Cunningham in Control After SCCA Touring Car Practice at Laguna Seca
Monterey, Calif. (Oct. 14, 2005) - It is too early to say he has thrown the hammer down, but SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge Touring Car point leader Peter Cunningham, of West Bend, Wis., made a strong showing Friday during practice, handily sweeping both sessions in his No. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. Jeff Altenburg, of Ellicott City, Md., and Cunningham's RealTime teammate Pierre Kleinubing were second and third in the combined practice sessions, respectively. After taking a morning 20-minute session that saw six drivers post times faster than the current SPEED Touring Car qualifying record held by Kleinubing, Cunningham was even faster on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn course in the cooler afternoon, dropping his front-running time from 1:37.410 to a 1:37.303 (82.801 mph). Cunningham currently holds a 12-point advantage over Pobst in the SPEED Touring Car Championship, and needs to finish fourth or better in Sunday's finale to clinch his fourth World Challenge Drivers' Championship. Altenburg, in the No. 72 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6, was also faster, but still finished behind Cunningham with a 1:37.522 (82.615 mph). Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., dropped nearly 0.2-sec. from his morning time, but remained in third with a 1:37.670 (82.490 mph). Dino Crescentini, of Malibu, Calif., was second quick in the morning session, but couldn't improve his time in the last session and wound up fourth in the No. 74 Mazdaspeed/Centric/Tri-Point Mazda 6 with a 1:37.786 (82.392 mph). Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., the third Tri-Point team member, was fifth with a 1:37.863 (82.327 mph) in the No. 73 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6. In all, 10 drivers ran times under Kleinubing's qualifying record of 1:38.261, set one year ago. Qualifying for Sunday's Round 11 race is scheduled for Saturday at 9:30 a.m. (PDT). Live Timing and Scoring can be viewed at www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> . Sunday's race is scheduled to start at 10:55 a.m. MONTEREY, Calif. - Combined practice times for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship season finale, part of the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour. 1, (42), Peter Cunningham, W. Bend, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:37.303, 82.801. 2, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:37.522, 82.615. 3, (43), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:37.670, 82.490. 4, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:37.786, 82.392. 5, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:37.863, 82.327. 6, (44), Brandon Davis(R), Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:37.896, 82.299. 7, (37), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 1:38.060, 82.162. 8, (48), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Ford Focus, 1:38.157, 82.080. 9, (27), Nic Jonsson, Buford, Ga., BMW 325Ci, 1:38.199, 82.045. 10, (98), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 1:38.228, 82.021. 11, (78), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:38.342, 81.926. 12, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:38.517, 81.780. 13, (45), Eric Curran, S. Deerfield, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:38.568, 81.738. 14, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:38.597, 81.714. 15, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:38.622, 81.693. 16, (19), John Agelone(R), Bridgewater, N.J., Audi A4, 1:38.737, 81.598. 17, (17), Memo Gidley, Novato, Calif., Audi A4T, 1:38.857, 81.499. 18, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:39.072, 81.322. 19, (22), Hugh Stewart, Massapequa, N.Y., Dodge SRT-4, 1:39.664, 80.839. 20, (6), Scott Bradley, San Jose, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:39.993, 80.573. 21, (91), Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:40.023, 80.549. 22, (99), Kevin McKee, San Francisco, Calif., BMW 325i, 1:40.194, 80.412. 23, (92), David MacDonald(R), N. Canton, Ohio, Mazda Protege, 1:40.645, 80.051. 24, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4T, 1:40.874, 79.870. 25, (25), Christian Miller(R), Fremont, Calif., VW Jetta, 1:41.032, 79.745. 26, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 1:41.349, 79.495. 27, (95), Johnny Kanavas(R), Laguna Niguel, Calif., Mazda Protege, 1:41.770, 79.166. 28, (93), Rick Snyder(R), Arvada, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:41.839, 79.113. 29, (21), Seth Neiman, Woodside, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:41.873, 79.086. 30, (88), Andrie Hartanto(R), San Francisco, Calif., Honda Civic Si, 1:41.886, 79.076. 31, (87), Manny Matz, Somers, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:42.471, 78.625. 32, (54), Ross Thompson, Phoenix, Ariz., Mazda ProtegeES, 1:42.720, 78.434. 33, (49), Branden Peterson(R), Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 1:46.625, 75.562. 34, (96), Randy Hale, Haddam, Conn., Mazda Protege, 1:46.748, 75.475. 35, (86), Kenny Yim(R), South El Monte, Calif., Honda Civic, 1:47.862, 74.695. 36, (66), Dan Aweida(R), Boulder, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 2:08.024, 62.932. 37, (02), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mercedes C230, no time. 38, (03), Peter Lockhart, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Mercedes C230, no time.