Barbosa, Bomarito Quick in Opening Rolex Series Practice at New Jersey
Barbosa turned a best time of 1:15.630 (107.100 mph) on his sixth lap in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP to lead the Daytona Prototype class, while Bomarito led GT at 1:22.088 (98.675 mph) on his fifth lap in the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/Mazda/ModSpace/Castrol Mazda RX-8. Ricky Taylor was second in DP at 1:15.796 (106.866 mph) in the No. 10 SunTrust Corvette DP, followed by Scott Pruett in the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley at 1:15.848 (106.793 mph).
Jordan Taylor was second in GT at 1:22.100 (98.660 mph) in the No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R and Dane Cameron posted the third-quickest GT time at 1:22.185 (98.558 mph) in the No. 42 TheRaceSite.com Mazda RX-8.
Friday, May 11, 2012 – Practice 1 Report
10:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Daytona Prototype Top 3:
§ Joao Barbosa – No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – 1:15.630 (107.100 mph)
§ Ricky Taylor – No. 10 SunTrust Corvette DP – 1:15.796 (106.866 mph)
§ Scott Pruett – No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley – 1:15.848 (106.793 mph)
GT Top 3:
§ Jonathan Bomarito – No. 70 Mazdaspeed/Mazda/ModSpace/Castrol Mazda-RX-8 – 1:22.088 (98.675 mph)
§ Jordan Taylor – No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R – 1:22.100 (98.660 mph)
§ Dane Cameron – No. 42 TheRaceSite.com Mazda RX-8 – 1:22.185 (98.558 mph)
Notes:
§ The weekend forecast calls for beautiful weather throughout the weekend here at New Jersey Motorsports Park. It is 60 degrees and sunny as the first Rolex Series practice of the day gets under way. Looking back at the practice notes from last July’s race here, the temperature is nearly 30 degrees cooler this morning. It was 89 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of practice 1 last year.
§ 10:10 a.m. – GREEN FLAG on GT-only practice.
§ 10:14 a.m. – Jonathan Bomarito (No. 70 Mazda) is quick early with a lap at 1:22.562. Bomarito and co-driver Sylvain Tremblay have won each of the last two GT races at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
§ 10:15 a.m. – Jordan Taylor (No. 88 Camaro) is now quickest at 1:22.100.
§ 10:20 a.m. – Jonathan Bomarito (No. 70 Mazda) goes back to the top at 1:22.088.
§ 10:30 a.m. – GT Top 3: 1) Sylvain Tremblay (No. 70 Mazda) – 1:22.088, 2) Jordan Taylor (No. 88 Camaro) – 1:22.100, 3) Dane Cameron (No. 42 Mazda) – 1:22.185.
§ 10:40 a.m. – DPs are eligible to join practice.
§ 10:44 a.m. – Jason Lee (No. 08 Audi) spins in Turn 6 and continues.
§ 10:45 a.m. – Jim Norman (No. 51 Audi) spins and continues.
§ 10:58 a.m. – Jim Norman (No. 51 Audi) is off course on drivers’ right at Turn 5. He later continues.
§ 11:02 a.m. – Sylvain Tremblay (No. 70 Mazda) goes off course and back on at Turn 9.
§ 11:07 a.m. – Robin Liddell (No. 57 Camaro) spins and continues at Turn 9.
§ 11:25 a.m. – BLACK FLAG ALL – Andrew Davis (No. 59 Porsche) is stopped in Turn 6. Scott Maxwell (No. 40 Mazda) remains on course after the black flag and receives a five-minute penalty.
§ 11:30 a.m. – GREEN FLAG.
§ Through 50 minutes of combined practice, only John Pew (No. 50 Ford/Riley) and Jim Lowe (No. 77 Ford/Dallara) have turned DP laps at speed. Pew’s quickest lap was a 1:17.915 and Lowe posted a best lap at 1:20.780.
§ 11:40 a.m. – Practice is over for GT cars. DPs continue alone for another 30 minutes.
§ 11:41 a.m. – Scott Pruett (No. 01 BMW/Riley) is now quickest in DP at 1:16.090. Pruett and co-driver Memo Rojas are the defending DP race champions at New Jersey Motorsports Park. There have been no repeat winners in DP at NJMP in its four-year history.
§ 11:44 a.m. – Joao Barbosa (No. 9 Corvette DP) is now quickest at 1:15.697.
§ 11:45 a.m. – DP Top 3: 1) Joao Barbosa (No. 9 Corvette DP) – 1:15.697, 2) Ricky Taylor (No. 10 Corvette DP) – 1:15.796, 3) Scott Pruett (No. 01 BMW/Riley) – 1:15.848.
§ 11:54 a.m. – Joao Barbosa (No. 9 Corvette DP) improves his session-leading time to 1:25.540.
§ 12:10 p.m. – CHECKERED FLAG.