Maassen Clements hold on GT class pole for Sunday's Laguna Seca Sports Car Race
15 October 2000
LAGUNA SECA, CA - October 15, 2000 - The anticipated battle to wrest the GT Class pole from the number 51 Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R did not materialize today as Sascha Maassen backed-up his Friday qualifying time and claimed his second pole of the year for tomorrow's Globalcenter Sports Car Championship at Laguna Seca Raceway here just outside of Monterey, California. The cool temperatures and clear skies had initially made most of the competitors anticipate a faster track and lower lap times. But this did not turn out to be the case as the session produced generally slower times and no change in the starting order of the top three GT Class cars. Maassen's Friday time of 1:27.411 turned out to be the fastest GT Class lap, out-pacing Dick Barbour Racing teammate Lucas Luhr in the number 5 Porsche 911 GT3 R (1:27.580) and Randy Pobst in the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (1:27.789). "Originally, we thought today would be faster, but that did not turn out to be the case," said Maassen. "We worked on the car last night and we found a better balance, but we lost some grip. For tomorrow we will look for something in between the two days' settings." With a conflicting IRL date occupying Maassen and teammate Bob Wollek's regular engineer, Wollek has taken over the duties. "My 'engineer' has done a very good job," Maassen added with a chuckle. Qualifying second was the number 5 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Dirk Muller and Lucas Luhr. Muller and Maassen are currently locked in a neck-and-neck battle for the GT Class points lead. Tomorrow's race will go a long way towards determining the GT Class Championship as there are only two races left after the Laguna Seca round. While the number 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was the only one of the top three GT Class cars to improve its time from yesterday, it was not enough to change the starting order. "We found a few things in the suspension and something in the engine. The crew fixed them both and we are faster today. Just not enough," said Pobst, the top placed American GT Class driver. The biggest surprise of the session was the performance of the Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R driven in the second session Christophe Bouchut and shared with series regular Tony Burgess. The Canadian-based team jumped from fourteenth in class to fourth on the strength of Bouchet time of 1:28.471. The Globalcenter Sports Car Championships will be broadcast live on Speedvision starting at 3:00 PM EST on Sunday, October 15. Check your local listings for the exact time and station in your area. Live radio broadcast can be heard on the American Le Mans Web Radio Network at www.americanlemans.com. Updates on the Porsches contesting the Laguna Seca event can be found all weekend on www.porsche.com. For those who can see Fox Sports Network on their local cable systems, a one-hour summary of the recent Petit Le Mans will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network at noon EST on Sunday, October 15 - giving race fans an ideal preview of what to look for at Lagun a Seca. Top Ten GT Class Qualifiers 1. Maassen/Wollek - Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:27.411 2. Muller/Luhr - Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:27.580 3. Pobst/Lambert - Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:27.789 4. Burgess/Bouchet - Seikel Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:28.471 5. Cunningham/Jonsson - PTG BMW M3 1:28.555 6. van Overbeek/Cunningham - PTG BMW M3 1:28.761 7. Lewis/Law - MCR/Aspen Knolls Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:28.783 8. Stuck/Said - PTG BMW M3 1:28.979 9. Murry/Mowlem - Skea Racing International Porsche 911 GT3 R 1:29.315 10. Wagner/Petersen/Fitzgerald - White Lightning Racing Porsche GT3 R 1:29.461