Generac 500 at Road America - Live reporting from the VICI Racing pits

3:40 PM The qualifying session is over, we're seventh, our best qualifying position this year. Roland is satisfied with the progress today. “I’m satisfied with how today has gone. We seem to have a good setup for this track and the drivers are proving competent on their first visit here. Most importantly Kumho look to have made a further step forward for this race. It’s going to be interesting tomorrow, there have been a few incidents already and the track has shown signs of degradation so a good strategy will be called for.”

2:25 PM Max is the youngest member of the team. Despite the fact that he's just 16, he's as efficient and professional as everyone else. Max, who travels in from Maine for the races, undertakes a lot of jobs in the paddock including moving the tires around.

2:15 PM Nicky has come back in after running in the afternoon practice session. He has turned in a 1:22,042 after 27 mins, following that up with a 1:21.652, 1:22.178, 1:21.342 and a 1:21.423 before pitting after 38 mins to allow his younger brother to get his first taste of this demanding track. Now he' talking to ALMS radio.

1:30 PM The driver autograph session is underway; there are a lot of fans at Mosport and they are keen to chat to Nicky, Francesco and Marc. ALMS is certainly a popular series in Canada.

10:40 AM The session has just ended and the team is satisfied with progress made. To recap, Nicky went back out after 17 mins, the Dutch driver turning in a 1:20.908 (25 min) followed by a 1:21.860 (27 min) and 1:20.942 (29 min) before returning to the pit and handing over to Marc. The German returned to the track; he is also new to this circuit, but he only managed an out lap before an Acura prototype shed a wheel and brought out the red flags. The session went green again after 54 mins, but with just 6 mins remaining on the clock Marc ran a 1:24.035 and a 1:22.925 before the morning session ended.

9:50 AM Marc is suited up and ready to take over from Nicky. "It was good to hook up with the at Road America; I had been keen to work with the team all year," says Marc. "It did take me a while to get used to driving on the Kumhos as I have never experienced the RSR on these tires before. However I think I put in a good race pace and I was pleased with the lap times I set during my stint. I hope I can make an active contribution to the tire development program. I’m pleased also to be working with Roland, he’s one of the best engineers around, and the team has great mechanics who work very hard to get the car prepared. Now I look forward to helping the team push forward this weekend.”

9:45 AM The sun was shining and the heat increasing as the #18 car took to the 2.246-mile, 10-turn Mosport International Raceway for the 1-hour free morning free practice. Nicky was in the cockpit to run systems checks and acclimatise himself with the track. The former Jordan and Midland Official F1 Test Driver posted a 1:25.437 after 6 minutes, followed by a 1:23.633, 1:23.531 and a 1:22.783 before he pitted on 12 mins as the course went red.

9:10 AM The #18 car is being given a final clean before it heads for the track. The new colours have been applied, the car is ready to go. The track action for VICI Racing starts here.

9:00 AM Today's action will kick off in just over half an hour with a one hour long practice session (9:35-10:35 AM) followed by a further hour’s practice in the early afternoon (1:30-2:30 PM). A brief 10 minute break leads straight into the 20-minute qualifying session (2:40-3:00 PM).