WATKINS GLEN, NY (Friday, June 25, 2021) – Team TGM scored a top-five result in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying today in one of the most anticipated events in sports car racing for the past two years – the return to endurance competition at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York.
Team TGM was at the iconic track for testing just a few weeks ago and remains anxious to make up for the potential race victory stolen after late-race contact in round three of the championship at Mid-Oho last month.
The first step was qualifying where the #46 car of Hugh Plumb (which he co-drives with brother Matt Plumb) placed fifth and the sister car #64 of Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler will go off from 24th in tomorrow’s four-hour endurance race.
Team TGM owner and driver, Ted Giovanis commented, “We’re at a bit of a disadvantage with our Chevrolet Camaros as a result of the IMSA performance balancing but we’re very optimistic about the race. Being an enduro there is plenty of time to move up the field. Pit stops will be critical and we have the best crew on pit lane so that will be an advantage.”
The team’s Camaros debuted a new look this weekend as they celebrate the release of Ted Giovanis’s new book BEYOND FEAR: How I Fought The Feds For Six Years And Won.
The Tioga Downs Casino Resort 240 on the 3.4 mile Watkins Glen road course will stream live, Saturday, June 26 at 2:30 pm ET on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and can be followed on IMSA radio.
Ted Giovanis
“I think qualifying went pretty well. We had a bit of a change in plan – I was supposed to follow Hugh but some other cars got in between us but in the end that was ok. I got into a rhythm which worked out, I got faster and faster and sliced two seconds off my practice time.”
Hugh Plumb
“We qualified fifth today and we’re pretty happy with that, of course we always want to start as close to the front as possible. With a four-hour race, in the heat and potentially changing weather conditions, I’m completely satisfied where we are. We have the best equipment, the best team, the best co-driver and I feel I’ve got 90% of those.
“We’ve been put in a tough place with IMSA performance but that to me doesn’t matter right now. It’s a four-hour race and we will be at the front of the field at the end of this.”
Ted Giovanis the author
FOCUS FORWARD: Life lessons from racing
Life comes at you fast when you’re traveling 180 miles per hour. For Ted Giovanis, it’s also where you can learn the most valuable lessons. Since becoming a race car driver three decades ago at age forty-six—a ride that is still in overdrive—Giovanis has discovered how the tools of racing and the teamwork within it are applicable to life and business. In forty-eight motivating and, at times, exhilarating chapters, he shares his experience and knowledge.
