really fun for the driver, because the whole last section is very fast and very bumpy. You have to measure the risk you want to take because you can get caught out there really easily. It’s good that we got a feel for driving on old tires, because the race might be one-stop on Saturday and the stints will be quite long. â€
Jon Fogarty: “Today was just about getting a feel for the place and I think we came up to speed reasonably well. We made some basic changes to the GAINSCO car, and they seemed to help. This is a cool track to drive, there’s a lot of rhythm to it and it should be a great place to race on Saturday. Being smart in traffic will be key because if a GT car holds you up anywhere, you’re going to lose a lot of time. Tomorrow in qualifying, we’re just going to try and get a fast lap in early and park it, because conserving tires will become an issue in the race. â€
Bob Stallings: “I’d be really happy with a second-row start in qualifying tomorrow. We’re happy with the car, and Jon and Alex are doing an extremely good job of working together. With GAINSCO’s growing Hispanic customer base in mind, we’re excited to be racing in Mexico City. It’s a big deal for the company, and the new colors reflect GAINSCO’s commitment to that market. â€
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