Thursday's two official practice sessions were filled with rain during a major thunderstorm that brought cooler temperatures and near flooding conditions to the Texas Hill Country, as well as limited track time.
Krohn driver Nic Jönsson and Team Owner/Driver Tracy Krohn were the two qualifying drivers for the No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458. Their combined efforts qualified the Ferrari in eighth position for GTE-Am class with an average time of 2:10.029.
The fan favorite lime green and blue Ferrari will start 27th overall for the race tomorrow. Although the qualifying time was not what they had hoped due a problem with the rear end of the car, the popular Texas team remains very positive for Sunday's 6 Hours of Austin WEC race and have high expectations for successful results.
TRACY W. KROHN, Krohn Racing Team Owner/Driver, No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458 GTE-Am:
"Qualifying was quiet the adventure. The car had way too much oversteer, making the experience more of an adventure just keeping the car on the track. We've got some work to do on set up because we're not there yet. It was great to get out on the track but the condition of the tires made it way too slippery for me. I'm confident we'll get to the bottom of things before race time. Above all, I'm glad I went out in qualifying, which is now our baseline."
NIC JONSSON, No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458 GTE-Am:
"We obviously got rained out yesterday without a chance to really work on a dry set up since we've gotten here. I think we struggled a little bit with handling of the car, but I have full faith in the Krohn Racing crew that they are going to get the car all sorted out before the race tomorrow and I know we'll have a good run in front of our home crowd tomorrow. There's a little struggle we're having with the car today in qualifying and we've been in this spot before. But, that's why we're here. We're going to work hard and try to fix the problem."
MARK SCHOMANN, Krohn Racing Race Engineer:
"The week has gone well considering the weather hasn't been in our favor. Tracy has gotten time to know the car well and he knows the track really well. Our shortcoming is the small amount of time we've had for set up in the dry tires for the race. This morning during warm up we were able to get half way there and were clocking lap times we were happy with, but now there seems to be something wrong with the back end of the car. This made it very difficult for the drivers to put the power down in qualifying, which is unfortunate and because of it, we qualified poorly. The good news is we have the time to prepare before the race and overall it's been a smooth weekend for the team. The events today will have us more prepared for tomorrow and I'm excited for a fantastic race."
Sunday's FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Austin race will start at 11:00 a.m. local time and will be broadcast live around the world via live streaming on the FIA World Endurance Championship website, www.fiawec.com and on the ACO website, www.lemans-tv.com. Radio coverage is available on www.radiolemans.com.
The U.S. will feature a one-hour highlight show on the WEC race, to be aired on Fox Sports 1 on Monday, October 20 at 3:30-4:30 a.m. ET. Worldwide coverage varies. Check your local listing. For more information, please go to www.fiawec.com
