Stevenson Pontiac GXP.R to start third in GT
The GAINSCO Pontiac Daytona Prototype (DP) qualified by Jon Fogarty will start second for this afternoon’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 race to be run at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Stevenson Pontiac GXP.R will start third on the GT grid.
Ron Fellows to partner Marc Bunting in Banner 06
Oliver Gavin will join Tracy Krohn in the No. 75
Banner Racing’s Collins and Edwards lead GT points
Stevenson Motorsports’ Davis and Liddell third in GT points
Pontiac leading GT manufacturer battle
GAISNCO Pontiac drivers Gurney and Fogarty top Pontiac DP team in second
SunTrust defending Montreal winners
The Pontiac Grand-Am teams will take the start of the two-hour Grand-Am Rolex Series race at 4:00 p.m. local time. The race on the famed 2.7-mile, 15-turn Gilles Villeneuve island circuit will be a two-hour sprint as opposed to the two-hour-and-forty-five-minute race the series usually runs.
Jon Fogarty qualified the No. 99 GAINSCO Pontiac Riley in second with a time of 1:33.707. The two protagonists in the Grand-Am Rolex DP championship battle will start next to each other, the 01 series leading Ganassi DP entry is on pole. Fogarty shares the No. 99 with teammate Alex Gurney. The crew had to put in some over-time yesterday when they were collected in a practice crash that had them miss a portion of the practice time, only logging 36 laps in what already was an abbreviated test day. The red 99 finished third at this circuit last year.
"Qualifying was the first opportunity we had to run the car since we had a pretty good wreck yesterday," Fogarty said. "It was a little bit of an unknown, but I have faith in our crew. They are good guys and put the car back together perfectly. The only issues were we had to put a new set of brakes on the car going into qualifying so I had to get those up and running before I could put a lap in. The car felt good I was happy with the balance. I think I got all I could out of it. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to catch the 01 car. I think it is going to be an interesting race. It is a shorter duration, there will be some differences in pit strategies going on. We certainly have a good race car and the car is a 100%. I have to thank the crew for working all night."
In GT the Stevenson Pontiac GXP.R wheeled by Andrew Davis qualified third posting a time of 1:42.735. The team has been the most consistent Pontiac GT team this season with wins at Mexico City and Virginia International Raceway. They have posted podium finishes at Watkins Glen (2nd), Mid-Ohio (2nd), Daytona July (3rd) and finished fourth at Barber two weeks ago. Davis shares the red-white-and-blue No. 57 GXP.R with Robin Liddell.
The car was pretty good," Davis said. "We are the best of the non-Farnbacher cars. We made a lot of progress late in the practice session yesterday. I put in my fast time on the third lap, just because I was clear of traffic. We have a good car for the race. We are going to make a brake adjustment before the race. Last year the Pontiac’s had some brake issues late in the race. Even though we are only running a two-hour race, we want to have a lot of car left for Robin to run for the win at the end."
Since the Lime Rock Park race on Memorial Day weekend the Pontiac GXP.R teams have been saddled with an additional 112lbs. of weight and a balance penalty of no more than 49% weight on the rear of the car. Since the last event at Barber, Grand-Am has given back the 1% weight distribution so the Pontiac can run at 50/50 weight distribution. The Mazda RX8 has had its weight adjusted from 2,200lbs. up to 2,240lbs. a 40lb. increase as well as a rev limit of no more than 8,600 rpm.
The race from Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be televised on the SPEED Channel, this evening, Friday, August 1 starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Grand-Am Top Ten Daytona Prototype Montreal Qualifiers:
1. Pruett, Rojas, Lexus Riley 1:33.199
2. Gurney, Fogarty, Pontiac Riley 1:33.707
3. Wilkins, Frisselle, Ford Dallara 1:33.906
4. Valiante, Angelelli, Pontiac Riley 1:34.285
5. Auberlen, Hand, Porsche Riley 1:34.383
6. Jonsson, Zonta, Pontiac Lola 1:34.583
7. Donohue, Law, Porsche Riley 1:34.726
8. Taylor, Frisselle, Ford Dallara 1:34.755
9. Fittipaldi, Garcia, Pontiac Coyote 1:35.061
10. Lewis, Lester, BMW Riley 1:35.579
*
16. Matthews, Goossens, Pontiac Riley 1:37.336
18. Gavin, Krohn, Pontiac Lola 1:39.428
Top 10 Grand-Am GT Montreal Qualifiers:
1. Lux, Keen, Porsche GT3 1:42.362
2. Miller, Werner, Porsche GT3 1:42.546
3. Davis, Liddell, Pontiac GXP.R 1:42.735
4. Ham, Trembly, Mazda RX8 1:42.829
5. Collins, Edwards, Pontiac GXP.R 1:43.077
6. Borcheller, Lewis, Pontiac GXP.R 1:43.517
7. Segal, Assentato, Mazda RX8 1:43.691
8. Peterson, Ludwig Mazda RX8 1:44.206
9. George Jr., Lally, Porsche GT3 1:45.079
10. Lacey, Johnson, Porsche GT3 1:45.215
*
11. Fellows, Bunting, Pontiac GXP.R 1:45.239
19. Connolly, Alessi, Pontiac GTO.R 1:50.144
Pontiac Powered DP and GT Cars Entered for Montreal:
10 SunTrust, Pontiac Riley, Max Angelelli, Michael Valiante
16 Cheever Racing, Pontiac Coyote, Antonio Garcia, Tom Kimber-Smith
75 Krohn Racing, Pontiac Lola, Tracy Krohn, Oliver Gavin
76 Krohn Racing, Pontiac Lola, Nic Jonsson, Ricardo Zonta
91 Riley Matthews, Pontiac Riley, Jim Matthews, Marc Goossens
99 GAINSCO Bob Stallings, Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty
06 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R, Ron Fellows, Marc Bunting
07 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R, Kelly Collins, Paul Edwards
21 Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO.R, Matt Connolly, Diego Alessi
57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R, Andrew Davis, Robin Liddell
72 Autohaus Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R, Tim Lewis Jr., Terry Borcheller
- Kyle Chura , Jim Hopson -
More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
