Cooper Tops Opening MX-5 Cup Practice At New Jersey

MILLVILLE, June 25, 2010: Michael Cooper, of Syosset, N.Y., led the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup practice Friday morning at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the opening session of the Mazda Motorsports Festival presented by VisitFlorida.com.

Cooper turned a fast time of 1:34.285 (82.767 mph) around the 14-turn, 2.25-mile South Jersey circuit to top the 30-minute practice in the No. 84 AMG/Bromante Landscaping & Design Mazda MX-5. Cooper’s best lap came on the third of 14 laps he ran during the session.

Second on the time charts was Brad Rampelberg, of San Jose, Calif., who shares the MX-5 Cup Championship lead with Justin Piscitell. Rampelberg’s sixth lap of the session in his No. 4 AMG/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes MX-5 was his quickest, at 1:34.440 (82.719 mph), just 0.055-second behind Cooper.

Piscitell, of Weston, Conn., was third in the No. 89 Team MER/DAMG Worldwide Mazda MX-5, with a time of 1:34.537 (82.634 mph). Piscitell’s fast lap came later in the session than either Cooper or Rampelberg’s, his 10th of 15 laps.

Lyonel Kent’s best time of 1:34.910 (82.310 mph) placed him fourth in the session. The morning practice is Kent’s official on-track activity in a new No. 13 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Production MX-5, after the car he had been driving this season was destroyed in a last-lap accident in last weekend’s Round Four race at Road America.

Powell, Ohio’s Nick Evans was fifth in the session in the No. 28 Mazda/Team MER/Sparco MX-5 with a best time of 1:34.940 (82.284 mph).

In all, just 0.555-second separated the top five cars in the first practice session.

The SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup practices again Friday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. (EDT) in preparation for this weekend’s doubleheader weekend. To follow each session’s notes and timing, please visit www.mx-5cup.com.