F430 on the GT2 pole Qualifying 1. Weaver/Leitzinger Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:04.459 2. Bernhard/Dumas Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:04.481 3. Maassen/Luhr Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:05.245 4. McNish/Capello Audi R8 (P1), 1:05.382 5. McMurry/Willman Lola EX257 AER (P1), 1:06.629 6. Fellows/OConnell Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:08.035 7. Gavin/Beretta Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:08.090 8. Field/Liz Halliday Lola B05/40 AER (P2), 1:08.399 9. Enge/Turner Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 1:08.427 10. Lamy/Sarrazin Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 1:08.629 11. Ruberti/Weickardt Saleen S7R (GT1), 1:10.368 12. Salo/Melo Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:11.209 13. Bergmeister/Long Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:11.340 14. Maxwell/Brabham Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 1:11.777 15. Bach/Cosmo Courage C65 Mazda (P2), 1:11.866 16. Rockenfeller/Graf Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:11.895 17. Jeannette/Milner Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 1:12.131 18. Henzler/vanOverbeek Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:12.449 19. Neiman/Pechnik Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:12.722 20. Van der Steur/Devlin, England; Lola B2K/40 AER (P2), 1:12.984 21. Jensen/Marks BMW E46 M3 (GT2), 1:13.186 22. Smith/Dyson Lola B06/10 AER (P1), No Time0 23. Hand/Auberlen BMW E46 M3 (GT2), No Time
I'm rooting for the P RS Spyders. Those things are sweet! They seem to be well suited to tracks like Houston, and are going to give the P1's a run for their money. Nice to see the 430's at the top of their class too.
RS Spyders got sick last night - in fact one was the reason the Ferrari had a tire problem - ouch. One of the Spyders went past us slow and not sounding quite so healthy. My guy won (Alan in the R8) as did Liz and Clint in LMP2. Rockenfeller/Graff were first, one of the Flying Lizard cars was second and Mika finished third with the Ferrari. The Ferrari is one awesome sounding car as are the Astons - totally different "pitches". The ALMS races certainly are spectator friendly as are the crews that work for them. You can get right in there with the cars and teams. Really like the autograph session last night from 5:15 - 5:45. The Aston group was passing out t-shirts to everyone, one group had calendars, the RS Porsche guys had a neat photo they all signed. I definitely think ALMS events will be added to our list of things to do. The event last night had a definite touch of European flair to it - something not seen at the USGP for the F1 race. Can't wait to see the guys again at LeMans in about a month's time. Carol.
Picture time -- 1. Track view during parade lap. 2. Track view from stands. 3. Best sounding and looking car on the track. 4. Hard to take action shots with a point and shoot. 5. Coming home. 6. Madza cars were bouncing all over the track. I didn't take any pictures of those nasty old Vettes. But I gotta say that they are fast SOBs. They were not showing lap times at the track, but the Vettes had to some of the fastest cars out there. And that sound. It takes me back to when a high school buddy put straight pipes on his Hemi with slicks on the back. Ah man, anybody remember when we didn't have annual safety inspections? Nobody told us that you weren't supposed to drive it in the snow! Dale Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Going back to my other post about what to do if you find yourself having an, ah, agricultural experience -- in the drivers meeting for the parade lap (where they said that the speed limit would be 30 mph???), it was mentioned that if you hit one of the concrete barriers, you better let go of the steering wheel or you'll break both wrists. It seems that when you hit an unmovable force, the tires will torque the steering system so that the steering wheel spins out of control. It makes you think what it must be like to be hauling ass down this track knowing that one little screw up and BAM your world is a different place. For all the griping by the drivers, they all knew that this track was a test. If you wanna run with the big dawgs, you gotta lift yer leg high! Dale
