Q & A: Blundell on Daytona progress

AUTOSPORT spoke to Blundell about progress so far following his first two stints at the wheel.

Q. Are you surprised to be running so high up at one-third distance?

Mark Blundell: We are happy at the minute. Everything is going to plan and we are a bit surprised that we are consistently running in the top five and the car is quite as competitive as what it is. We're trying to keep ourselves in check and not get too excited.

Q. This is your first Daytona, so how does it compare with the Le Mans 24 Hours?

MB: Le Mans is a little bit easier in terms of the physical side, because you get a lot of rest down the Mulsanne Straight. These Daytona Prototypes are quite cumbersome and certainly not as agile as I'd like. You have to put a lot more input into the car to achieve the lap time. I'm happy that the ambient temperature is quite low.

Q. What can you achieve in this race?

MB: We are competitive now, but whether we are going to be competitive in the morning, we don't know. We came here aiming to qualify in the top 10 and finish in the top six. If we can achieve that, I'll go home with a smile on my face.