A welcome pole was on offer for the Highcroft Acura
Highcroft
Fernandez
De Ferran
Andretti Green
Dyson
Click a link to go directly to that story!
Highcroft
With a blistering final lap of 46.696 seconds in this afternoon's qualifying session at Lime Rock Park, David Brabham brought home Patrón Highcroft Racing's first pole of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. He passed Simon Pagenaud in the #66 Acura on the penultimate lap, with a time of 47.062 seconds, -- securing the grid's top spot for tomorrow's race -- then incredibly, followed that by pulling out the best lap of the day, three-tenths of second faster than the lap that had taken the pole.
"I am excited for everyone at Patrón Highcroft Racing", said an ecstatic Brabham, speaking for the members of his Danbury, Connecticut-based team. "It was my job to get it on pole, so I am relieved that I did it! But, I really had to dig deep to find that winning lap. There was some really serious competition out there. Near the end of the session, I was down to ninth position, so I stepped back mentally, worked out what I needed to do and went for it. To be three-tenths of a second up is just unbelievable, especially with the rest of the pack separated by just one tenth of second. There are definitely several factors that contribute to that. We have a superb car. We rolled in here running very quickly; we haven't been out of the top two in any practice. Plus, the Michelin tires really hung in there. They just kept getting better and better. I really thought we had a shot at pole going into qualifying, and to get it at our home race is just sensational. Hats off to HPD [Honda Performance Development, engine provider], Wirth Research [chassis consultant] and all the guys on the team."
"I really like the track, " said Scott Sharp, Brabham's co-driver, returning to the Lime Rock circuit for the first time in 15 years: "The repaving and new layout has resulted in a good grip level and a significantly smoother surface. Lime Rock used to be a follow-the-leader track, but with the reconfiguration, the track has created new opportunities to pass. You can definitely make some moves in certain spots. We've had a really great day in the #9 Acura ARX-01b here at Lime Rock, and are definitely ready to win at our home track tomorrow."
Fernandez
Lowe's Fernandez Racing Qualifies Fifth at Lime Rock
Adrian Fernandez made a strong run for the front of the field in qualifying for tomorrow's American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix but a lack of grip in the critical closing minutes dropped the #15 Lowe's Acura ARX to fifth overall on the grid. The newly paved 1.51-mile Lime Rock Park circuit provided both a much improved racing surface and a rash of red flags in the two one-hour practice sessions leading up to this afternoon's qualifying.
Luis Diaz handled driving duties in the first practice session, claiming the third-fastest time overall after a timing transponder problem was remedied which initially placed him ninth on the timesheets. Fernandez took over for the second session and was sixth overall in a session plagued by red flags.
Fernandez's best lap in qualifying, a 47.264 seconds (114.252 mph), was a half a second off the pole winning time posted by fellow Acura driver David Brabham in a tightly grouped field with the first seven positions -- all held by the LMP2 class -- covered by six-tenths of a second.
Adrian Fernandez, #15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "We would have liked to have had a better starting spot but it's not bad. I gave everything I could but at the end, I was just losing grip and came in early. I was thinking about the race and I knew I couldn't do a better lap. There was a lot of dust and sand outside the chicanes. The car was just not getting better; it was getting worse so I decided to come in. The times are pretty close. It is good for [David] Brabham and the Acura teams. Hopefully, we will have a better race then we had here last year [retiring with a mechanical problem].
"The track has been improved a lot with the new pavement. This circuit is very beautiful and the atmosphere is great but it is just a little short for prototypes. Some of the straights on the back, which are really not straights but winding corners, make it very difficult to work with the traffic and that is why there has been so much contact today. But it is a nice track and now that it has the grip, you really enjoy it a lot. They have done a good job and it is good for the fans. Hopefully we can put on a good show for them with not many yellows. Unfortunately, the contact has been between cars that are not competing against each other [in class]."
Luis Diaz, #15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "It was a very calm, easy day for me. I did the first session, learning the track and the new configuration. The car was okay but we still need to make some changes. In general, the car is competitive. I don't think this race will be a matter of speed. You have to think about being there for the last 30 minutes. We are in good shape. The biggest challenge tomorrow will be the traffic."
De Ferran
LAKEVILLE, CT. (12 July, 2008) – Frenchman Simon Pagenaud earned a front row start in his first ever American Le Mans Series qualifying session today, just missing out on pole position aboard the de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-01b at Lime Rock Park.
Pagenaud held the fastest overall time aboard the Panasonic-sponsored LMP2 class Acura until the final two minutes of qualifying. He struck traffic on his final qualifying lap and was narrowly beaten to the top stop around the narrow 1.5 mile Connecticut circuit. Sharing with team boss Gil de Ferran, Pagenaud will start the race tomorrow in an all-Acura front row.
GIL DE FERRAN
"We have no point of reference but the new surface here appears to be very smooth and so far we have had a relatively trouble-free weekend. I am certainly very happy with our starting position on the front row. "The race is likely to be very busy in terms of traffic - Lime Rock is quite short and very narrow. Keeping our nose clean will be the key to a good result.”
SIMON PAGENAUD
"We were very close to getting the pole but it is still nice to have two Acuras on the front row of the grid.
"I am pretty happy with the day. We have never been here before so it is quite unbelievable to be on the front row.
"Tomorrow is certainly going to be a long day because the traffic will be very challenging. Lime Rock Park is a very intense track because it is so short - but I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to get in a rhythm because there were a lot of red flags but the car performed really well and I had a lot of fun."
Andretti Green
Franck Montagny, #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura
"The morning session was really good for us. The XM Acura was quite good. But, during the second session someone hit me from behind, so we had to make repairs and didn't get as much time on the course as we wanted. For qualifying, the car was good, but no one was real sure what was going on. Some drivers were cutting one corner and that was putting dirt on the track, which made it difficult. Even though we have to start from the rear of the field tomorrow, I think that we'll be okay and up front at the end."
The Dyson cars were far off pole
Dyson
Berkshire Back to the Future
LAKEVILLE, CT July 11, 2008 It was a day that blended the old with the new in a nice balance. James Weaver came back today to an American race track for the first time since his retirement, and Rob Dyson drove his 1985 Porsche 962 around the Lime Rock track today in preparation for an iconic parade lap before tomorrow's Northeast Grand Prix that will feature both the 962 and the current RS Porsche, both in 1985 liveries. A fitting day as Dyson Racing commemorates its 25th anniversary in professional sports car racing this weekend at Lime Rock.
Press room wags noted that Rob Dyson's two laps in the twenty-three year old Porsche won him the "GTP" pole. In the actual afternoon qualifying session, Marino Franchitti qualified the #20 Porsche RS Spyder sixth, only sixth tenths off pole, and Chris Dyson lines-up tenth in the team's #16 Thetford/Norcold entry.
"The qualifying session was interrupted by red flags and it was hard to get a rhythm, but we have gotten a good handle on the new track configuration and surface in a short period of time," recounted Chris Dyson. Noted Franchitti, "I felt we had a third or fourth place qualifier, but with the dirt on the track, I was looking for a clean line rather than the fastest. The one thing I do know from my time in the car this weekend, is how good the Dyson Racing car is in traffic."
James Weaver drove for twenty of Dyson Racing's twenty-five years in professional racing. When asked what it was like, he noted that "Rob competes for the love and betterment of the sport. Rob is a purist in many ways: he has the wonderful ability to focus on the core and the heart of the matter. He is a very competitive individual and the team very much reflects Rob's personality, his character and his values. I have never seen him put anyone down, in fact, if you are down, he will always pick you up. He is quite unusual in that respect."