Benoit Treluyer - no7 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18

“Physically it was really perfect. It feels like nothing happened and I could drive OK today. There were no problems getting in and out so that was really good. The only problem was that I was not driving very well. I need to get back into the swing of things. 

“The car seems to be ok. We still need to make some adjustments but I’m happy to be back in the car and ready for the race.  It seems to be very close again. We improved our car so we hope we can be in front of Porsche this time and we are working really hard on that.

“The team did a great job in between the two races. It was a short gap and we’re expecting a lot but it seems to be OK.  We can still improve the car. It was not perfect from the first session but it is going to be a good fight for sure.”

Anthony Davidson – no5 Toyota GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 Hybrid

“It was good to be back in the car and the same as Benoit, it is more about getting yourself back up to speed than feeling the physical side of things.  It is a great track to come back to. The car feels quite different compared to last year because we’ve made such big improvements to the package.

“It changes the way you attack the lap around here and it is different in the traffic as well. It is a lot to learn in the first practice and that is going to continue in the other sessions. When you are not in the car it is not so much about looking at data but the communication within the team. You get to see if from the outside and you see some things that could be improved. It was good in many ways but it was more frustrating not to be driving the car – especially when you are almost ready physically. 

“Rib pain is one of those things that takes a long time to heal and if I’m honest, I can still just about feel it here. It’s not perfect but it’s drivable. I’ll be able to get through the rest of the weekend. In Mexico it was just a bit too painful to drive and I had to make the decision not to participate so I could be in better shape for this race where you really need three drivers.”

Gustavo Menezes – no36 Signatech Alpine Alpine A460-Nissan

“This year has all panned our perfectly so far. None of us could have ever imagined it would end up being as good as it has.  Obviously, the team has done a fantastic job all season as well as my teammates Nico and Stéphane.

“Getting the win in Le Mans, winning three in a row and then going to Mexico and continuing the pace was really good and now to race on home turf is great.  It’s nice to be able to race here after having raced for several years in Formula 3. I haven’t really had the opportunity to compete here in the US.

“Doing this is great. The car is great, the team has been great and I have absolutely loved the championship. The chaos and the drama are fun. Racing amongst several categories and the professionalism of the series is fantastic and it’s something I'm really enjoying being a part of. 

“When you have a points advantage like we have you can’t take silly risks but at the same time I think anybody who shifts their mentality too much to the conservative mindset starts to compete on the back foot. I think we have to keep our heads down and do what we’ve done all season. When the risks are too big, that’s when the team has said to take care and be responsible. But at the same time we’re here to win and we have to continue to do so.”

Andy Priaulx – no67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT

“We’ve definitely had some ups and downs. We were pretty strong at the beginning of the year and of course at Le Mans we had a gearbox issue right before the start of the race. That was a tough blow and with double points at Le Mans that always hurts. We’ve had a really good strong performance in the car and in Mexico it was a shame we didn’t get a better result because we were fast enough to be on the podium but it didn’t happen. 

“At the moment I think we’re moving forward at the right direction all the time. The team is definitely where it needs to be and we just need a little bit of luck to come our way.  If I didn’t have bad luck I’d have no luck at all right now. It will turn around. You can only concentrate on your job and I’m very happy with the way things are going this weekend.

“The car looks relatively quick and hopefully we can carry that through to Saturday and have a faultless race.”

Ed Brown – no30 Extreme Speed Motosports Ligier JS P2-Nissan

“I actually went to school here in Austin, I love this place. It is a little hotter than what I remember.

“This place has been good to us. Two of the three times we’ve raced here we’ve ended up on the podium. It is a tough fight this year against the Orecas but we know this track very well and the P2 racing has been unbelievable. It has been a fight every race. We’re looking forward to it. 

“The competition is unbelievable in LM P2. The level of the teams and drivers even from last year is really remarkable.  It is great racing. The fans should appreciate what they’ve got.”

Paul Dalla Lana – no98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 

“The competition throughout the paddock is fierce and in the LM-GTE Am category it is really tight. We’ve had a super tough championship – being taken out in a couple of races – so that puts us on the outside looking in right now.  I guess that makes the next few races really interesting. We’re here to win and the team has had some luck here – we won here in 2014. That was the last time we were on the top step and I’ve won a couple of times here in Rolex and Continental as well.

“I feel like I know the track but every time we go around out there it is a tough circuit. It has that great combination of fast and technical bits and obviously it seems to bunch up at all the wrong times.  It is an interesting circuit and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.