Reese Earns Pole for SCCA SPEED GT Round One Race at Sebring

 

SEBRING, Fla. (March 16, 2006) - Leighton Reese, of Minnetonka, Minn.,
took the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT pole Thursday, running
a 2:08.764 (103.445 mph) in his No. 6 Banner Engineering Chevrolet
Corvette C6 and setting a new SPEED GT Sebring qualifying record in the
process.  Mike McCann, of North Canton, Ohio, will start second
alongside Reese, and Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn. qualified third for
the Round One race, which will run as part of the 54th Annual Mobil 1 12
Hours of Sebring.

 

After taking the top spot in the combined practice sessions Wednesday,
Reese appeared stronger still Thursday, blistering the 3.7-mile, 17-turn
road course to earn his third pole of the past two seasons and give
Chevrolet the first qualifying point of the year in the SPEED GT
Manufacturers' Championship Presented by RACER Magazine.

 

"Well, it's a good thing we came in and did the test day, because we
were a mess the first couple of sessions," Reese said.  "We found a good
balance on the car, and the car has basically been a top-four machine
ever since then.  

 

"I've got to hand it to my crew chief.  He has just been relentless on
the car's chassis.  He is forever checking things and working until 11
at night.  This is a game of details and he covers all of them.  We've
been on the pole a number of times over the past two years, and I need
to convert one of these."

 

McCann, the 2004 SPEED GT Rookie of the Year, was third during the early
part of the 20-min. qualifying session before posting a 2:08.926
(103.315 mph) near the halfway point in his No. 82 McCann Plastics/K&N
Filters Dodge Viper.

 

Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., appeared to have a handle on the
front-row, outside slot in his No. 5 c3controls/Autohaus Dodge SRT Viper
until McCann slipped past him.  Starting third in Friday's race,
however, still gives Archer a solid chance to defend his 2005 win at
Sebring.

 

Lou Gigliotti, of Dallas, Texas, put two Corvettes in the first two rows
by qualifying fourth in his No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet
Corvette C6, while reigning SPEED GT Drivers' Champion Andy Pilgrim, of
Boca Raton, Fla., will start fifth in the No. 1 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On
Star Cadillac CTS-V.  

 

The SCCA SPEED GT race, part of the 54th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of
Sebring, is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. Friday.  

 

To watch the race via live lap notes and timing and scoring presented by
SRT, visit www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/>
and click on the Sebring event homepage. Friday's race will be broadcast
on PEE Channel at 4 p.m. on Sunday. All times are Eastern.



 

SEBRING, Florida - Starting lineup for Friday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED
World Challenge GT Championship Round One race, part of the Mobil 1 12
Hours of Sebring Weekend at Sebring 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., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
2:08.764, 103.445.

2, (82), Mike McCann, N. Canton, Ohio, Dodge Viper, 2:08.926, 103.315.

3, (5), Tommy Archer, Duluth, Minn., Dodge Viper, 2:09.224, 103.076.

4, (28), Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Texas, Corvette C6, 2:09.380, 102.952.

5, (1), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 2:09.943,
102.506.

6, (16), Max Angelelli, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Cadillac CTS-V, 2:10.110,
102.375.

7, (66), Lawson Aschenbach(R), Gaithersburg, Md., Porsche 911 GT3,
2:10.155, 102.339.

8, (14), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3,
2:10.799, 101.835.

9, (13), Bob Woodhouse, Blair, Neb., Dodge Viper, 2:11.403, 101.367.

10, (34), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
2:11.802, 101.060.

11, (31), Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette Z06,
2:12.171, 100.778.

12, (64), Ricardo Imery(R), Caracas VEN,   , Porsche 911 GT3, 2:12.238,
100.727.

13, (26), Claudio Burtin, Atlanta, Ga., Chevrolet Corvette C6, 2:12.469,
100.551.

14, (17), Rob Foster(R), Phoenix, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 2:12.618, 100.438.

15, (87), Doug Peterson(R), Bonita Springs, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
2:12.724, 100.358.

16, (23), Bob Miller, Sykesville, Md., Porsche 911 GT3, 2:13.209,
99.993.

17, (44), Johnny Mowlem, Charvil Berkshire, England, Aston Martin DB9,
2:13.786, 99.562.

18, (51), Lenny Diller, Garden City, N.Y., Dodge Viper, 2:13.924,
99.459.

19, (76), John Bourassa, Jupiter Island, Fla., Porsche 911 Turbo,
2:14.148, 99.293.

20, (42), Mark LoPilato, Granbury, Texas, Porsche 911 Turbo, 2:14.514,
99.023.

21, (24), Paul Gerrard(R), Bolder, Colo., Porsche 911 GT3, 2:14.920,
98.725.

22, (96), Skip Sauls(R), Longmont, Colo., Dodge Viper, 2:15.869, 98.035.

23, (43), Tom Papadopoulos, East Hills, N.Y., Aston Martin DB9,
2:16.010, 97.934.

24, (58), Kenny Hawkins(R), Raleigh, N.C., Dodge Viper, 2:16.298,
97.727.

25, (98), Derek Burseth(R), Bartlett, Ill., Dodge Viper, 2:16.341,
97.696.

26, (69), Igor Sushko(R), Kiev UKR,   , Nissan Skyline GT-R, 2:17.284,
97.025.

27, (32), Ed Braswell(R), Key West, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette Z06,
2:17.776, 96.678.

28, (02), Adel Elsayed, Boonton Twp, N.J., Dodge Viper, 2:17.870,
96.612.

29, (40), Greg Weirick(R), Malibu, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
2:19.617, 95.403.

30, (33), Michael Solley, Destin, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3, 2:23.448,
92.856.

31, (77), Brett Pearson(R), Orlando, Fla., Dodge Viper, no time.