Pobst Perfect Through St. Pete SPEED Touring Car Qualifying

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 1, 2006) - Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga.,
topped the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car
Championship charts for the third time in three tries at the Honda Grand
Prix of St. Petersburg, this time taking the pole position for Sunday's
race in his Mazda 6. Brazil's Pierre Kleinubing will line up alongside
Pobst in his Acura TSX.

 

Driving the No. 73 TriPoint Motorsports/Mazdaspeed Mazda 6, Pobst turned
a fastest time of 1:23.191 (77.893 mph) on his first flying lap around
the 14-turn, 1.8 mile temporary facility to take his second-straight St.
Petersburg pole. Pobst led every lap of the 2005 event from the pole as
well, and he started the 2006 event off by leading both practice
sessions on Tuesday.

 

"We had a handling breakthrough at Sebring with my Mazda 6 and it's
really a personal thing for me," Pobst said. "It feels good for me, but
when I shared it with my teammates, they really didn't like it. It's
good for me though and the car has great balance.

 

"I had an exciting moment out there. I had a little too much rear brake
bias on my first lap and I went steaming down into turn one and I locked
the rears. I was able to grab the right gear for turn two and get the
car straightened out while cranking the brake adjust knob! So the
beginning of the lap was a little bit sloppy. But from then on it went
really well."

 

Always thinking about the big picture, Pobst added that winning the pole
is just a piece of the puzzle.

 

"I see this pole position as just another step toward winning the race
and winning the Championship," he said. "I've got Pierre Kleinubing
right there behind me, so I only gain one point on him."

 

Driving the No. 42 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Racing Acura TSX,
Kleinubing hooked up with teammate Peter Cunningham (No. 1 Acura
Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Racing Acura TSX) on his second flying lap
to jump up to second with a time of 1:23.746 (77.376 mph). Cunningham
also jumped to third on that lap, with a time just 0.051-second behind
Kleinubing.

 

Local driver Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla., qualified fourth in his
No. 97 Sparco/Oakley/Tindol Motorsports Mazda 6 with a time of 1:23.893
(77.241 mph). Jeff Altenburg, of Ellicott City, Md., will start fifth in
his team car to Pobst.

 

Sunday's 31-lap SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round
Two race will start at 12:45 p.m. (EDT). The race will air on a same day
tape delay at 4 p.m. on PEE Channel.

 

To follow the race notes and Live Timing and Scoring presented by SRT,
visit the SCCA Pit Board at www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/> .

 

 

Attached: Image of Randy Pobst qualifying for Sunday's race at St.
Petersburg. Image (c) 2006 Mark Weber/SCCA.

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Starting lineup for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing
SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Two race, part of the Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with position, car number in parentheses,
driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.

1, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:23.191, 77.893.

2, (42), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:23.746,
77.376.

3, (1), Peter Cunningham, Grafton, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:23.797, 77.329.

4, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:23.893, 77.241.

5, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:23.900, 77.234.

6, (43), Eric Curran, East Hampton, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:23.909, 77.226.

7, (17), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Audi A4T, 1:24.072, 77.076.

8, (2), Will Turner, Newburyport, Mass., BMW 325i, 1:24.461, 76.721.

9, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:24.772, 76.440.

10, (20), Brandon Davis, Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:24.810, 76.406.

11, (12), Justin Hall(R), Davis, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:24.903, 76.322.

12, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:24.984, 76.249.

13, (99), Jeff Courtney(R), Slinger, Wis., Audi A4, 1:25.038, 76.201.

14, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:25.172, 76.081.

15, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:25.181, 76.073.

16, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4T, 1:25.246, 76.015.

17, (06), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal QB, Mercedes-Benz C230, 1:25.575,
75.723.

18, (13), Brian Smith(R), Simpsonville, S.C., Dodge SRT-4, 1:25.710,
75.603.

19, (66), Dan Aweida(R), Boulder, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:25.877, 75.456.

20, (11), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:26.404, 74.996.

21, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 1:26.949, 74.526.

22, (16), Phil Parlato, Commack, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:27.240, 74.277.

23, (25), Christian Miller(R), Newark, Calif., Volkswagen Jetta,
1:27.585, 73.985.

24, (60), Mark Hein, Clearwater, Fla., Honda Civic Si, 1:27.885, 73.732.

25, (22), Hugh Stewart, Massapequa, N.Y., Dodge SRT-4, 1:28.092, 73.559.

26, (96), Charlie Putman(R), Mills, Wyo., Mazda 6, 1:28.395, 73.307.

27, (67), Robb Holland(R), Denver, Colo., Ford Focus, 1:28.473, 73.242.

28, (83), Karl Poeltl(R), Knoxville, Tenn., BMW 325i, 1:29.141, 72.693.

29, (37), Paul Goldman(R), Menlo Park, Calif., BMW 325i, 1:29.777,
72.178.

30, (94), Mary Katharine(R), Delray Beach, Fla., Mazda Protege,
1:29.904, 72.076.

31, (14), Billy Revis(R), Clemmons, N.C., BMW 325, 1:29.998, 72.001.

32, (95), Henry Brosnaham, Appolo Beach, Fla., Mazda Protege, 1:30.434,
71.654.

33, (6), Lance Stewart, Coconut Grove, Fla., Mazda 6, no time.

34, (26), Michael Flynn, Orlando, Fla., Subaru WRX, no time.