Reese Earns First Career SPEED GT Pole In Portland
For Immediate Release Reese Earns First Career SPEED World Challenge Pole At Portland PORTLAND, Ore. (July 30, 2005) - Leighton Reese, of Minnetonka, Minn., earned the first pole of his SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge career Saturday morning at Portland International Speedway for Sunday's SPEED GT Round Eight Portland Grand Prix race, giving Corvette the top spot on the grid for the third event in-a-row. A pair of Porsches took the next two spots as German Wolf Henzler (No. 55 Applied Materials/Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3) and Scot Robin Liddell (No. 66 AXA Financial/Pfaff Motors Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) qualified second and third, respectively, on the 1.964-mile circuit. Reese ripped off the 20 minute session's fast lap on his second pass, turning a time of 1:16.011 (93.018 mph), which was more than a second faster than his practice-leading times on Friday. Though it was his first pole, Reese implied afterward that it was something he thought may have been only a matter of time. "It is our first career pole in World Challenge and we are really proud of it," Reese said. "The guys have worked hard and the car is cornering as well as it has been since Cleveland. So yeah, we're excited to be here. "It's time for the Corvette to bubble to the top, so apparently the parity rules are working." Reese also said that the raceway's layout was something that could potentially favor his chances in Sunday's race. "The track looks very simple," Reese said. "It's basically a couple dragstrips hooked together with a couple squigglies. That said, it's very flat and very deceiving. You have to slow the car down enough to hit the right exit off the corners, and it's very easy to get wheel spin because the track is slippery here." Dino Crescentini, of Malibu, Calif., will join Liddell on the second row in the Lou Gigliotti-owned No. 28 LG ProLong Tube Header Chevrolet Corvette C6 that won at Infineon with Gigliotti behind the wheel. Michael Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio, will start fifth in the No. 24 Volvo NA Dealers/At Speed Motorsports Volvo S60 R. The SCCA SPEED GT Round Eight race, part of the Portland Grand Prix, is set to begin at 2:25 p.m. (PDT), and will be broadcast on SPEED Channel at 6 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, Aug. 7. To follow Sunday's race action through live timing and scoring, visit www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> . -30- Attached: Image of Leighton Reese in qualifying at Portland International Raceway. Image may be reproduced with proper credit © 2005 Mark Weber/SCCA. PORTLAND, Ore. - Starting lineup for Saturday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Eight race, part of the Portland Grand Prix at Portland International Raceway with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour. 1, (6), Leighton Reese, Minnetonka, Minn., Corvette C6, 1:16.011, 93.018. 2, (55), Wolf Henzler, Nürtingen, Germany, Porsche 911 Cup, 1:16.496, 92.428. 3, (66), Robin Liddell, Edinburgh, Scotland, Porsche 911 Cup, 1:16.517, 92.403. 4, (28), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Corvette C6, 1:17.069, 91.741. 5, (24), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Volvo S60 R, 1:17.130, 91.668. 6, (1), Tommy Archer, Duluth, Minn., Dodge Viper, 1:17.165, 91.627. 7, (5), Stu Hayner, Yorba Linda, Calif., Pontiac GTO, 1:17.260, 91.514. 8, (16), Max Papis, Miami, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 1:17.402, 91.346. 9, (13), Bob Woodhouse, Blair, Neb., Dodge Viper, 1:17.488, 91.245. 10, (3), Tim Wiens, Westminster, Colo., Dodge Viper, 1:17.504, 91.226. 11, (07), Ricardo Imery(R), Caracas, Venezuela, Porsche GT3 Cup, 1:17.560, 91.160. 12, (42), Mark LoPilato(R), Granbury, Texas, Porsche 911 T, 1:17.598, 91.115. 13, (82), Mike McCann, N. Canton, Ohio, Dodge Viper, 1:17.632, 91.075. 14, (65), Jon Groom, Boonton, N.J., Porsche 911 Cup, 1:17.774, 90.909. 15, (34), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Corvette C6, 1:17.949, 90.705. 16, (8), Andy Pilgrim, Del Ray Beach, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 1:18.068, 90.567. 17, (12), John Heinricy, Holly, Mich., Cadillac CTS-V, 1:18.624, 89.926. 18, (7), Steve MacDonald(R), Woodinville, Wash., Pontiac GTO, 1:18.630, 89.919. 19, (76), John Bourassa, Jupiter Island, Fla., Porsche 911 T, 1:19.603, 88.820. 20, (00), Al Becera(R), San Jose, Calif., Dodge Viper, 1:20.366, 87.977. 21, (40), Greg Weirick(R), Malibu, Calif., Corvette C5, 1:20.555, 87.771. 22, (15), John Dearing(R), Mission Viejo, Calif., Dodge Viper GTS, 1:20.884, 87.414. 23, (10), Carol Hollfleder, Covina, Calif., Ford Mustang, 1:22.020, 86.203. 24, (31), Sonny Whelen(R), Old Saybrook, Conn., Corvette Z06, 1:31.785, 77.032. 25, (49), Tim Brown(R), Vancouver, British Columbia, Mustang Cobra R, no time. 26, (56), Ritch Marziale, Tempe, Ariz., Dodge Viper, no time. _______________________ Eric Prill Director of Communications Sports Car Club of America SCCA Pro Racing/SPEED World Challenge 785-357-7222, 785-232-7228 fax 800-770-2055 toll free 785-250-7920 mobile eprill@scca.com www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com> , www.sccapro.com <http://www.sccapro.com> , www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com>