McMurry Scores First-Ever IMSA GTD Pole at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Third pole position for Meyer Shank Racing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Monterey, Calif. (1 November 2020) – Matt McMurry scored his first ever IMSA GTD pole position at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday. After completing just four laps during the 15-minutes session, McMurry posted a 1:25.126-second flyer to put the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 on pole for Sunday afternoon’s Monterey Sports Car Championship (4:05pm ET, TRACKPASS).

The pole position comes just two weeks after MSR endurance driver Shinya Michimi scored the team’s first pole of the 2020 IMSA season for the Motul Petit Le Mans. Meyer Shank Racing has now locked in three poles at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with its first front row start in 2005 with Ozz Negri claiming the top qualifying position.

Katherine Legge scored the team’s first GTD pole at Laguna Seca in 2018 while also claiming a track lap record of 1:24.456-seconds which still holds today.

The front row start is a confidence inspiring result considering the team’s battle to best manage the soft Michelin Tire’s degradation.

“That was awesome,” said McMurry. “This was an especially tough qualifying session, because the tire degradation is so bad here. You have to do it in one lap, and that’s a pretty tough thing to do. The plan was to do two flying laps and that worked out really well. Most of the other teams put a lot more laps on their tires so we’re happy about that as well. I hope this is a step in the right direction as far as the championship goes – hopefully our bad luck streak is ended. Hopefully we can start from the front and stay there.”

The Monterey Sports Car Championship will go green at 4:05pm ET on Sunday with live coverage on TRACKPASS by NBC Sports Gold.