IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

The Sports Roundtable and Bar
105

+++

.
Conor Daly gets another shot with Harding Racing…

.
The most popular IndyCar driver without a permanent ride will get a second shot at driving for Harding in place of their regular driver, Gabby Chaves, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, this coming weekend. Conor Daly was in the # 88 Chevy at Toronto and gave a team their best street course result of the year - a P13.

.
Conor Daly

.
.

Conor and Gabby just completed a test at Mid-Ohio last week and following that test the team is announcing that Daly will drive once more for the Honda Indy 200. Daly has been TOP TEN at Mid-Ohio for the last two years with a best finish of P6. Chaves delivered a P17 for the team at the natural road course at Barber and a P19 at Road America and the team hopes Daly can improve on that at Mid-Ohio.

.
.
.
M

106

+++

.
Young guns go to Mid-Ohio…

.
On the entry list for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this weekend are Jack Harvey and Pietro Fittipaldi. Jack will be driving the # 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing with SPM and Pietro will be returning to action in the # 19 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing - his first outing since breaking his leg at Spa Francorchamps in a SportsCar racing accident just before the Indy 500 that he then had to miss. He was always scheduled to do Mid-Ohio, Portland and Sonoma. Zachary Claman DeMelo drove for Pietro at Indy and Texas, following his injury, so Pietro will also do Pocono and Gateway, originally scheduled for ZCD.

.
Jack Harvey

.
Pietro Fittipaldi

.
.
.
For Jack Harvey this will be his 4th race of the year. He drove to P23 at St. Pete, P12 at Long Beach and P16 at Indy. He was actually running P2 behind Stefan Wilson at Indy when both of them had to go for a splash of fuel to finish. Harvey has had great success at Mid-Ohio in the Indy Lights, where he posted two WINS in 2014. Team owner Michael Shank considers Mid-Ohio to be his home track, as the Meyer Shank Racing shop is in Pataskala, Ohio, just down the road from Lexington.

.
.
.
Great to see you both back in your cars, boys. Good luck!

.
.
.
M

107

+++

.
The Mazda Road to Indy entry lists keep growing…

.
…and that will be in evidence at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend, as both USF2000 and Pro Mazda add new faces. Let’s check 'em out:

.
There will be 4 new faces in Pro Mazda at Mid-Ohio, and Pro Mazda is already chock full of talent, this season, with at least ten guys capable of WINS on any given weekend. This will just enhance the show.

The most celebrated has to be the highly rated 18-year-old Brazilian Felipe Drugovich who will drive for Italy-based RP Motorsport Racing. We saw Felipe take the 2017-2018 MRF Challenge Series championship during the off-season in fine style with a dominating 10 WINS, 13 podiums, 2 poles and 5 Fastest Laps out of 16 races. Since then, Felipe has WON 5 of 6 races in the EuroFormula open F3 series for RP Motorsport Racing. This guy is on fire.

Felipe Drugovich

.
.
.
Coming from the world of SportsCars, where he races Radical SR3s in the Radical Cup North America series and currently leads the championship for Team Stradale is Antoine Comeau, from Joliet, Illinois. Antoine will drive for DEForce Racing in Pro Mazda this weekend.

Antoine Comeau

.
.
.
Last year, Moises de la Vara drove in USF2000 for DEForce racing. In the off season the young Mexican took the championship in the 2017-2018 FIA Formula 4 NACAM series. He will jump into a Pro Mazda car for DEForce at Mid-Ohio.

Moises de la Vara

.
.
.
Mathias Soler-Obel started the year in USF2000 driving his own car for his own team - Sol.O Racing. Mathias is going to move up to drive in Pro Mazda for RP Motorsport Racing for at least Mid-Ohio.

Mathias Soler-Obel

.
.
.
In USF2000 there will be at least 2 new drivers:

.
James Raven from England started the season in Pro Mazda driving for DEForce Racing but after a few races stopped. Apparently, the team has decided he is better suited to USF2000 because James will drive for them at Mid Ohio in their Tatuus USF-17.

James Raven

.
.
.
The youngest new addition to the grid in USF2000 will be 15-year-old Yuven Sundaramoorthy from Guilderland, New York, who has impressed this year in the F1600 Championship Series. He will jump into a car for Exclusive Autosport.

Yuven Sundaramoorthy

.
.
.
Welcome to all! See you on the grids.

.
.
.
M

108

+++

.
They’re OUT!.. Mazda Road to Indy TV does Iowa and Toronto…

.
MRTI-TV has released their Iowa episode, and quickly followed that up with their Toronto offering. First, Episode 8 - Iowa:

As Iowa only featured Indy Lights out of the three series that make up the Mazda Road to Indy, MRTI -TV left Rob Howden to cover it alone, as they sent fellow host Tony Laporta up to Canada to prep for the big MRTI weekend at Toronto.

Rob starts the show with his own version of “Driver vs. Tony” but it’s “Driver vs. Rob” as Rob arm-wrestles Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Norman. It’s 49-year-old against 20-year-old.

Following that, Rob details the Lights race at the Speedway, and then gives us his regular “MRTI Insider” stuff - a neat and clean show:

.
.

.
.
.
Episode 9 covers the big race weekend at Toronto, just completed, with 2 races each for USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. Tony and Rob handle the hosting duties. Tony starts out with a get-to-know-you with Colin Kaminsky from DEForcde Racing in USF2000, where they also talk about Colin’s dad, Bob, a gentleman driver in Pro Mazda for a number of years.

In “Driver vs. Tony” Canadian Dalton Kellett from Andretti’s Lights squad takes on Tony in a hockey goal-shooting contest.

Tony and Rob then speak of the racing and some terrifying footage of Harrison Scott’s spectacular shunt in his RP Motorsport Racing Pro Mazda car near Turn 3 gets aired.

Tony then does his “False grid, true talk” feature with Rasmus Lindh for Pabst Racing, Parker Thompson for Exclusive Autosport, Charles Finelli for FatBoy Racing! and Kyle Kirkwood for Cape Motorsports.

Finally, Rob gives us some great stuff in his “MRTI insider” segment:

.
.

.
.
.

Thanks, guys!

.
.
.
M

109

+++

.
This weekend the IndyCars are at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course…

.
…and Katie Hargitt gets you “Up to Speed” on that event:

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
M

110

+++

.
Spotted at Mid-Ohio, the candidates for the Team USA Scholarship…

.
The ten candidates in line to represent the USA in England at the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy - two of Formula Ford’s premiere world events - were invited to attend the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio last weekend, where their people skills were evaluated by a panel of distinguished judges. The 10 all come from various racing disciplines and have only one thing in common - They are all Americans. (That includes Hunter McElrea, who lives and competes in Australia).

With further evaluation in August and September - including driving skills, of course - the ten will first be whittled down to six and then finally to the two drivers who will be Team USA for 2018 and will go to England in the fall. After the two major events in “Old Blighty” the pair will return the the USA to compete in the 2018 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, in December, with a chance to win a $200,000 scholarship to run a full season of USF2000 in 2019. This is career-altering and life-altering stuff.
.

The ten, their age, where they hale from and the series they come from, are:
.

Dario Cangialosi, 18, Chester, N.J., F1600 Championship Series

.
Jake Craig, 20, Mission Viejo, Calif., F1600 Formula Tour Championship (Canada)

.
Courtney Crone, 17, Corona, Calif., Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear

.
Braden Eves, 19, New Albany, Ohio, F4 U.S. Championship powered by Honda

.
Joey Essma, 21, Charlotte, N.C., F1600 Championship Series

.
Nicky Hays, 16, Huntington Beach, Calif., SCCA Formula F

.
Hunter McElrea, 18, Gold Coast, Qld., Australia, Australian Formula Ford Championship

.
Colin Mullan, 16, Danville, Calif., IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge

.
Tyler O’Connor, 21, New Hartford, Conn., F1600 Championship Series

.
Simon Sikes, 17, Martinez, Ga., F2000 Championship Series

.
.
.
Among the outstanding racing talents on the selection panel are Spencer Pigot, Joel Miller, Oliver Askew, Aaron Telitz, Al Unser Jr., and Johnny Unser.

Also on the panel are Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hull, Harding Racing VP Vince Kremer, Indy Lights team owner Brian Belardi, Mazda Motorsports’ Operations Manager Kyle Kimball, Mazda Road to Indy promoter Dan Andersen, American Honda Motorsports Manager T.E. McHale, Bell Racing USA Director of Motorsports Chris Wheeler, PitFit Training President Jim Leo, and RaceCraft1 Principal Kelly Jones.

.
.
.
continued…

.
.
.
M

111

+++

.
Spotted at Mid-Ohio, the candidates for the Team USA Scholarship…(part 2)…

.
This pic was taken at Mid-Ohio. Among those in it are Johnny Unser, former candidates Jacob Loomis, Elliot Finlayson and Sabre Cook, former Team USA Scholarship winners Jonathan Kotyk, Aaron Jeansonne and Kyle Kirkwood and current candidates Jake Craig, Simon Sikes and Nicky Hays. On the back right is sports reporter Jeremy Shaw, the founder and the President of the Team USA Scholarship.

.
.
.
What all the candidates hope to achieve is what so many professional drivers already have, using their Team USA Scholarship as a springboard to a racing career. The list of former WINNERS still in the sport includes, but is not limited to Jimmy Vasser, Buddy Rice, JR Hildebrand, Josef Newgarden, Charlie Kimball, Aaron Telitz, Matthew Brabham, AJ Allmandinger, Bryan Herta, Spencer Pigot and Conor Daly, plus sports car standouts Dane Cameron, Connor de Phillippe, Joel Miller, Joey Hand, Andy Lally, Bryan Sellers and Trent Hindman.

The best recent examples to the candidates are Oliver Askew and Kyle Kirkwood - Team USA for 2016. Both went on to make Final Six in the 2016 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, which Askew then WON. Both have now also gone on the be USF2000 Champion - Askew in 2017 and Kirkwood this year, following his FIA F4 USA Championship in 2017.

Oliver Askew (left) and Kyle Kirkwood - both at Mid-Ohio for the kids.

.
.
.
When the 6 finalists are chosen we will let you know who they are and then follow them until there are just the two WINNERS. Good luck to all!

.
.
.
M

112

+++

.
Announced today - Colton Herta to test for Harding Racing at Portland…

.
Harding will test at Portland International Raceway this week in anticipation of the IndyCar’s return to the track for the Grand Prix of Portland in early September and Herta, who drives for Andretti Steinbrenner in the Indy Lights, will be in the car - at least for part of the day.

.
Colton Herta

.
.
.
Herta currently sits 2nd in the points in a tight battle with Andretti Autosport teammate Pato O’Ward, but of the two, it is Herta who seems to have the backing from one of his owners, George Steinbrenner IV, to go racing in IndyCar in 2019 - regardless of whether he wins the Lights title or not. The real question seems to be where - what team may he drive for? There really isn’t a seat available at Andretti Autosport, which already has Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Zach Veach.

Harding Racing MAY be developing a partnership with Andretti for 2019, making them a satellite team with engineering connections and Herta could wind up there. That would explain why Andretti will be lending the team their most up-to-date shock absorbers for the Portland test. (Harding has been running with 2017-spec shocks and needs the upgrade, for sure.)

Harding has yet to announce whom they will be running at the next race at Pocono. It could be regular driver Gabby Chaves or recent driver Conor Daly or it COULD be a number of others mentioned lately, including Pato O’Ward, Zachary Claman DeMelo and Sage Karam. All are on a short list, with Herta, for a possible 2nd car for Harding in 2019.

Possible for Pocono - (left to right) Pato O’Ward, ZCD and Sage Karam…or not.

.
.
.
M

113

+++

.
Spotted at Mid-Ohio - David Malukas remembers the fans…

.
IndyCar drivers are known for their fealty to their fans and the fans respond with fealty of their own. A number of IndyCar drivers visited the camping area during the Mid-Ohio weekend to be with their fans and take pictures with them. This sort of reciprocal appreciation starts very young.

16-year-old David Malukas, who drives in Pro Mazda for BN Racing, had to stop on track while leading Race 2 of his weekend after an electrical gremlin killed his engine. Despite his huge disappointment, David walked the fence line, shaking hands with fans. He’s the guy in the grey firesuit near the fence:

.

.
.
Soon, Dave decided that wasn’t enough and he jumped over the fence to sign autographs for the gaggle that quickly surrounded him:

.

.
.
.
David Malukas

.
.
.
Class act! Well done, David.

.
.
.
M

114

+++

.
Spotted at Mid-Ohio - Courtney Force, you clearly have a rival…

.
Mrs. Graham Rahal better watch out because this cutie at the autograph session has her eyes on the hubby.

.

.
.
.
Later that afternoon, Rahal took to the woods to commune with some of the Mid-Ohio campers:

.

.
.
.

M

115

+++

.
This weekend IMSA will hold a great SportsCar race weekend at Road America…

.
…called the Continental Road Race Showcase at Road America. The Showcase will feature the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA and IndyCar drivers will be in all three series. Lamborghini Super Trofeo will also be racing but no IndyCar folks will compete.

.

.
.

Let’s see which IndyCar folks will be racing, starting with the WeatherTech gang and the P class:
.

Two-time Indy 500 WINNER Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the # 6 Acura ARX-05 DPi for Acura Team Penske with former IMSA Champ Dane Cameron.

Juan Pablo Montoya

.
.
.
Three-time Indy 500 WINNER Helio Castroneves will drive the Team Penske sister car, the # 7 Acura DPi, with former IMSA Champ Ricky Taylor co-driving.

Helio Castroneves

.
.
.
Pro Mazda alum Pipo Derani will be in the # 22 Nissan DPi for Extreme Speed Motorsports with Johannes van Overbeek.

Luis Felipe Derani

.
.
.
Former IndyCar driver Sebastian Saavedra and former Indy Lights driver Gustavo Yacaman make up the squad for the # 52 Ligier JS P2 for AFS / PR1-Mathiasen Motorsports.

Sebastian Saavedra (left) and Gustavo Yacaman

.
.
.
Former USF2000 pilot and PC-class Vice-Champion Robert Alon and co-driver Simon Trummer will be in the # 85 ORECA 07 LMP2 for JDC-Miller Motorsports.

Robert Alon

.
.
.
In the GTLM class we will have Pro Mazda alum Connor de Phillippe in the # 25 BMW M8 GTE for BMW Rahal Letterman Lanigan along with co-driver Alexander Sims.

Connor de Phillippe

.
.
.
Also in GTLM class will be IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe in the # 67 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi, with co-drover Richard Westbrook. Ryan and Richard are in 3rd place in the points - but only 2 points out! That’s how close the points battle is.

Ryan Briscoe

.
.
.
In the GTD class IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth will be in the # 15 Lexus RC-F GT3 with David Heinemeier Hansson. They drive for 3GT racing.

Jack Hawksworth

.
.
.
IndyCar driver Katherine Legge is 2nd in the points - 10 points out - in the GTD class, driving the # 86 Acura NSX GT3 with co-driver Alvaro Parente for Meyer Shank Racing.

Katherine Legge

.
.
.
continued…

.
.
.
M

116

+++

.
This weekend IMSA will hold a great SportsCar race weekend at Road America…(part 2)…

.
There are two IndyCar guys in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. They are:

.
In the Grand Sport class USF2000 alum and Porsche Cup Champion Jesse Lazare will co-pilot the # 69 McLaren GT4 with Porsche Cup Vice-Champion Corey Fergus for Motorsports in Action.

Jesse Lazare

.
.
.
In the Touring Car Class Pro Mazda alum and paraplegic Michael Johnson will drive the # 54 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for JDC-Miller Motorsports by using hand controls. His co-driver is Stephen Simpson. These boys are coming off their 3rd podium and first WIN of the year at Lime Rock Park.

Michael Johnson

.
.
.
In Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA there is one IndyCar guy and it’s American Trenton Estep who was a Mazda Road to Indy Shootout finalist after a great year in F1600. He will drive the # 3 Porsche 991 Cup car for JDX Racing. Trenton is the current points leader in the top Platinum class.

Trenton Estep

.
.
.
Friday will be a day of practice for everyone and Porsche GT3 Cup will also qualify for their 1st of 2 races this weekend. Let’s GO!

.
.
.
M

117

+++

.
Friday at Road America - Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA completes their practice…

.
The first series to complete BOTH of their practice sessions on the day were the Porsche Cup guys and we have the combined results. The morning practice was the faster of the two as the track heated up later in the day.

.
The rabbit in the morning session and also in the afternoon was IndyCar guy Trenton Estep from San Antonio, Texas, driving the # 3 991 Cup car for JDX Racing. Trenton’s TOP TIME from the morning session was a 02:10.880 seconds for a speed of 111.344 miles per hour around the 4-mile natural road course. He was able to beat out Zacharie Robichon by 0.131 seconds. Zacharie normally drives in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and is leading that series, but he’s here in Cup USA for this weekend, driving the # 19 Porsche 991 Cup car for Moorespeed in place of Will Hardeman, out on a family emergency. P3 on the day was Anthony Imperato in the # 91 for Wright Motorsports.

Trenton Estep tops BOTH sessions

.
Left to right, Trenton Estep, Zacharie Robichon and Anthony Imperato

.
.
.
The Porsche Cup guys will qualify later this afternoon - last on-track activity.

.
.
.
M

118

+++

.
Friday at Road America - The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge practice…

.
The CTSC held two practices today in all three classes and just like the Porsche guys, the CTSC P-1 practice session produced all three top times of the day - except in Touring Car class. Here are the TOP TIMES for all three classes:

.
In the top Grand Sport class the rabbits on the day were Paul Holton and Matt Plumb in the # 76 Compass Racing McLaren GT4 thanks to Plumb’s P-1 time of 02:19.432s for a speed of 104.515mph. Matt bested Alexandre Premat in the # 92 Mercedes AMG for Quest/Ramsey Racing by a scant 0.046 seconds. Alexandre’s co-driver is Mark Ramsey. The guys in the 3rd-fastest car are Spencer Pumpelly and Dillon Machavern in the # 28 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR for RS1, thanks to Spencer’s P-1 session efforts.

Compass Racing’s McLaren GT4

.
.
.
In the Touring Car class the TOP DAWG was Piere Kleinubing in the # 76 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for again Compass Racing with a time of 02:22.750s for a speed of 102.085mph. His co-driver in the car is Roy Block. Pierre’s time was earned in the P-2 session and he bested the P-1 session time of Tom O’Gorman in the # 12 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for eEuroparts.com Racing by 0.189 seconds. Tom’s co-driver is Kenton Koch. The 3rd fastest car on the day was the # 74 Audi for Compass Racing, driven by Rodrigo Sales and Kuno Wittmer, due to Kuno’s P-1 session efforts.

Compass Racing’s Touring Car class # 75 Audi RS3 LMS TCR

.
.
.
In the Street Tuner class the TOP TIME of the day was taken by Mat Pombo in the # 73 Mini JCW for the Mini JCW Team. Mat’s P-1 session time was 02:31.572s for a speed of 96.144mph. Mat’s co-driver is Mike LaMarra. Mat beat out his own brother Mark Pombo in the # 52 Mini JCW for the Mini JCW Team by a scant 0.130 seconds. Mark’s co-driver is 16-year-old Colin Mullan, who was just named as one the 10 initial Team USA Scholarship contenders for 2018. The 3rd fastest ST class car was the # 81 BMW 328i for BimmerWorld Racing, driven by Devin Jones and Nick Galante.

The # 73 Mini John Cooper Works for Mini JCW Team

.
.
.
The CTSC will practice once more on Saturday morning, qualify right afterwards and race on Saturday afternoon - last on-track action of the day.

.
.
.
M

119

+++

.
Friday at Road America - The WeatherTech gang hold practice…

.
As with the other series racing this weekend the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship held two practice sessions for their 3 classes. Most of the fastest times were garnered in the P-2 session, instead of P-1 Here are the TOP THREE of each class:

.
In the P class the fastest car on the day was the # 10 Cadillac DPi V.R. for Wayne Taylor Racing, as Jordan Taylor posted a time of 01:52.402s for a speed of 129.648mph. Co-driver in the car is Renger Van der Zande. Jordan bested the P-1 session time of Oliver Jarvis in the # 77 Mazda RT24P DPi for Mazda Team Joest by 0.225 seconds. Oliver shares the car with Tristan Nunez. The 3rd fastest time was put in P-2 by IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the # 6 Acura ARX-05 DPi he shares with Dane Cameron. They drive for Acura Team Penske.

Wayne Taylor’s Cadillac DPi V.R.

.
.
.
In the GTLM class the TOP DAWG was Dirk Mueller in the # 66 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing who posted a P-2 session time of 02:03.716s for a speed of 117.792mph. Dirk’s co-driver is Joey Hand. These guys are leading the points - but only by 1 point. Dirk bested Pro Mazda alum Connor de Phillippe in the # 25 BMW M8 GTE for Team BMW RLL by a very scant 0.079 seconds. Connor’s co-driver is Brit Alexander Sims. 3rd fastest, thanks to Richard Westbrook, was the other Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi, the # 66 that Richard shares with IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe.

Ford Chip Ganassi’s fastest Ford, the # 67 Ford GT.

.
.
.
Finally, in the GTD class the fastest car on the day was the # 44 Audi R8 LMS GT3 for Magnus Racing, thanks to speedster Andy Lally, who put down a time of 02:06.816s for a speed of 114.912mph. Andy topped Patrick Lindsey in the # 73 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Park Place Motorsports by a VERY teensy 0.039 seconds - it’s hard to believe they could be that close over 4 miles. Andy’s co-driver is John Potter and Patrick’s is Joerg Bergmeister. The 3rd fastest GTD car was the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for 3GT Racing, driven by Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli.

Magnus Racing’s fast Audi R8 LMS GT3

.
.
.
The WeatherTech gang will have one more practice on Saturday and then qualify for Sunday’s race, one class at a time, on Saturday afternoon.

.
.
.
M

120

+++

.
Friday at Road America - Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA qualifies…

.
The Porsche guys qualified for their weekend races with a late-day qualifying session that uses the fastest time of each driver for Race 1 and either the 2nd fastest qualifying time of each driver or that driver’s fastest Race 1 time - whichever is faster - to grid Race 2
.

Here are the first 3 rows for Race 1 of the weekend, with times for all:

.
Row 1

Pole - Zacharie Robichon, Moorespeed - time of 02:11.098s for a speed of 111.159mph

.

P2 - Anthony Imperato, Wright Motorsports - time of 02:11.459s for a speed of 110.854mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Maxwell Root, Wright Motorsports - time of 02:11.579s for a speed of 110.752mph

.
P4 - Trenton Estep, JDX Racing - time of 02:11.650s for a speed of 110.693mph

.
Row 3

P5 - David Kolkmann, Park Place Motorsports - time of 02:11.677s for a speed of 110.670mph

.
P6 - Roman De Angelis, Kelly-Moss Road and Race - time of 02:11.812s for a speed of 110.557mph

.
.
.
All six drivers are Platinum class and all six are outstanding young talents in Porsche Cup. They will be leading a full 21-car field to the green flag on Saturday.

.
.
.
M

121

+++

.
Saturday at Road America - The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge qualify…

.
The guys who finished their last practice and then qualified for their weekend race first were the CTSC gang. Let’s see how they did:

.
In the GS class the top practice time of the day was put in by IndyCar driver Jesse Lazare in the # 69 McLaren GT4 for Motorsports in Action, but when it came time to qualify the pole was taken by Paul Holton in the # 76 Compass Racing McLaren GT4 with a time of 02:18.586s for a speed of 105.153mph. Paul bested Tyler McQuarrie in the # 39 R8 Audi for Carbahn Motorsports by a healthy 1.030 seconds. P3 on the grid in GS class will be the # 8 Ford Mustang GT4 thanks to Chad McCumbee. Paul’s co-driver is Matt Plumb. Tyler’s co-driver is Jeff Westphal. Chad’s co-driver is Patrick Gallagher

On pole - the Compass Racing McLaren GT4 of Paul Holton and Matt Plumb

.
.
.
The fastest guy in the final practice in the Touring Car class was Tom O’Gorman in the # 12 eEuroparts.com Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR and Tom translated that speed in the pole for the class with a time of 02:21.748s for a speed of 102.807mph. P2 on the grid will be Tom Long on rhe # 77 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for Compass Racing, 1.378 seconds off Tom’s time. P3 will be IndyCar driver Michael Johnson in the # 54 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for JDC-Miller Motorsports. Tom O’Gorman’s co-driver is Kenton Koch. Tom Long shares his Audi with Britt Casey Jr and Michael shares his mount with Stephen Simpson.

On pole - the eEuropartsDotCom Racing Audi of Tom O’Gorman and Kenton Koch.

.
.
.
In the ST class the fastest car in the final practice was the # 21 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman with Jason Rabe piloting but in qualifying the fastyest guy was Nick Galante in the # 81 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i with a time of 02:31.968s for a speed of **95.893mph.**Nick was ahead of young Colin Mullan in the # 52 Mini JCW for Mini JCW Team by 0.244 seconds. P3 on the grid will be Mike LaMarra in the # 73 MINI JCW for MINI JCW Team. Nick’s co-driver is Devin Jones. Colin’s co-driver is Mark Pombo and Mike’s co-driver is Mat Pombo.

On pole - the BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i with Nick Galante and Devin Jones.

.
.
.
The CTSC will race later today.

.
.
.
M

122

+++

.
Saturday at Road America - The Porsche GT3 Cup guys hold Race 1 of the weekend…

.
…and the WINNER was the interloper form Porsche GT3 Cup Chalenge Canada, as Zacharie Robichon led from pole to checkers in the Moorespeed # 19. P2 in his 3rd podium of the year and best result of the year was Anthony Imperato in the # 91 for Wright Motorsports. P3 was MRTI Shootout finalist and points-leader Trenton Estep in the # 3 for JDX Racing.

.
Left to right, Anthony Imperato in P2, Zacharie Robichin in P1 and Trenton Estep in P3

.
.
.
At the start Robichon took off from pole in the Moorespeed car he is campaigning for Will Hardeman, who is off due to a family crisis. He quickly pulled a small gap on most of the field with Imprato in tow. Dropping back at the start was Estep who started P4 but was P6 by the end of the first lap. Trenton would spend the rest of the race reclaiming P4 and then getting P3. Finishing P4 was Roman de Angelis, for Kelly-Moss Road and Race, who is Estep’s nearest points rival.

Zacharie not only WON the race but also was able to pull in the Fastest Lap of the race and will start on pole for Race 2 on Sunday.
.

Here are the TOP SIX of the starting grid for Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Race 2: (Times are either best Race 1 time or 2nd best qualifying time - whichever is faster)

.
Row 1

Pole - Zacharie Robichon, Moorespeed - time of 02:11.231s

.
P2 - Anthony Imperato, Wright Motorsports - time of 02:11.535s

.
Row 2

P3 - Trenton Estep, JDX Racing - time of 02:11.678s

.
P4 - Maxwell Root, Wright Motorsports - time of 02:11.765s

.
Row 3

P5 - Roman De Angelis, Kelly-Moss Road and Race - time of 02:11.927s

.
P6 - David Kolkmann, Park Place Motorsports - time of 02:12.014s

.
.
.
The Porsche boys will race in the mid-morning on Sunday

.
.
.
M

123

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Road America - The WeatherTech gang practice and qualify…

.
In the morning all three classes of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship came out for a final practice and then late in the day they qualified for Sunday’s race, one class at a time, so let’s see what they did - one class at a time:

.
In the P class the fastest car in the final practice was the # 85 ORECA 07 LMP2 for JDC-Miller Motorsports, thanks to Simon Trummer but it was his co-driver, IndyCar guy Robert Alon, who took pole in the same car, with a time of 01:51.933s for a speed of 130.191mph. Robert bested Ricky Taylor in the # 7 Acura ARX-05 for Acura Team Penske by 0.207 seconds. Ricky drives the car with IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves. Young Colin Braun took the CORE Autosport # 54 ORECA 07 LMP2 to P3. He shares the care with Jon Bennett.

On pole - The # 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA 07, thanks to Robert Alon

.
.
.
In the GTLM class the rabbit in the final practice was Jesse Krohn in the 3 24 BMW M8 GT3 for Team BMW RLL but when it came time to qualify the pole was taken by Dirk Mueller in the # 66 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi with a time of 02:02.479s for a speed of 118.981mph. The car is co-driven by Joey Hand. Dirk got the better of teammate and IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe by 0.171 seconds. Ryan drives the # 67 Ford GT with Richard Westbrook. P3 on the grid will be the # 3 Corvette C.7R thanks to Antonio Garcia, who shares the car with Jan Magnussen.

On pole - Dirk Mueller in the # 66 Ford GT with co-driver Joey Hand.

.
.
.
In the GTD class the TOP DAWG in the final practice was Joerg Bergmeister in the # 73 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Park Place Motorsports, but when it came to qualifying it was a different Porsche - the # 58 for Wright Motorsports - that took pole thanks to Patrick Long who posted a time of 02:06.593s for a speed of 115.115mph. Patrick shares the car with Christina Nielsen. Long bested Dominik Baumann in the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 by 0.257 seconds. He shares the Lexus with Kyle Marcelli and they drive for 3GT Racing. P3 on the grid will be the # 48 Lamboghini Huracan for Paul Miller Racing, thanks to Madison Snow. Madison and co-driver Bryan Sellers are the current GTD-class points leaders.

On pole - Patrick Long in the # 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche

.
.
.
The race will be broadcast on FoxSports 1, starting at 2:30pm EASTERN time on Sunday

.
.
.
M

124

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Road America - The CTSC hold a wild one…

.
The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race will be remembered as a wild race with action throughout and a last minute leader and WINNER, as the Volt Racing team of Trent Hindman and Alan Brynjolfsson took the # 7 Ford Mustang GT4 to victory as fortunes changed in the Grand Sport class late in the contest. P2 in GS class were Spencer Pumpelly and Dillon MacHavern in the # 28 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR for RennSport One. P3 was the # 46 Mercedes AMG for Team TGM with Owen Trinkler and Hugh Plumb on board.

.
.
.
In the Touring Car class It was a Compass Racing one-two, as Kuno Wttmer and Rodrigo Salles came in P1 from their P6 start in the # 74 Audi RS3 LMS TCR after a long battle with teammates Brett Casey Jr. and Tom Long in the # 77 Audi. Taking their 4th podium in a row with a P3 were Pro Mazda alum Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson in the # 54 Audi for JDC-Miller Motorsports.

.
.
.
In the Street Tuner class the WINNERS were the guys from BimmerWorld Racing in thwe # 81 BMW 328i - Nick Galante and Devin Jones claiming their 3rd WIN of the season. The # 73 of Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra for the MINI JCW Team ultimately wound up P2, after a half-the-race battle with Jones in the Bimmer. Another MINI – the No. 37 of Nate Norenberg and Derek Jones – rounded out the podium in P3.

.
.
.
The next outing for the CTSC will be at VIRginia International Raceway, Aug 17-19 for their participation in the next big IMSA event, the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.

.
.
.
M