Elkhart Lake, Wis., Aug. 15 – The American LeMans Series (ALMS) took to the four-mile road course of Road America on Saturday for practice and qualifying for Sunday’s Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase featuring the American LeMans Series Race.
In the morning practice session, Gil de Ferran was fastest in the P1 group and fastest overall in an Acura ARX 02a. Fastest in P2, and third-fastest overall, was Guy Smith driving a Lola B09 86 Mazda.
Fastest in the GT2 class was Joey Hand in a BMW E92 M3. Guy Cosmo set the fastest time in the ALMS Challenge division. All cars in the division are Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
The afternoon practice session was held just prior to qualifying. Speeds were up from the morning session as the track temperature was much higher than in the morning session. With the exception of P2, where Klaus Graf was fastest, the same drivers posted fast times as had done so in the morning session.
Gil de Ferran was again fastest in P1, and fastest overall, posting a time of 1:49.097 with a speed of 133.577 mph. In P2, Graf, driving a Porsche RS Spyder was fastest in class and third fastest overall with a time of 1:51.786 mph, a speed of 130.363 mph.
Hand was again fastest in GT2. His time was 2:07.478, a speed of 114.316 and Cosmo again was quickest in ALMS Challenge with a time of 2:18.020 mph and a speed of 105.585 mph.
Series qualifying was split into two groups with the GT2 and ALMS Challenge cars on the track first for a 20-minute session. Dirk Mueller and Hand traded quick time in the GT2 class several times with Hand setting the best lap of the session ten minutes in, winning the pole for the class with a time of 2:06.950, which equates to a speed of 114.792 mph. It was the first career pole for Hand.
“I told my wife that I felt good about coming to the race,” Hand said. “We made some progress at the Mid-Ohio test. It was honing in on things like tires, dampers and suspension. At the track in these hour sessions, you don’t have time to make these bigger changes and keep up,” he added.
Cosmo dominated the ALMS Challenge qualifying session, setting the fastest time seven minutes into the session and bettered the time with eight minutes remaining in the session.
In the second 20-minute qualifying session, the P1 and P2 cars took to the track. Three minutes into the session, Jon Field set the fastest lap in the P1 class and went to the pits with a blown head gasket two minutes later. One minute later, David Brabham bested Field’s time. The following minute he bested his own time. Within the same minute, de Ferran set the fastest lap of the session and the fastest lap overall with a time of 1:48.216 and a speed of 134.664 mph.
In the post-qualifying press conference, de Ferran was pleased with the run. “We really had a great run here since we unloaded the car. It has been pretty good. The credit for the pole position has to go to the engineers,” he said.
“For me, it (the pole) feels great. It is one of my favorite race tracks that I have been to in my whole career. To be here on the pole for the last time I will be driving at Road America is great,” he added.
Marino Franchitti set the fastest lap in P2 in his first lap on the track. The time of 1:51.010 (131.275 mph) held up as the best in class and third fastest overall for the remainder of the session.
It was a history-making run as it marked the first time ever that a Lola B09 86 Mazda bested the Acura’s for a P2 pole position.
The ALMS race will start at 2:05 p.m. On Sunday August 16 and is scheduled to run for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Notes:
In racing action, the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car drivers took to the track for round eight of the 2009 season. In the end, Pierre Kleinubing proved he still has what it takes to get to victory lane taking his first win of the season. Kleinubing, in a Acura TSX, grabbed the lead away from teammate Kuno Wittmer early in the race and held on for his 28th career victory. Charles Espenlaub and Patrick Lindsey, both driving a Mazda 6, completed the podium finishers.
Qualifying for Sunday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT race, James Sofronas flew around the Road America track with the fastest time, 2:15.860, to win his second pole of 2009.
Timmy Megenbier was the winner in a wild Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race. AJ Nealey and Joey Atterbury joined Megenbier on the podium.
Justin Piscitell won his first ever pole position in SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup qualifying.
Mary ChampionRoad America