Jarvis resets lap record as Hunter-Reay qualifies sixth
LEXINGTON, Oh. (May 4, 2019) – The name at the top of the timing screens changed several times during the 15-minute qualifying session on Saturday afternoon for Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race, but once the checkered flag fell, it was Oliver Jarvis and Mazda at the top.
Jarvis, in the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P, set a fast time of 1:10.705 on his final flying lap which secured the pole position by a scant 0.022-second and set a new track record for the Daytona Prototype international class. Jarvis will share the car with Tristan Nunez, with the duo looking to improve from their podium finish in 2018. This is Jarvis’ second pole position of the season after taking pole position for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, taking part in his first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race for Mazda Team Joest, qualified in sixth position in the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P. Hunter-Reay will share the car with Jonathan Bomarito in tomorrow’s 2 hour and 40-minute race.
The Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network on Sunday, May 5 at 1:30 PM ET.
Quotes
John Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports
“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort by Mazda Team Joest and our drivers this weekend at Mid-Ohio, and this qualifying result shows the effort that they have put in. With the changing weather and the mixed conditions that we’ve had, we weren’t quite sure where we were relative to the competition, but Olly put together a string of great laps and it’s fantastic to have a pole position today for Mazda. We don’t get here without Multimatic, AER and Michelin. We battled for the lead here last year, and I think we have two cars that can take the victory tomorrow.”
No. 77 Mazda RT24-P
Oliver Jarvis
“This is a very, very special pole position here. We didn’t have much dry running this weekend – in fact, that was the most dry laps I have had in the car – but I thought we had a shot at a top three so to be in pole is amazing. That was a very exciting qualifying session. We went back and forth with other cars for the pole position and I’m relieved that we were able to make it stick. Hats off to everyone at Mazda Team Joest and my teammate Tristan for the work they put in to make this car so good. We are really excited to get the race started tomorrow and fight for the victory.”
No. 55 Mazda RT24-P
Ryan Hunter-Reay
“It’s been a good start to the weekend here in Mid-Ohio, although I think we came up a little bit short in qualifying. I had a great time in the practice this morning when I was able to lead the session in the wet, but the lack of dry running definitely hurt a little bit in qualifying. That was the first dry session I’ve had all weekend, and I just missed some of the details you need to find some time in this Mazda RT24-P. We are in a good place starting from sixth, and we’ll do everything we can to be up there with our teammates in the No. 77 tomorrow.”