MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2019) – Selin Rollan got a boost to his 2019 Battery Tender®Global Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship presented by BFGoodrich Tires®hopes by earning the pole position for Round 11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The weekend will play a big role for one of the six drivers that are mathematically eligible for the $200,000 prize on offer from Mazda for the championship, with a further $75,000 up for grabs to the top rookie.
Rollan was the only driver in qualifying to enter a sub 1-minute 40-second lap. The No. 87 Sick Sideways Racing MX-5 recorded a provisional pole time of 1:39.3540 around the 2.238-mile road course.
"This is what I was aiming for and it looks like I provisionally got double pole,” Rollan said. “It was a really solid run and to get pole at the final race of the season will hopefully help my fight in the championship. Tomorrow we will give it our all and finish off the season on a high note."
Rollan is chasing Bryan Ortiz for the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup championship. Ortiz leads Rollan by 11 points, but turned zero laps in practice after a mechanical issue necessitated an engine change. Ortiz (No. 4 Copeland Motorsports) turned his first laps with the new engine in qualifying. He was able to qualify seventh for the Round 11 race.
Rollan will start the race alongside Luke Oxner in the No. 77 White Racing entry.
Sick Sideways scored a double pole position, as Rollan’s Sick Sideways teammate (and team owner) John Dean II took the top spot in the ND1 category for the previous generation Global Mazda MX-5 Cup. Dean has already locked up the ND1 Championship, winning all but one race so far this year, but is looking forward to a fun time in the final two rounds of the season.
"Tomorrow I will be racing for fun,” Dean said. “This is by far the best series to race in and the most fun car to drive. That was a big qualifying session for the Championship, for our team and for Selin (Rollan). For him to come out on pole with all of the pressure that's on to win the championship, and to run that sort of qualifying session is awesome. I couldn't be happier as a team owner.”
Saturday’s Round 11 race will be streamed live on MazdaMotorsports.com beginning at 11:30am PDT. The Round 12 race stream begins at 5:55pm.