Qualifying Report: David Brabham - American Le Mans Series, round 8, Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport
David Brabham took his Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura to qualify fourth overall and second in LMP2 for round eight of the American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Motorsport. The Australian sportscar veteran, who last won at Mosport 10 years ago in IMSA GT, is confident that another strong race performance will deliver valuable points for the LMP2 championship fight on Sunday 24 August.
Two-days of pre-race testing at the challenging Canadian circuit just outside of Torronto saw both Brabham and team mate Scott Sharp appearing at the top of the times in their respective practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. Barely tenths of a second separated the Patrón Highcroft Racing pair’s times and that of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in the Penske Porsche on each occasion, hailing another close qualifying session.
With a time of 1:05.123 already set in practice, Brabham was confident of having a shot at pole. Although the first to set the LMP2 qualifying pace with a time of 1:04.603 behind the Audi of Marco Werner, Brabs was unable to improve his time due to a forced aborted flying lap halfway through the session. Regardless, the 42 year-old’s time was just 0.285 seconds off LMP2 pole sitter Dumas with five tenths covering the top five cars, promising an exhilarating round eight battle and continued fight for the LMP2 class spoils.
"I really pushed everything I could out of the car this afternoon and we’re fourth overall and second in LMP2, so not a bad effort I think. It was a little frustrating because one of the cars in front slowed up deliberately to try to balk me and then it caused a bit of an accident because it was right in the fast stuff, causing the Audi and Andretti Green Racing Acura to nearly hit me from behind because we were going so slow. There was nothing I could do. Unfortunately they probably blame me, but I went down to the Penske pit to give them my impression of their driver.
"We know that we have a really strong race car ready for tomorrow, which is the main thing. I was able to post some fast times at the end of the last practice on my worn Michelin tyres, so that was good. With a fast car and good strategy, which the Patrón Highcroft Racing team has displayed all season, I’m looking forward to a good race tomorrow."
Brabham and team mate Scott Sharp lie 24 points behind the leading LMP2 Penske Porsche of Bernhard and Dumas in the championship fight. With three wins out of the last five rounds under their belt, Brabham and Sharp will be aiming for win number four and maximum points tomorrow.
American Le Mans Series, Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport Round 8 Qualifying - Provisional Results
1 - Emanuele Pirro/Rinaldo Capello - Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:04.094, 138.12
2 - Lucas Luhr/Marco Werner - Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:04.188, 137.91
3 - Romain Dumas/Timo Bernhard - Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:04.318, 137.63
4 - David Brabham/Scott Sharp -Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:04.603, 137.03
5 - Franck Montagny/James Rossiter - Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:04.619, 136.99
6 - Luis Diaz/Adrian Fernandez - Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:05.153, 135.87
7 - Gil de Ferran/Simon Pagenaud - Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:05.156, 135.86
8 - Sascha Maassen/Patrick Long - Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:05.166, 135.84
9 - Marino Franchitti/ Butch Leitzinger - Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:05.170, 135.84
10 - Guy Smith/Chris Dyson - Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:05.429, 135.30
For full qualifying results visit www.americanlemans.com
For further information on David Brabham, including his career history and biography, visit www.davidbrabham.com
- Emma Spearing- photo ALMS
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