Graf on pole again at Mosport
Despite a run-in with the Turn 9 tire wall in Saturday’s morning practice, Graf and the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing prototype coupe qualified 0.365 seconds ahead of Dyson Racing’s Chris Dyson at Mosport International Raceway. The German is hoping this year’s race ends just as last year’s – pole position and a race victory. He drove a Porsche RS Spyder to a win in 2010 with Romain Dumas.
“We weren't so good friends this morning, me and the track," Graf said. “It bit me this morning. But I like the track, especially in the prototype cars. It’s a ‘big boy’ track, and you need to be brave to drive really fast. You also need a really good setup. If not, you could lose confidence in the car and you just can’t really push hard. That’s normal for every track, but even more so for this track."
The top three cars qualified within 0.399 seconds of each other. After Dyson’s effort in the Lola-Mazda coupe he is driving with Guy Smith, Steven Kane was third in the Oryx Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda at 1:09.078 (128.151 mph).
Graf and Luhr were overall winners in April at Long Beach, but the Dyson-Smith duo enters the weekend with the LMP1 championship lead and a win at Lime Rock Park two weeks ago.
“The morning incident created a lot of work for the Muscle Milk team, but the pole is credit to them for working so hard and in the heat," said Graf, who set the fastest time in the pre-qualifying practice despite joining the session with only 10 minutes remaining. “It was mainly bodywork and some suspension – luckily no structure problems. But when you put it back together there is a lot of work to see if you've set it up back together."
Dirk Müller continued BMW Team RLL’s season-long roll with the team’s third straight GT pole position. He set a best lap of 1:17.083 (114.842 mph) in the BMW M3 GT that he will drive with Joey Hand. The pairing leads the class championship with three victories in three races.
Müller was 0.059 seconds ahead of Bill Auberlen, who drives with Dirk Werner in the sister BMW M3 GT. He is paired with Dirk Werner.
“I knew flying in to the track that we had a lot of momentum, and you just want to keep it flowing," Müller said. “It doesn't matter who is in the car; we can be fast either way for setup. We need to concentrate now on finishing. Yes we've won three in a row, but we are just into the fourth round of the championship, so we need to stay focused keep getting points."
As has been the case all season, the qualifying session was extremely tight. The top six cars were within 0.497 seconds and top eight were only 0.914 seconds apart. Jörg Bergmeister was third in class at 1:17.312 (114.502 mph) for Flying Lizard Motorsports in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR that he will drive with Patrick Long.
The Lizards are looking to repeat in class at Mosport while BMW will go for its first victory at the circuit since 2001. Coincidentally, Müller was the pole-sitter that year in GT.
“They say its a ‘man’s track’ and I'm on pole so I get to consider myself a man," Müller said, laughing. “The class is so close, and I’m happy we got everything together. I think I only got one lap together, and other times there were a few mistakes."
Local talent Kyle Marcelli scored his first ALMS pole position with a record-breaking lap of 1:11.331 (124.103 mph) in LMP Challenge for Intersport Racing. The 20-year-old Barrie, Ontario driver was 0.615 seconds clear of CORE autosport’s Gunnar Jeannette. It also marks the first pole position for Intersport in the LMPC ranks in just its second race in the class.
Jon Field, driving the other Intersport entry, was third in class at 1:12.252 (122.521 mph). Intersport is the third different team to win an LMPC pole position this year.
“We were quick right off the truck, and have been fast all weekend long, and I got a good feel right out of the gates," Marcelli said. “I do a lot of private coaching here with gentlemen with their (Porsche) GT3s or Corvettes, but it's different when you're riding coach in those (compared to) driving an LMPC car. The harder we're pushing these cars the more you can find grip which makes for a great experience."
Maybe more than anyone in the paddock, Marcelli is aware how brutal this week’s heat has been on competitors. Record-breaking temperatures have baked the area for about five days, and the air temperature exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) again Saturday. The track temperature registered near 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius)
“The open cockpit gives us a bit of advantage in the heat. In fact I think it's helping the tires," Marcelli said. We only ran one set during testing, we put almost 300 miles on them. These LMPC cars are intricate in the way that there is only a small window. You can only make small changes within it. If you get outside of it, you're going to be lost to get back."
Damien Faulkner won a tightly contested pole position in GT Challenge for Black Swan Racing. In his first appearance at Mosport, the Irishman posted a best lap of 1:22.861 (106.834 mph) to best TRG’s Spencer Pumpelly by just 0.078 seconds. Faulkner will share Black Swan’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with class championship leader Tim Pappas.
It is the first pole position in the Series for Faulkner, who won with Pappas and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen at Sebring to open the season. The Faulkner/Pappas pairing placed third in class two weeks ago at Lime Rock. Qualifying was the first session this weekend in which the Black Swan entry was quickest in class.
“The success from yesterday to today is a secret," Faulkner said. “Our engineer (Marc Feinstein) couldn’t make the trip this weekend because his wife is having a baby. We've been talking a lot on the phone with him, and the team was great even in his absence. We were a little down on power, but we kept moving forward. Fortunately every change we made, we kept getting faster. The team’s working really hard, I was getting more familiar with the track and we were able to go faster."
Nick Ham was third in class Saturday for JDX Racing at 1:23.448 (106.083 mph). Only 0.964 seconds separated the entire field. With such a tight window, Faulkner was thankful to get a little help from someone who knows how to get around Mosport – Audi Sport’s Allan McNish, a three-time winner at the track.
“This is a real drivers’ track. I’m pleased to be fast," Faulkner said. “I’m not really into video games, and I’ve just got Allan to thank for his YouTube video that I watched a few times. It’s a tough place, very tough, very challenging. A big thank you to Tim and the Black Swan team."
Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport, the fourth round of the 2011 ALMS championship, is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24 with ESPN2 airing the race starting at 10 p.m. ET. Live video coverage will be available at 2:50 p.m. ET on ESPN3.com in the US, and americanlemans.com for international viewers. Canadian fans may also watch live coverage on Rogers Sportsnet. Worldwide radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio at americanlemans.com.
Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport
Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Saturday’s qualifying
1. Lucas Luhr, Mülheim-Kärlich; Klaus Graf, Dornham, Germany; AMR/ Lola Coupe B08 62 (LMP1), 1:08.679, 128.895
2. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, New York; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire UK; Lola B09 86/Mazda (LMP1), 1:09.044, 128.214
3. Steven Kane, Newtownards, Northern Ireland; Humaid Al Masaood, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Lola B09/86 Mazda (LMP1), 1:09.078, 128.151
4. Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, Ontario; Chapman Ducote, Miami Beach, Fla.; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:11.331, 124.103
5. Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, Utah; Ricardo Gonzalez, Monterrey, Mexico; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:11.946, 123.042
6. Jon Field, Dublin, Ohio; Ricardo Vera, Ponce, Puerto Rico; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:12.252, 122.521
7. Jon Bennett, Fort Mill, South Carolina; Frankie Montecalvo, Highlands, New Jersey; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:12.827, 121.554
8. Tony Burgess, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, Ariz.; Lola B06/10 (LMP1), 1:12.839, 121.534
9. Anthony Nicolosi, Palm Beach, Fla.; Jarrett Boon, Phoenix, Ariz.; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:13.049, 121.184
10. Eric Lux, Jacksonville, Fla.; Christian Zugel, Holmdel, New Jersey; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:13.085, 121.125
11. Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo, Germany; Joey Hand, Sacramento, Calif.; BMW M3 GT (GT), 1:17.083, 114.842
12. Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Dirk Werner, Kissenbruck, Germany; BMW M3 GT (GT), 1:17.142, 114.755
13. Joerg Bergmeister, Langenfield, Germany; Patrick Long, Bellaire, Fla.; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:17.312, 114.502
14. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, Fla.; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, Calif.; Ferrari F458 Italia (GT), 1:17.511, 114.208
15. Jaime Melo, Cascavel, Brazil; Toni Vilander, Kankaanpaa, Finland; Ferrari F458 Italia (GT), 1:17.543, 114.161
16. Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings, UK; Jan Magnussen, Roskilde, Denmark; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (GT), 1:17.580, 114.107
17. Bryan Sellers, Braselton, Ga.; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:17.964, 113.545
18. Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo, Monaco; Tommy Milner, Leesburg, Va.; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (GT), 1:17.997, 113.497
19. David Murry, Atlanta, Ga.; Anthony Lazzaro, Atlanta, Ga.; Doran Ford GT (GT), 1:18.847, 112.273
20. Ian James, Phoenix, Ariz.; Edward Sandstrom, Orebro, Sweden; Panoz Abruzzi (UNC), 1:19.243, 111.712
21. PJ Jones, Torrance, Calif.; Rocky Moran, Ladera Ranch, Calif.; Jaguar XKR (GT), 1:19.302, 111.629
22. Bryce Miller, Summit, New Jersey; Sascha Maassen, Lontzen, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:20.377, 110.136
23. Ed Brown, Las Vegas, Nev.; Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Ferrari F458 Italia (GT), 1:21.051, 109.220
24. Bruno Junqueira, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Kenny Wilden, Oakville, Ontario; Jaguar XKR (GT), 1:22.653, 107.103
25. Marco Holzer, Bobingen, Germany; Seth Neiman, San Francisco, Calif.; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:22.693, 107.051
26. Tim Pappas, Boston, Mass.; Damien Faulkner, County Donegal, Ireland; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:22.861, 106.834
27. Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, Va.; Duncan Ende, Los Angeles, Calif.; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:22.939, 106.734
28. Nick Ham, Evergreen, Colo.; Chris Cumming, Vancouver, BC; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:23.448, 106.083
29. Andrea Robertson, Ray, Mich.; David Robertson, Ray, Mich.; Doran Ford GT/Elan (GT), 1:23.530, 105.979
30. Bill Sweedler, Westport, Conn.; Brian Wong, Newport Beach, Calif.; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:23.787, 105.654
31. Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, Fla.; Marc Bunting, Monkton, Md.; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:23.825, 105.606