Grand-Am – Mid-Ohio – DP Qualifying
More Of The (Gainsco) Same It’s back to grid-setting qualifying rather than the pace-setting qualifying of Watkins Glen two weeks ago – although the same car is in first position. That’s the now customary Gainsco Riley Pontiac, Jon Fogarty setting the time, a 1:18.374 – on just his second timed lap. Fogarty parked up and watched, but no one got closer than three-tenths. “It was a good lap – I really laid it out, and that’s what we practice for,” Fogarty said. “This kind of performance is what we work toward as a driver – having a great car that’s fast and consistent. What’s really special is that this kind of result is something that no one person can achieve – it requires a total team effort, and that’s what the GAINSCO team has put together. It’s always nerve-wracking as a driver to sit there and watch your time be attacked, but we didn’t want to put too many laps on the tires because we have to use them in the race tomorrow.” Christian Fittipaldi went faster and faster in the heavily revised Fabcar, but came up short. This car had been damaged in Thursday testing, the Brazilian hitting a damp track at T9, sliding off and hitting the #05 Riley BMW - and then being hit by another sliding car, which rammed the #39 into the #05 again. “It was a great effort from the team (to rebuild the car). I think it¹s a good position to start for the race,” said Emerson’s nephew. Darren Law grabbed Brumos’ best grid slot of the year in #58, Law remarking that “the car’s real good. I’m proud of the Brumos guys, and I¹m looking forward to a good race. The last time we started up on the second row, we ended up on the podium. Hopefully, it will lead to the same thing.” Jonathan Cochet was fourth fastest in the SunTrust entry, with Memo Rojas fifth and the Braun / Papis Riley sixth. Brian Frisselle was seventh in the AIM Riley, and he reckoned that “we got the most of what we had today. There wasn't much more left on the table – I was giving it 100 per cent." John Pew was eighth fastest, in the #6 Riley - this his first qualifying attempt. As a guide to how irrelevant some of the times in qualifying are, Nic Jonsson would have started just behind the sister Krohn car based on his practice time in the first session (1.19.511 – but this one starts 18th), while Marc Goossens in Jim Matthews’ Riley would similarly have started fourth – but this one sits 17th. The only Crawford in the field will start last, after a miserable day for the AJR team: the gearbox broke in the session before qualifying, then a driveshaft broke (probably a result of the previous problem) at the start of qualifying. Le Mans GT2 winner Pat Long has some ground to make up in Saturday’s race.  |
Qualifying Times
1 99 DP Gainsco/ Bob Stallings Racing Alex Gurney / Jon Fogarty Riley Pontiac 1.18.374
2 39 DP Cheever Racing Christian Fittipaldi / Harrison Brix Fabcar Porsche 1.18.697
3 58 DP Red Bull/ Brumos Porsche David Donohue / Darren Law Riley Porsche 1.19.012
4 10 DP SunTrust Racing Max Angelelli / Wayne Taylor / Jonathan Cochet Riley Pontiac 1.19.191
5 01 DP TELMEX Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Scott Pruett / Memo Rojas Riley Lexus 1.19.330
6 75 DP Krohn Racing Colin Braun / Max Papis Riley Pontiac 1.19.357
7 61 DP AIM Autosport Mark Wilkins / Brian Frisselle / Burt Frisselle Riley Lexus 1.19.714
8 6 DP Michael Shank Racing John Pew / Ian James Riley Lexus 1.20.048
9 77 DP Doran Racing Memo Gidley / Guy Cosmo Doran Ford 1.20.216
10 11 DP SAMAX Patrick Carpentier / Chris Szekeres Riley Pontiac 1.20.603
11 60 DP Michael Shank Racing Mark Patterson / Oswaldo Negri Riley Lexus 1.20.614
12 3 DP Southard Motorsports Shane Lewis / Randy Ruhlman Riley Lexus 1.20.697
13 59 DP Brumos Porsche/ Kendall Hurley Haywood / JC France Riley Porsche 1.20.708
14 05 DP Sigalsport BMW Bill Auberlen / Matthew Alhadeff / Joey Hand Riley BMW 1.20.734
15 19 DP Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Rob Finlay / Michael Valiante Riley Lexus 1.20.903
16 12 DP RVO Motorsports Roger Schramm / Justin Bell Riley Pontiac 1.21.062
17 91 DP Lowe's Riley-Matthews Motorsports Jim Matthews / Marc Goossens / Ryan Hunter-Reay Riley Pontiac 1.21.551
18 76 DP Krohn Racing Tracy Krohn / Nic Jonsson Riley Pontiac 1.21.873
19 23 DP Alex Job Racing Patrick Long / Jorg Bergmeister Crawford Porsche no time | 
