Highcroft Racing made the most of the LMP2 strength around the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca by qualifying fourth overall for the final round of the American Le Mans Series.
With only a few straights and several tight bends, the nimble LMP2 machines were in their element around the circuit as the top 13 cars smashed the previous lap record.
Highcroft were amongst those to lower the marker by a rate of seconds rather than hundredths, the Acura driven by David Brabham, Stefan Johansson and Robbie Kerr snaring a spot on the second row of the grid in the process.
It was a result that Brabham was pleased with, even if he rues not making a change to the car earlier that may have seen them challenging the dominant Penske Porsche's at the front of the grid.
"All in all, it's a very solid result,” he said. “We have a strong race car going into tomorrow's challenge. We made a slight change in the middle of qualifying and that bumped us up from sixth to fourth place in the end. Maybe if we had started with that setup, we could have pulled out a faster time. But the top six players were so close in times that we're very pleased with where the car is right now."
With the set-up in the right place, team manager Robin Hill is confident the team can end the season on a high note.
"The set up is right where we want it to be. We made a slight adjustment in the middle of qualifying and that improved our time. It's a long race tomorrow, so we'll see what happens, but from our vantage point tonight, we're very happy both with our starting position and how well the car is performing in terms of speed and reliability."
