Pobst Stays On Top in Afternoon Mosport SPEED Touring Car Practice
If the below text has strange characters, please open the word file attached. We must resort to web mail this weekend. For Immediate Release Pobst Stays On Top in Afternoon Mosport SPEED Touring Car Practice CANADA (Sept. 1, 2006) – Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., swept both practice sessions today at Mosport International Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Eight race. Montreal’s Kuno Wittmer and Peter Cunningham, of Grafton, Wis., completed the top three. Driving the No. 73 Tri-Point Motorsports/Mazdaspeed Mazda 6, Pobst ran the fastest lap of the day in the afternoon session with a 1:29.876 (98.496 mph) around the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.95-kilometer) circuit. The time eclipsed his fast lap in the morning session of 1:30.139, but fell shy of Cunningham’s 2004 qualifying mark of 1:29.688 (98.702 mph). Driving the No. 06 De Sigi Autosport/Autohaus Mercedes-Benz C230 Coupe, Wittmer was the only other driver to break the 1:30 barrier, with a quick time of 1:29.999 (98.361 mph) in the afternoon session. It is the highest Wittmer has finished on the time sheets since taking over the Mercedes-Benz earlier this year. Cunningham was third quickest in the afternoon, good for third on the day, in his No. 1 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Racing Acura TSX with time of 1:30.167 (98.178 mph). Teammates Brandon Davis (1:30.220) and Pierre Kleinubing (1:30.245) completed the top five. Chip Herr (Audi A4), Brian Smith (Dodge SRT4), Nick Esayian (Acura RSX), Jeff Altenburg (Mazda 6) and Robb Holland (Dodge SRT4) finished out the top 10. Defending race winner Charles Espenlaub and Eric Curran, who led the race as well in 2005, did not practice on Friday as they were racing elsewhere. Both are expected to be in their cars in time for qualifying. Qualifying for Sunday’s race is scheduled for Saturday at 11:55 a.m. (EDT). Rain is in the forecast for the remainder of the weekend, and many in the paddock believe that we may have seen our last dry sessions. To follow the action via Live Timing and Scoring Presented by SRT and live lap notes, visit the SCCA Pit Board through www.world-challenge.com. -30- Attached: Image of Randy Pobst in the afternoon practice for Sunday’s SPEED Touring Car race at Mosport International Raceway. Credit: © 2006 Mark Weber/SCCA CANADA - Combined practice results for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Eight race, part of the Mobil 1 Presents Labour Day Weekend Grand Prix at Mosport International Raceway, 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, 1:29.876, 98.495. 2, (06), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Canada, Mercedes-Benz C230, 1:29.999, 98.361. 3, (1), Peter Cunningham, Grafton, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:30.167, 98.177. 4, (20), Brandon Davis, Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:30.220, 98.120. 5, (42), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:30.245, 98.093. 6, (17), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Audi A4, 1:30.419, 97.904. 7, (13), Brian Smith(R), Simpsonville, S.C., Dodge SRT-4, 1:30.538, 97.775. 8, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:30.807, 97.485. 9, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:30.822, 97.469. 10, (67), Robb Holland(R), Denver, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:30.861, 97.428. 11, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:31.179, 97.088. 12, (96), Charlie Putman(R), Mills, Wyo., Mazda 6, 1:31.263, 96.998. 13, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:31.291, 96.969. 14, (64), Andrew Wojteczko(R), Toronto, Ontario, Lexus IS300, 1:31.340, 96.917. 15, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4, 1:31.483, 96.765. 16, (99), Jeff Courtney(R), Slinger, Wis., Audi A4, 1:31.499, 96.748. 17, (36), James Clay, Radford, Va., BMW 325i, 1:31.527, 96.719. 18, (21), Seth Neiman, Woodside, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:31.697, 96.539. 19, (25), Christian Miller(R), Newark, Calif., Volkswagen Jetta, 1:31.954, 96.269. 20, (84), Jeff Nowicki, Brimingham, Mich., Ford Focus, 1:32.523, 95.677. 21, (16), Phil Parlato, Commack, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:32.550, 95.650. 22, (60), Fred Pignataro, East Northport, N.Y., BMW 325, 1:33.071, 95.114. 23, (94), Mary Katharine(R), Delray Beach, Fla., Mazda Protege, 1:34.302, 93.872. 24, (11), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, no time. 25, (43), Eric Curran, East Hampton, Mass., Acura RSX, no time. 26, (95), Henry Brosnaham, Apollo Beach, Fla., Mazda 6, no time. 27, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, no time.