Valiante, Farnbacher Claim Rolex Series Poles at VIR
Valiante ran a lap of 1:43.329 in the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Dallara, and will start on the pole in Sunday¹s Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway, Round 4 of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.
The No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley of Rojas and Scott Pruett – the current Daytona Prototype point leaders – and the No. 99 GAINSCO Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley of fourth-fastest qualifier Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney were found to have a wing measurement outside Grand-Am tolerances. Both cars will start Sunday's race from the back of the Daytona Prototype grid.
Running his fourth race for Wayne Taylor Racing, Valiante led much of the 15-minute session before being passed by Rojas late in the session.
Brian Frisselle was second in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley, followed by David Donohue in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley, 1:43.943, and Joey Hand in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday/Alex Job Racing Porsche Crawford, 1:44.439.Ricky Taylor timed in fifth fastest in the debut of the No. 19 Beyer Racing Ford Crawford. The 18-year-old son of Wayne Taylor ran a lap of 1:44.446 in the car he shares with fellow 18-year-old Jared Beyer and veteran Andy Wallace. In GT, Dominik Farnbacher scored his first career GT pole with a track record lap of 1:53.401 in the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3, followed by Mexico City winner Andrew David in the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R, and James Gue in the No. 97 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette.
"I'm very proud of winning the pole, because I never did that in this series before or in America before," Farnbacher said. "I was driving very, very rough over the curbings. I tried some new things on my other laps. I know how the track works now. Let¹s see what we can do tomorrow."
It is the second consecutive pole for Farnbacher Loles in the class, with Pierre Kaffer setting fast time at Mexico City in a substitute role for Dominik Farnbacher. Collins set the second-fastest speed on his last lap of the session. Two GT cars had their times disallowed and were moved to the back of the pack.
The No. 07 Banner Pontiac GXP.R. of Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards had set the second-fastest time, but the car was found to be excessively low in front.; Also, the No. 88 Farnbacher Loles Porsche of 16th-qualifier Steve Johnson was found to be underweight. Gue will share the No. 97 Corvette with Randy Pobst in the first appearance of that car this season.
There will be a final practice session Sunday morning from 8:30-8:50 a.m. (ET). The Bosch Engineering 250, a 77-lap, 250-mile race with a two-hour and 45-minute take limit, is set to take the green flat at 1 p.m. The race will be taped for a May 3 telecast on SPEED TV.
Lineup
Pos Num Class Drivers Car Laps
1. 01 DP S. Pruett, M. Rojas Lexus Riley 1:43.1
2. 10 DP M. Angelelli, M. Valiante Pontiac Dallara 1:43.3
3. 61 DP Br. Frisselle, M. Wilkins Ford Riley 1:43.5
4. 99 DP J. Fogarty, A. Gurney Pontiac Riley 1:43.5
5. 58 DP D.Donohue, D.Law Porsche Riley 1:43.8
6. 23 DP B.Auberlen, J.Hand Porsche Crawford 1:44.4
7. 19 DP J.Beyer, R.Taylor, A.Wallace Ford Crawford 1:44.4
8. 76 DP N.Jonsson, R.Zonta Pontiac Lola 1:45.0
9. 77 DP M.Gidley, B.Jaeger Ford Dallara 1:45.3
10. 16 DP M.Bobbi, T.Kimber-Smith Pontiac Coyote 1:45.4
11. 3 DP B.Lester, S.Lewis Lexus Riley 1:45.4
12. 6 DP I.James, J.Pew Ford Riley 1:45.8
13. 47 DP Bu.Frisselle G.Gardel Ford Dallara 1:45.8
14. 91 DP M.Goossens, J.Matthews Pontiac Riley 1:45.9
15. 60 DP O.Negri, M.Patterson Ford Riley 1:45.9
16. 59 DP J.Barbosa, JC.France Porsche Riley 1:46.4
17. 7 DP M.Plumb, G.Sigal BMW Riley 1:46.9
18. 75 DP T.Krohn, E.van de Poele Pontiac Lola 1:48.4
19. 87 GT D.Farnbacher, D.Werner Porsche GT3 Cup 1:53.4
20. 07 GT K.Collins, P.Edwards Pontiac GXP.R 1:53.4
21. 97 GT J.Gue, R.Pobst Corvette 1:53.6
22. 70 GT N.Ham, S.Tremblay Mazda RX-8 1:53.9
23. 21 GT D.Alessi, J.Seyffarth Pontiac GTO.R 1:53.9
24. 80 GT P.Long, D.Murry Porsche GT3 Cup 1:54.1
25. 86 GT L.Keen, E.Lux Porsche GT3 Cup 1:54.1
26. 40 GT C.Espenlaub, J.Foster Mazda RX-8 1:54.2
27. 30 GT C.Stone, J.Riley Mazda RX-8 1:54.4
28. 72 GT L.Aschenbach, T.Lewis Pontiac GXP.R 1:54.5
29. 2 DP R.Dalziel, H.Zogaib BMW Riley 1:54.6
30. 69 GT E.Assentato, J.Segal Mazda RX-8 1:54.6
31. 06 GT M.Bunting, L.Reese Pontiac GXP.R 1:55.2
32. 67 GT T.George, S.Pumpelly Porsche GT3 Cup 1:55.4
33. 15 GT J-F.Dumoulin, T.Nastasi Mustang Cobra GT 1:55.4
34. 88 GT D.Lacey, S.Johnson Porsche GT3 Cup 1:55.6
35. 32 GT M.Forest, P.Barrett Pontiac GXP.R 1:55.7
36. 66 GT T.Ballou, B.Miller Porsche GT3 Cup 1:56.1
37. 43 GT J.Nonnamaker, Wa.Nonnamaker Corvette 1:56.8
38. 22 GT C.Stanton, C.de Quesada Porsche GT3 Cup 1:58.1
39. 64 GT J.Lowe, J.Pace Porsche GT3 Cup 1:58.2
40. 42 GT Wi.Nonnamaker, J.Sahlen Corvette 1:59.1
41. 68 GT B.Sellers, RJ.Valentine Porsche GT3 Cup 1:59.2
42. 29 GT S.Gabel, R.Garcia Porsche GT3 Cup 1:59.9
43. 14 GT C.Friedman, M.McGehee Porsche GT3 Cup 2:02.2
44. 71 GT M.Grant, K.Grant, C.Grant Porsche GT3 Cup 2:04.8
45. 57 GT A.Davis, R.Liddell Pontiac GXP.R –