CONOR DALY TOPS THE TIME SHEETS IN STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY PRACTICE FOR THIS WEEKEND'S HARRAH'S AUTOBAHN GRAND PRIX PRESENTED BY MAZDA

Story posted - Jul 31 2010 12:35 AM

CONOR DALY TOPS THE TIME SHEETS IN STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY PRACTICE FOR THIS WEEKEND'S HARRAH'S AUTOBAHN GRAND PRIX PRESENTED BY MAZDA

Twenty-four drivers from ten countries continue their battle for the inaugural VISITFLORIDA Cup at this weekend's double-header, broadcast live on HDnet

Autobahn Country Club / Joliet, IL (July 30, 2010 ) – Conor Daly, the current Star Mazda Championship points leader and winner of four races and five poles so far this season, turned the quickest lap in both of today's 45-minute practice sessions leading up to this weekend's Rounds 8 & 9 of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at the HARRAH'S Autobahn Grand Prix presented by MAZDA. Set on lap 17, the final lap of the morning session, Daly turned a 2:11.090 (97.765 mph) around the 3.6-mile track at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL in his #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda.

Fans can watch the weekend race action live on HDnet as drivers battle for the inaugural VISITFLORIDA Cup a 7-race championship-within-a-championship sponsored by Florida's official tourism corporation. The broadcasts, airing both Saturday, July 31 and Sunday August 1 from 1-4 pm Eastern (12 -3 pm Central), begin with a half-hour "Mazda Prerace Show presented by Visit Florida.com" from 12:30 – 1:00 pm Eastern, followed by three hours of live racing (1-4 pm Eastern), including the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda and the Playboy MX-5 Cup. The two 45-minute Star Mazda Championship races are both scheduled to start at 3:00 pm Eastern.
"We ran our program on old tires yesterday and were still able to set the second-quick time, so we were quite confident going into this morning's run where we would be on new tires for the first time," said Indianapolis native Daly. "But it was almost a catastrophe; I was in traffic for most of the session and was lucky to be the last car to take the checkered when I was able to get a reasonably clean lap. This is one of those tracks where the lap times change dramatically between cool and hot, morning and afternoon, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's morning and late-afternoon qualifying. I think we're in a good position to add to our win total this weekend."

Quebec racer Mikael Grenier, who turned the quickest time of 2:11.902 (87.163 mph) during yesterday's two 45-minuter 'promoter test sessions,' was second-quick today with a lap of 2:12.072 (97.038 mph) in his #17 Andersen
Racing / Slow Cow / April Super Flow / NAPA Auto Parts / HS Telecom / Desharnais Mazda. Rounding out the top-3 with a time that proved her position on yesterday's time sheet was no fluke was the Series' lone female racer, Tatiana Calderon of Bogota, Colombia. She turned a lap of 2:12.193 (96.949 mph) in the #25 Juncos Racing / JAC Motors Mazda.

"The Juncos Racing team has been very patient in bringing me along and letting me develop at my own pace," said the South American karting champion. "The two oval track races we ran earlier were a turning point for me because I went back and did a major workout program to bring my fitness up and the results are showing now. I can focus on my driving instead of how I feel. I'm strong, with a good team and I think this is my weekend to have a good result."

Setting the 4th-fast time was Californian Connor De Phillippi, the 2009 Skip Barber Pro Series champion and racing in the Star Mazda Championship this season via the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder scholarship. He turned a lap of 2:12.648 (96.617 mph) in his #11 JDC Motorsports / MAZDASPEED Motorsports / Skip Barber Mazda. The 5th-fast driver was
notable for the fact that, while he raced in the Star Mazda Championship in 2009 with his current team, it has been a year since he drove a Star Mazda, finishing 9th at Trois-Rivieres. Miami racer Sean Burstyn turned a lap of 2:12.701 (96.578 mph) in his #61 Juncos Racing / The Collection Mazda.

All of the quick times were set in the morning session as it began raining about ten minutes into the afternoon practice and continued throughout, finally clearing up in time for the checkered flag. All told, Juncos Racing had four cars in the top-8 (Daly, Calderon, Burstyn and Texan Rusty Mitchell in the #66 Juncos Racing / Motorola / Petro Communications / HRP Racing Products / Texas Autosports Mazda. Andersen Racing has two drivers in the top-8; Grenier and French racer Tristan Vautier (winner at Sebring and Race 2 / Round 7 at New Jersey Motorsports Park), 6th-fast with a lap of 2:12.764 (96.532 mph) in the #38 Andersen Racing / Moulin TP / Cecibon / Circuit du Laquais Mazda. JDC Motorsports, winner of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship (winner of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship with Englishman Adam Christodoulou) were in with De Phillippi.

The Star Mazda Championship also features a race-within-a-race for Expert (ages 30 -44) and Master (45 and older) Series drivers; company presidents and entrepreneurs in high-speed, wheel-to-wheel battles with top young drivers from around the world. As was the case yesterday, it was local racer Jeff Garibotti, a 50-year old racing enthusiast and soybean meal trader at the Chicago Board of Trade who turned the quick time of 2:17.056 (93.509 mph), 17th-fast overall in the 24-car field) in his #75 JDC Motorsports Mazda.

Garibotti, a member of the Autobahn Country Club since its opening in 2004, is making his professional racing debut this weekend. The quickest Expert Series racer, Texan J.W. Roberts, only managed four laps in the morning and one in the afternoon, winding up with a 2:23.739 (89.162 mph) in his #65 Team GDT / General Data Tech Mazda.

Qualifying for Race 1 / Round 8 takes place Saturday, July 25 from 8:00 to 8:45 am, with the race scheduled to start at 1:05 pm. Following that will be qualifying for Race 2 / Round 9, from 6:35 pm to 7:20 pm. Its worth noting that this was the session in 2009 during which Peter Dempsey set his track record. The second of the weekend's two races begins at 1:00 pm, Sunday, July 26.

2010 Star Mazda Championship Autobahn Raceway / Friday Session 1

Pos No. Name Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Diff Gap Sponsor
1 22 Conor Daly 2:11.090 97.765 17 INDECK, The College Network, Merchant Services Ltd.
2 17 Mikael Grenier 2:12.072 97.038 4 0.982 0.982 Slow Cow, April Super Flow, NAPA Auto Parts, HS Telecom, Desharnais
3 25 Tatiana Calderon 2:12.193 96.949 15 1.103 0.121 JAC Motors
4 11 Connor De Phillippi 2:12.648 96.617 14 1.558 0.455 Mazdaspeed Motorsports, Skip Barber
5 61 Sean Burstyn 2:12.701 96.578 15 1.611 0.053
6 38 Tristan Vautier 2:12.764 96.532 12 1.674 0.063 Moulin TP, Cecibon, Circuit du Laquais, Fontanel
7 66 Rusty Mitchell 2:13.292 96.150 16 2.202 0.528 Motorola, Petro Comm.
8 47 Anders Krohn 2:13.369 96.094 16 2.279 0.077 Norse Cutting and Abandonment, Trallfa Industries, Colosseum
9 19 Caio Lara 2:13.863 95.740 5 2.773 0.494 MLD/ATW/Molecule
10 16 David Ostella 2:14.074 95.589 15 2.984 0.211 GP Global Precast
11 20 Carlos Linares 2:14.356 95.388 7 3.266 0.282 Instituto Nacional De Deportes
12 9 Jorge Goncalvez 2:14.450 95.322 4 3.360 0.094 Wabash Capital Investments
13 81 Nick Andries 2:14.959 94.962 14 3.869 0.509 Indy 500/ American Icon Team Pelfrey
14 21 Kevin Toledo 2:15.051 94.897 7 3.961 0.092
15 18 Joao Horto 2:15.131 94.841 12 4.041 0.080 Wabash Capital Investments
16 85 Chris Miller 2:16.262 94.054 12 5.172 1.131 Miller Milling, Red Line Oil
17 75 Jeff Garibotti 2:17.056 93.509 10 5.966 0.794
18 31 Carlos Conde 2:17.143 93.450 17 6.053 0.087 Pronto-GMT, Olympus Securities
19 55 Gerry Kraut 2:17.146 93.448 15 6.056 0.003 Dougherty and Co./Dougherty Funding LLC.
20 91 Ashley Freiberg 2:18.101 92.802 12 7.011 0.955
21 37 Dom Bastien 2:18.314 92.659 17 7.224 0.213 Andersen Race Park
22 28 Bob Kaminsky 2:19.096 92.138 8 8.006 0.782 Air Tigers Inc.
23 23 Walt Bowlin 2:20.628 91.134 11 9.538 1.532 Tampa Bay Jaw Surgery
24 65 J.W. Roberts 2:23.739 89.162 4 12.649 3.111 General Data Tech

2010 Star Mazda Championship Autobahn Raceway / Friday Session 2

Pos No. Name Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Diff Sponsor
1 22 Conor Daly 2:13.431 96.050 3 INDECK, The College Network, Merchant Services Ltd.
2 38 Tristan Vautier 2:13.961 95.670 3 0.530 Moulin TP, Cecibon, Circuit du Laquais, Fontanel
3 17 Mikael Grenier 2:14.351 95.392 3 0.920 Slow Cow, April Super Flow, NAPA Auto Parts, HS Telecom, Desharnais
4 19 Caio Lara 2:15.687 94.453 2 2.256 MLD/ATW/Molecule
5 47 Anders Krohn 2:15.935 94.280 3 2.504 Norse Cutting and Abandonment, Trallfa Industries, Colosseum
6 61 Sean Burstyn 2:16.240 94.069 3 2.809 The Collection / ChabadGW
7 66 Rusty Mitchell 2:16.253 94.060 3 2.822 Motorola, Petro Comm.
8 9 Jorge Goncalvez 2:16.281 94.041 3 2.850 Wabash Capital Investments
9 81 Nick Andries 2:16.293 94.033 3 2.862 Indy 500/ American Icon Team Pelfrey
10 18 Joao Horto 2:16.415 93.949 3 2.984 Wabash Capital Investments, BomBril - Programa LeiLoes
11 11 Connor De Phillippi 2:16.418 93.947 3 2.987 Mazdaspeed Motorsports, Skip Barber
12 25 Tatiana Calderon 2:16.575 93.839 2 3.144 JAC Motors
13 85 hris Miller 2:17.970 92.890 2 4.539 Miller Milling, Red Line Oil
14 16 David Ostella 2:17.999 92.870 2 4.568 GP Global Precast
15 91 Ashley Freiberg 2:18.384 92.612 2 4.953 CDE, AKZO Nobel, Charley Horse, C + D Supply
16 21 Kevin Toledo 2:19.214 92.060 3 5.783 THL / Autodromo Codegua / Info-Centro
17 20 Carlos Linares 2:19.498 91.872 3 6.067 Instituto Nacional De Deportes
18 31 Carlos Conde 2:19.570 91.825 3 6.139 Pronto-GMT, Olympus Securities
19 75 Jeff Garibotti 2:21.113 90.821 2 7.682
20 28 Bob Kaminsky 2:22.139 90.165 2 8.708 Air Tigers Inc. / Slick Locks.com
21 55 Gerry Kraut 2:22.416 89.990 2 8.985 Dougherty and Co./Dougherty Funding LLC.
22 37 Dom Bastien 2:23.373 89.389 3 9.942 Andersen Race Park
23 23 Walt Bowlin 2:36.916 81.674 2 23.485 Tampa Bay Jaw Surgery
24 65 J.W. Roberts 4:51.599 43.951 1 2:38.168

Harrah's Autobahn Grand Prix presented by Mazda Friday Practice #2 << Home Page >> Qualifying Report - Round 7