mark kibort

Wow, Gaple has pulled off a 2:11 and is leading practice. pobst and Pilgrim in the volvo are no where to be seen yet.

Seth and Clay running 2:26s! (nice job) mid pack out of , what 10 cars in the field, with the top time being 2:23! wow.

maybe they should combine GT and Touring like Grand Am GS/ST

mk

Bryan Watts

I think I've seen it discussed on the World Challenge forums. Would be hard to pull off 2 separate standing starts and the sprint format doesn't lend itself well to mixing classes at that level. The GT cars wouldn't have time to be the least bit patient when trying to get around TC cars they were lapping in a 50 minute event.

Meister Fahrer

Thanks for the report Mark!

I see an updated story today, sounds like the Porsches are right there and the Volvo is not.....

http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?ID=1204

analogmike

I wonder if any normal GT3 cups are running. They will let us run in our own "class" in stock IMSA GT3cup/GTC4 specs but we have to use the street tires

It looks like two of them, several seconds slower on those tires:

Patrick Flanagan(G) 2:20.399 94.872
Steve Valentinetti(G) 2:20.996 94.470

If we could use our normal tires it could be fun, we turn about the same lap times, we would handle better but they would blow by us on the straights.

Looks like Tony Rivera is in the top three in his GT3 cup. He passed me in the Sebring Enduro and has won a lot of IMSA races.

mark kibort

Probably right, but I think the lapping wouldnt happen until the last few laps, but your right, that could be a mess! forgot about the standing start factor too!

mk

mark kibort

I was excited to see Flannigan signed up, but then it seems that his car is a reall "cup" car, and that doesnt bode too well. even on street tires, it should only be about 1 second off the pumped up WC upgrade engine and wing, (etc). I think henzler did this with a back up cup car when his WC car broke. I think i remember him being a second off the pace on the street tires. (lidell beat him with the real cup car.) after all, at laguna, the speed gt times for porsches vs Supercup times is only 1-2 seconds, albeit the cup cars on slicks.

mk

mark kibort

Whats up with the volvos? pobst and pilgrim not going to run?? that was a bust! Sofro, where are you buddy??

the Lambo is running 1:25s, and needs 1:21 to just make the show. Funny, the top touring cars would be giving this $300,000 monster car a run for its money!



30 Eric Curran
East Hampton/MA Chevrolet Corvette
Whelen Engineering
2:10.320 102.210
2 5 Jason Daskalos
Albuquerque/NM Dodge Viper
Daskalos Developements
2:11.151 101.562
3 66 Tim McKenzie
Madison/WI Porsche 911 GT3

2:11.476 101.311
4 10 Brandon Davis
Huntington Beach/CA Ford Mustang Cobra
Applied Comp Solution/SunMicro
2:11.480 101.308
5 12 Brian Kubinski
Shorewood/IL Chevrolet Corvette
Trim-Tex Drywall Products
2:11.852 101.022
6 34 Tony Gaples
Libertyville/IL Chevrolet Corvette
Kleinschmidt Inc/Blackdog Rcg
2:11.887 100.995
7 97 Tony Rivera
Missouri City/TX Porsche 911 GT3
Tax Masters/Mirage Group
2:11.916 100.973
8 4 Dino Crescentini
Manhattan Beach/CA Porsche 911 GT3
Stoptech/GMG
2:11.951 100.946
9 31 Sonny Whelen
Old Saybrook/CT Chevrolet Corvette
Whelen Engineering
2:12.089 100.841
10 56 Ritch Marziale
Tempe/AZ Dodge Viper
Muzzy Racing USA/All-Cut
2:12.320 100.665
11 99 Jeff Courtney
Slinger/WI Dodge Viper
KENDA/JTM IWM/Coins of America
2:12.932 100.201
12 47 Rob Morgan
Costa Mesa/CA Porsche 911 GT3
EverCleanse/NADA/TruSpeed
2:13.213 99.990
13 9 Gunter Schaldach
Aspen/CO Dodge Viper
Lala Motorsports
2:13.316 99.913
14 13 David Welch(R)
Kirkland/WA Dodge Viper
Woodhouse Performance
2:13.359 99.880
15 35 Andrew Aquilante
Phoenixville/PA Chevrolet Corvette
Phoenix Performance Inc.
2:13.608 99.694
16 05 William Ziegler(R)
Jacksonville/FL Porsche 911 GT3
Swisher Racing/GMG Racing
2:15.560 98.259
17 44 Lee Saunders
Lakeland/FL Dodge Viper

2:15.564 98.256
18 06 Joey Scarallo
Smithtown/NY Pontiac GTO
Group A Wheels
2:17.080 97.169
19 2 Steve Valentinetti(G)
Burien/WA Porsche GT3 Cup

2:18.599 96.104
20 7 Dan Pastorini(R)
Houston/TX Lamborghini Gallardo
DP7 Racing
2:25.898 91.296
21 1 Randy Pobst
Gainesville/GA Volvo S60
K Pax Racing
no time
22 6 Joe Foster
Lawrenceville/GA Lotus Exige S
Hypersports
no time
23 8 Andy Pilgrim
Boca Raton/FL Volvo S60
K-Pax Racing
no time
24 14 James Sofronas
Newport Beach/CA Porsche 911 GT3
Global Motorsports Group
no time
25 22 Nick Parker(G)
Seattle/WA Porsche GT3 Cup
Starbucks Grouppe/Orange Car
no time
26 24 Patrick Flanagan(G)
Laguna Niguel/CA Porsche GT3 Cup

no time
27 36 Wesley Hoaglund(G)
Tustin/CA Porsche GT3 Cup
Grouppe Orange/Lenox Fin/Westl

Bryan Watts

Didn't you just completely contradict yourself?

mark kibort

I was going off memory. guess it should only be 2 second off on the same tires then. (liddel vs henzler in a cupcar vs WC GT3 was 1 second diff)

at laguna, supercup vs SpeedGT was 1:32s in the race vs 1:33s for the cups, on slicks. and I guess the new cup cars are making it even closer. I think it was 2 seconds a few years ago at the supercup debut at Laguna.

either way, it is closer than flannigan is running. wonder if something is wrong to only run 2:20 vs the leaders at 2:11

mk

Bryan Watts

There's definitely something wrong...I an a 2:20 years ago in my first trip to Sebring with a car that was much much less developed than it is now.

mark kibort

Well, there you go, and you have always been somewhere between GT and touring times, right? Even when the caddies came out and punished everyone and got the weight added afterwards running 2:10, the WCGT porsches were not far behind in the 2:12-4 range. got to imagine a cup car, especially the new 08+ stuff, has got to be right in there.

mk

analogmike

At Sebring, I doubt anyone could get 2:13s on street tires on a stock GT3 cup. I'd say a 3-4 second difference there. The WC GT3 cups are like an RSR with narrower bodywork. VERY potent.

dmwhite

seth was in the 24's, james in the 25's....

one interesting note is that tindol showed up with 2 cars (herr and galati) after the first practice...good to see those cars back on the entry list and hopefully it's not just for one race...

Bryan Watts

Interesting.

mark kibort

But all the BMW guys say that slicks are the same as Toyos and Hoosiers

mk