Ford Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dirk Muller is known for his outrageous speed, but even the German ace didn’t expect to put the No. 66 on pole by such a ridiculous margin at Road America.

Teamed with Joey Hand and Sebastien Bourdais, Muller and the No. 66 team opened the year with a memorable win for the Blue Oval at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, and since their big GTLM victory, both factory entries have struggled to reach the top step of the podium.

With six races having passed since the Nos. 66 and 67 found Victory Lane, Muller’s crushing qualifying performance could portend a change in fortunes.

“After the bad luck of the last few races, it was time to turn it around,” Muller said after leading a Ford 1-2 for IMSA’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase. “Joey (Hand) and I knew what we had to do and I don’t think we’ve made any changes to the car since we got here. That’s the strength of this team. This team is digging in every day and putting in a lot of effort and this was the payback for them. Taking the front row is absolutely brilliant. I’m still shaking.”

FCGR team manager Mike O’Gara says he had a feeling the rapid, flowing Wisconsin road course would suit the Ford GT.

“We had hoped we would be stronger here, just because of the nature of the track,” he said. “It’s a lot like Le Mans. This car is built for low drag and high efficiency and a place like this really showcases that in the Ford GT. Right now, we’re ahead of the field and hopefully we can stay up there tomorrow and have a good day for both of the cars.”

Despite being well shy of Muller, FCGR’s Ryan Briscoe came away from qualifying with a positive feeling for what could be in store during Sunday’s 2h40m WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event.

“I’m really pleased with the effort,” he said. “I was able to put together a good lap. Congratulations to Dirk; that was a heckuva lap he did there. I think we have a couple of really strong cars and we’ll try to execute tomorrow in the race.”