Making the most of the repaved circuit, Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR Motorsports Engineering) topped all of Friday’s Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin track sessions at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. This included qualifying, where he set a new qualifying lap record.
JTR Motorsports Engineering drivers locked out the top three spots on the grid for Saturday’s Round 5 Mazda MX-5 Cup race. Jeansonne will share the front row with teammate Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) and have Nathan Nicholson (No. 56 JTR Motorsports Engineering) set to start behind him in third.
The Indiana-based team spent last weekend testing at Laguna Seca and getting a feel for the new pavement and how the new-for-2024 Michelin tires performed on it. This preparation, and Jeansonne’s considerable experience at his home track, combined for a new qualifying lap record of 1m36.392s
“I’m feeling really good,” Jeansonne said. “Our cars have been really strong all day and that’s the best I’ve felt. My two teammates are pushing me to my limits, and it looks like they’re going to be really good competition for me for the two races. Hopefully we can work together and a have a good couple of results.
“It’s good that we had that extra seat time. Especially being the week before and with the new pavement, we got to learn some things that gave us an advantage and we capitalized on it. It would have been a shame if we hadn’t capitalized on that.”
Round 5 of the Mazda MX-5 Cup goes green at 2:55pm ET with live streaming available on RACER.com and IMSA.tv.