Archer Takes Opening SCCA SPEED GT Practice at Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 7, 2006) - Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn.,
started his weekend off on the right foot Friday afternoon, taking the
first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge practice session for
Sunday's SPEED GT race, part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Archer's time of 1:27.348 (81.110 mph) in his No. 5 c3controls/Autohaus
Dodge Viper put him ahead of LG Motorsports teammates Lou Gigliotti, of
Dallas, Texas, and Tomy Drissi, of Hollywood, Calif., who were second
and third, respectively.

 

After a rough opening two rounds to the 2006 SPEED GT season, which
included a ten-point penalty for contact following the second round at
St. Petersburg, Archer turned in a solid performance on the 11-turn,
1.968-mile street course, turning his fast time on his eighth lap.

 

Experience, Archer said following his run, played a key role in the way
the field shook out in the first session.

 

"You've got to understand, a lot of these guys have never been here for
one," Archer said.  "Some of them, even though I was here in 2001, I
think [Ron] Fellows was here in '96, the track has changed a little bit,
and they were different cars.  We had slicks on those [Trans-Am Series]
cars, and these cars have street tire. It's cold out, so it took a while
to get heat into them.  Plus, I had a little problem in the pits.  

 

"But, I didn't come here expecting to be slow, and the other guys, as
they learn the track, they'll pick up the pace." 

 

Archer's performance was especially noteworthy considering his team was
thrashing to put the Viper back together again as late as Wednesday
morning - a result from contact Archer incurred at St. Pete.

 

"Autohaus has good guys here and they worked hard.  Dodge worked hard to
get us the parts," Archer said, whose front bumper and hood are in a
gray shade of gelcoat rather than the traditional Viper red. "We
couldn't physically get the parts to the team until Wednesday morning.
The car was in transportation until then anyways.  So, you know, these
guys have just worked hard.  I just feel bad that I made them work that
hard."

 

Gigliotti went back and forth with Archer for the top spot before
settling into second with a 1:27.912 (80.589 mph) in his No. 28 LG Pro
Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette C6.   Gigliotti's teammate Drisi,
making his first appearance in the No. 87 X-Men 3 - The Movie Chevrolet
Corvette C6, steadily climbed up the leaderboard, moving from just
inside the top 10, to sixth and then to third within just a few laps,
well into the 25-min. session.  

 

Cadillac CTS-Vs took the next two spots, as Canadian Ron Fellows, of
Missisauga, Ont., making his first appearance of the season for Team
Cadillac in the No. 16 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On Star CTS-V, was fourth,
followed by 2005 SPEED GT Drivers' Champion Andy Pilgrim in the similar
No. 1 Cadillac.  

 

The final SCCA SPEED GT practice before Sunday's race is scheduled for
8:30 a.m. Saturday.  

 

To follow the last practice, qualifying and race action via Live Timing
Presented by SRT and live lap notes, visit www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/>  and click on the Toyota Grand Prix of
Long Beach event homepage.

 

-30-

 

Photo Credit: Mark Weber/SCCA (c) 2006

Photo Caption: Tommy Archer rounds the bend on one of his laps during
SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT practice, part of Friday's action at the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

 

 

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Results from the opening practice session for
Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship Round
Three race, part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, with position,
car number in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, fastest time and speed
in miles-per-hour.

 

1, (5), Tommy Archer, Duluth, Minn., Dodge Viper SRT, 1:27.348, 81.110.

2, (28), Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette C6, 1:27.912,
80.589.

3, (87), Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
1:28.561, 79.999.

4, (16), Ron Fellows, Missisauga, Ontario, Cadillac CTS-V, 1:28.792,
79.791.

5, (1), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 1:28.968,
79.633.

6, (82), Mike McCann, N. Canton, Ohio, Dodge Viper, 1:28.995, 79.609.

7, (11), Mike Davis, Huntington Beach, Calif., Saleen SR, 1:29.031,
79.576.

8, (66), Lawson Aschenbach(R), Gaithersburg, Md., Porsche 911 GT3,
1:29.155, 79.466.

9, (17), Rob Foster(R), Phoenix, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 1:29.302, 79.335.

10, (14), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3,
1:29.566, 79.101.

11, (34), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
1:30.214, 78.533.

12, (13), Bob Woodhouse, Blair, Neb., Dodge Viper, 1:30.266, 78.488.

13, (64), Ricardo Imery(R), Caracas VN,   , Porsche 911 GT3, 1:30.284,
78.472.

14, (96), Skip Sauls(R), Longmont, Colo., Dodge Viper, 1:30.640, 78.164.

15, (23), Bob Miller, Sykesville, Md., Porsche 911 Cup, 1:31.129,
77.744.

16, (31), Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
1:31.259, 77.634.

17, (15), John Dearing(R), Mission Viejo, Calif., Dodge Viper GTS,
1:31.426, 77.492.

18, (56), Ritch Marziale, Tempe, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 1:31.899, 77.093.

19, (40), Greg Weirick(R), Malibu, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
1:32.119, 76.909.

20, (29), Eric Olberz(R), La Canada Flintridge, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3,
1:33.235, 75.988.

21, (99), Gary Sheehan(R), Martinez, Calif., Subaru WRX STI, 1:33.811,
75.522.

22, (26), Claudio Burtin, Atlanta, Ga., Chevrolet Corvette C6, 1:34.881,
74.670.

23, (69), Igor Sushko(R), Kiev, UKR, Nissan Skyline GT-R, 1:36.720,
73.250.

24, (76), John Bourassa, Jupiter Island, Fla., Porsche 911 Turbo,
1:37.194, 72.893.

25, (24), Paul Gerrard(R), Bolder, Colo., Volvo S60R, no time.