Martin Brundle has qualified in ninth place for the Daytona 24-hour event that takes place this weekend.
Veteran takes ninth in qualifying for 24-hour race
Martin Brundle has qualified in ninth place for the Daytona 24-hour race that takes place this weekend.
The BBC commentator, taking part in his first sportscar event for almost 11 years, clocked a impressive one minute 40.784 seconds for the United Autosports team at the Daytona International Speedway.
The 51-year-old, who raced in Formula One between 1984 and 1996, is a past winner at Daytona in 1988 and also won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1990.
"I'm pleased and very satisfied with my qualifying performance," said Brundle, who teams up with fellow former F1 driver and close friend Mark Blundell, along with American duo Mark Patterson and Zak Brown for the race.
"We'd targeted a top-10 grid place and I was ninth, less than seven tenths of a second off pole position.
"The top-10 is very close and there is more time to come from the car and myself. I'm very excited about the race.
"The Riley is working very well in race trim. We're right on the pace. We have a very good, consistent and comfortable car, which is exactly what you need for a 24-hour race."
Germany's Jorg Bergmeister is the surprise polesitter after setting a new lap record, while Dario Franchitti's Riley-BMW team that includes Juan Pablo Montoya starts in fifth.
