ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (4 August 2019) – Starting on the fourth row, Mustang Sampling Racing faced an uphill battle in Sunday’s IMSA Road Racing Classic at Road America. But the championship caliber team fought all the way, with Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque finishing sixth in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R.
“After getting unlucky in qualifying, we started farther back than we should have,” Barbosa said. “The car felt good during my first stint but being back there, we struggled to overtake. It is just a shame to partake in a race that you know you have no chance of winning. It is hard on our team. Everyone works very hard and gives so much of themselves to us.”
Albuquerque took over during the opening round of pit stops and drove the rest of the way. He got as high as second at the one-hour mark amidst green-flag pit stops, but fell back to seventh. Albuquerque got up to sixth at the two-hour mark with 40 minutes remaining. Without the help of a caution, though, he could advance no farther up in the running order.
“It was a boring race for us!” Albuquerque admitted of his quiet run. “I was sitting on track alone, trying to close the gap to everyone in front of me. The car was well balanced, but was just not quick enough. We are so off the pace that it is frustrating, because we are a team that is more than capable of winning.”
Winners at Long Beach in April, Mustang Sampling Racing looks to continue its California success in the next IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at WeatherTech Raceway in Sonoma on Sept. 15. That will be followed by the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Oct. 12.
