“This time it was our turn to be in front,” said Brabham after qualifying. “We’re strong in some corners, and the de Ferran guys are stronger in others, so we know where we have to work on the car to make more improvements for tomorrow.”
The de Ferran car was faster in practice, but Patrón Highcroft managed to make improvements, giving Scott Sharp and David Brabham a fast car for qualifying.
Brabham went oput and ran three consecutive fastest laps, finishining with a 1.05.323 at 135.517 mph. Simon Pagernaud in the de ferran car stayed on the track trying to best Brabham’s timer, but made a slight error in his last flying lap: he went over a curb with his right rear wheel, bouncing the back end right off the pavement. Pagenaud had planned to run a final pair of laps, but realized after his mishap, that he simply didn’t have the speed to beat Brabham on this day.
Patrón Highcroft leads de Ferran in the drivers’s championship by thirteen points, but David Brabham doesn’t feel the lead is secure. “Every time we are out there, our two cars are neck and neck. Both are very good teams with very good drivers. You have to get everything right to have an advantage. Gil and I were absolutely at it tooth and nail at the end at Road America. The pressure is definitely on.
“It is important to keep our focus and momentum going after the Road America victory because it is so close.”
Dysons 1, 2 in P2
The Lola-Mazdas of Dyson Racing took the top two grid positions in LMP2, beating out points leaders Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz in their P2 Acura. Marino Franchitti qualified his Dyson Lola-Mazda in third overall, ahead of the P1 Intersport Lola of Jon and Clint Field, while Chris Dyson qualified fifth overall. Luis Diaz managed sixth overall, third in class.
“This track is my No. 1 in the world,” Marino Franchitti said. “I really enjoy qualifying here. It is very intense but very satisfying if you get it right. The BP Mazda guys are working really hard and it is nice to get this for them. This is nice and we hope to carry this over to the race. A 1-2 finish is something they deserve.”
BMW Owns GT2 Front Row
Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand put their BMW E92 M3s first and second in GT2, ahead of the Corvette Racing cars.
“We have taken the momentum from Elkhart Lake where we really broke through. Once you break through, it gives some momentum and we have brought it here,” Mueller explained. “There is nothing new on the car since the beginning of the year. We understand the car and the tires. Having said that, GT2 is so intense and so close. You need to be within the car and not make mistakes. Everything has to work together.”
The American Le Mans Series Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport starts at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 30, 2009. Please visit the Mosport International Raceway Web site for ticket information.
| American Le Mans Series Mosport Qualifying | |||||||
|
| Place in class | # | Class | Driver | Car | Lap Time | Speed |
| 1 | 1 | 9 | P1 | Brabham*/(Sharp) | Acura ARX 02a | 1:05.323 | 135.517 |
| 2 | 2 | 66 | P1 | (de Ferran)/Pagenaud* | Acura ARX 02a | 1:05.397 | 135.364 |
| 3 | 1 | 20 | P2 | Leitzinger/(Franchitti*) | Lola B09 86 Mazda | 1:06.379 | 133.361 |
| 4 | 3 | 37 | P1 | (J.Field*)/C.Field | Lola B06/10 | 1:06.764 | 132.592 |
| 5 | 2 | 16 | P2 | (Dyson*)/Smith | Lola B09 86 Mazda | 1:06.853 | 132.416 |
| 6 | 3 | 15 | P2 | Fernandez/(Diaz*) | Acura ARX-01B | 1:06.944 | 132.236 |
| 7 | 4 | 12 | P1 | (Burgess*)/McMurry | Lola B06/10 | 1:10.613 | 125.365 |
| 8 | 4 | 19 | P2 | van der Steur/(Pecorari*) | Radical SR9 | 1:11.391 | 123.999 |
| 9 | 1 | 92 | GT2 | Mueller*/(Milner) | BMW E92 M3 | 1:17.528 | 114.183 |
| 10 | 2 | 90 | GT2 | Hand*/(Auberlen) | BMW E92 M3 | 1:17.657 | 113.994 |
| 11 | 3 | 4 | GT2 | Beretta/(Gavin*) | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | 1:17.959 | 113.552 |
| 12 | 4 | 3 | GT2 | Magnussen/(O'Connell*) | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | 1:18.309 | 113.044 |
| 13 | 5 | 45 | GT2 | Bergmeister/(Long*) | Porsche 911 RSR | 1:18.361 | 112.969 |
| 14 | 6 | 21 | GT2 | Farnbacher*/(James) | Panoz Esperante | 1:18.778 | 112.371 |
| 15 | 7 | 40 | GT2 | (Murry*)/D.Robertson/A.Robertson | Doran Ford GT-R | 1:19.208 | 111.761 |
| 16 | 8 | 11 | GT2 | Feinberg/(Hall*) | Dodge Viper | 1:19.746 | 111.007 |
| 17 | 9 | 62 | GT2 | (Melo)/Kaffer | Ferrari 430 Berlinetta GT | -.--- | --- |
| 18 | 10 | 44 | GT2 | (Law)/van Overbeek* | Porsche 911 RSR | 1:19.475 | 111.386 |
| 19 | 11 | 87 | GT2 | Henzler*/(Werner) | Porsche 911 RSR | -.--- | -.--- |
*Qualifying Driver (Starting Driver)
*Car 44 moved to the back of the grid - 9.3.2 of the 2009 ALMS SSR (driver failed to achieve minimum qualifying laptime)
**Car 87 excluded - 3.4.4.a.5 of the 2009 ACO Technical Regulations (rear wing height)
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