Mosport Press Notes 27-42, Friday 97-08-29

Press Notes 27-42, Friday

29 August, 1997

27. GREEN FLAG drops at 8:45 am to start practice session for the Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive-session black flagged when #99(GTS-2) Schumacher/O'Steen Porsche 911 Turbo goes off course at Turn #7, after losing rear wing, resulting in heavy damage-#73(GTS-3) Porsche 911 of Lewis/Burgess reported to be smoking in right rear-15 minutes left in session when GREEN FLAG is dropped after track repairs-Schumacher/O'Steen are tied for GTS-2 points lead going into Mosport Festival event-Schumacher is looking for a ride in another car; hehad been quickest all weekend.

28. 33. #01(GTS-1) Porsche 911 Turbo of Jochen Rohr/Andy Pilgrim turns in fastest lap time in practice 1:18.921-112.16 mph, followed by #91(GTS-1) Chevrolet Camaro of Schramm/Hayner, then #27(GTS-1) Multimatic Engineering Ford Mustang Cobra of Scott Maxwell of Uxbridge and Jason Priestley. FASTEST TIMES OF SESSION: GTS-1 Rohr/Pilgrim, Porsche 911 Turbo 1:18.921-112.16 mph GTS-2 Konrad/Ham, Poirsche 911 Turbo 1:23.317-106.24 mph GTS-3 Auberlen/Said, BMW M3 1:24.681-104.53 mph

29. 9:35 am, GREEN FLAG drops for the Exxon World SportsCar Championship -#20 Ford R&S Mk III of Elliott Forbes-Robinson/Andy Wallace comes into the pits-#1 Oldsmobile R&S Mk III of Wayne Taylor/Eric Van de Poele comes into the pits for tire check, back out on course-oil spill between Turn 5c and Turn 6, session Black Flagged with nine minutes remaining-James Weaver in the #16 Ford R&S Mk III sets fastest time of sessionwith a lap of 1:12.220-122.575 mph.

30. Dorsey Schroeder has replaced Jochen Rohr in the Rohr Motorsports #01(GTS-1) Porsche 911 GT1 in the Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive.

JOCHEN ROHR: "The change was better for the team as a whole. At the start of the season, my goal was to run Andy Pilgrim for the GTS-1 championship and then I would retire at the end of the season and concentrate on being a team manager. But I just wasn't comfortable with the incredible aerodynamic grip of the new car, so I felt it best to turn the car over to Dorsey -- and my championship hopes over to two drivers who are fast and can make Porsche, Rohr Motorsport and Andy Pilgrim the season champions.

DORSEY SCHROEDER: "Andy Pilgrim and I are old friends and I'd been hanging around the test sessions on Thursday anyway. Last night, I was up at my trailer cooking chili for supper when Andy came and got me. I have to thank Jochen. This was a huge step for him to make and it shows what a gentleman he is not to let his ego get in the way. The car has a lot of similarities to the old Jack Rousch turbo Cougars and Merkurs I used to drive -- huge carbon brakes and even more power than they had."

ANDY PILGRIM: "I was very surprised when Jochen told me he was going to step down and gave me my choice of co-drivers. Dorsey was my first choice -- we've been teammates in the old SPEEDVISION Cup days. My second choice would have been Tom Kendall if he had been available and if Dorsey didn't want to do it."

31. 11:50 am GREEN FLAG drops to start 25-minute qualifying session for Black Magic Pro Series-Mike Davies in the #83 car takes the pole with a best lap of 1:29.940-98.425 mph, bettering the existing track record. MIKE DAVIES QUOTES: "This is my fifth pole of the year but I've only won one race. I've been trying to win from the pole all year but I've had some bad luck. I've had a couple of poor races and it was my own fault that I was black flagged out of the lead at Watkins Glen when my rain light wasn't working and I didn't know it. I really like Mosport. It's a very fast track and can be intimidating and a bit dangerous. The change on the back straight doesn't make any difference to our cars because we only reach top speed of 130 mph anyway. But I'm really impressed by the safety improvements they've made here."

32. 1:00 pm GREEN FLAG drops to start the 20-minute qualifying session for the SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars-first session is for Sports, Touring and Compact classes-Session Black Flagged early when #38(T) Honda Prelude Si goes off at Turn #1, taking out a substantial section of the guardrail; driver not injured- SPORTS FASTEST QUALIFIER: #9 BMW 328is, 1:37.355-90.929 mph TOURING FASTEST QUALIFIER: #43 Mazda RX-6 , 1:40.649-87.953 mph COMPACT FASTEST QUALIFIER: #94 Honda Accord Honda Accord EX, 1:43.767-85.310 mph

33. Larry Schumacher has bought his former GTS-3-class Porsche 911 back from Jim Matthews, to whom he had previously sold the car. Schumacher and John O'Steen will renumber the car to #99 from #36 and will enter it as a GTS-2 car so they can remain in the hunt for the GTS-2 points title.

34. 2:05 pm: GREEN FLAG drops to start the 20-minute qualifying session for the SPEEDVISION Cup Grand Sports cars -Black Flag for the #70 Mazda RX-7 Turbo that is dropping fuel on track - The fastest car is #4 Pontiac Firebird with lap time of 1:34.542-93.635 mph, followed by the #98 Ford Mustang Cobra of Jason Priestley and Andy Pilgrim-Halfway through the session #3 Pontiac Firebird has jumped to the top of the time sheets with a time of 1:33.570-94.607 mph, followed by #88 Toyota Supra Turbo with time of 1:33.942-94.233 mph-#98 Ford Mustang Cobra drops to fifth place-less than three seconds separating top 16 cars-

GRAND SPORTS TOP QUALIFIER: Murry, Pontiac Firebird 1:33.570-94.607 mph SPORTS TOP QUALIFIER: Hill, BMW 328is, 1:37.355-90.929 mph TOURING TOP QUALIFIER: Norris, Nissan 240SX SE, 1:40.607-87.989 mph COMPACT TOP QUALIFIER: Schwartzott, Honda Civic Del Sol, 1:44.506- 84.707 mph

DAVID MURRY QUOTES: "Qualifying is such a factor of track position and new tires, but it doesn't mean anything for the race because there's still 12 of us who can win. But I'm still proud to have won the first pole for the Cochran Motorsports Pontiac team."

PETER SCHWARTZOTT QUOTES: "My first race at Mosport was in 1962 and I was so slow that I had to toot my horn at the corner workers sweeping the track. They thought the race was over and were cleaning up."

JOHN NORRIS QUOTES:"This is the third pole in a row for the GTI Racing team, but we'll have to drive smart tomorrow and see if we can win our second race in a row."

35. 2:35 pm, GREEN FLAG starts Exxon World SportsCar Championship qualifying -Ron Fellows of Oakville, Ont., making his debut in the Axciom Ferrari 333SP breaks track record, set by Max Papis last year, with a lap time of 1:11.533, an averaqge speed of 123.7 mph-Andrea Montermini of Italy, in the MOMO Ferrari 333SP, is beside Fellows on the front row, with a time of 1:11.555-123.71 mph.

36. FELLOWS QUOTES: "I'm very proud of this lap," a jubilant Fellows said afterward. "It was the first chance I'd had to get on the track on new tires. I think there's still a bit left in the car and I know there's more left in the driver. I know from my experience here at Mosport that you have to be on the edge of being loose to make the car go fast so we added some front wing this morning.

"Everything has to be just right to get a lap like this. At one point, I was flat out in fifth gear at about 180 miles an hour and it was a bit scary. I'm so thankful that Andy Evans (chairman of International Motor Sport Group) gave me the chance to drive a Ferrari. It's been a life-long dream of mine to show the colors of the Prancing Horse (the Ferrari logo)."

37. 3:35 pm: GREEN FLAG drops to start 20-minute qualifying session for Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive GTS-3 cars-Bill Auberlen drives the #10 BMW M3 to fastest lap with a time of 1:23.535-105.97 mph, breaking the existing track record.CHECKERED FLAG drops.

38. 4 pm: GREEN FLAG drops to start 20-minute qualifying session for GTS-1 and GTS-2 cars- Dorsey Schroeder, driving the #01 Porsche 911 Turbo, is the fastest qualifier. It's the first time he has driven the car after replacing Jochen Rohr, who retired and named him co-driver with Andy Pilgrim-Schroeder breaks track record with qualifying time of 1:17.361-114.42 mph. CHECKERED FLAG drops to end session soon after Schroeder's best lap.

39. 5:38 pm: GREEN FLAG drops to start 30-minute Black Magic Pro Series race-#83 Mike Davies holds lead into Turn 1 and in early laps-Donna Lisciandro in #04, off course on the outside of Turn 1, no major damage, driver out and OK-Luis Navarro in #03 off course at driver's left just before Turn 5, hits the tire wall hard on lap 9, driver out and OK-safety car sent out while officials move car to the outside of Turn 5B-#08 of Keith Youngquist retires with broken alternator bracket-six minutes left when green flag drops to restart the race-Tony Baldassarre in #34 off course into Styrofoam barrier wall in Turn 2, goes through to tire wall-driver out, standing, appears fine-medical crew puts collar on driver's neck as precaution-race finishes under yellow flag-#83 Mike Davies wins from the pole, the first time he has done so this season although he has been on the pole five times-#42 Mike Anderson finishes second, retaining points lead in series-#10 David Tenney finishes third.

40. MIKE DAVIES QUOTES: "I'm sorry the race had to finish under the yellow. I sure hope the driver is OK. Mike (Anderson) was pushing me pretty hard. His car was spot on and I had a little bump in qualifying but it was a good race and I was able to hold him off.

MIKE ANDERSON QUOTES: "I'm sure I would have had something for Mike (Davies). I was able to get alongside him in Turn 3, and if I could have got a good exit out of five I might have had a chance."

DAVID TENNEY QUOTES: "For any of us to make a pass, somebody was going to have to make a mistake but the yellow came out first."

41. ENTRY LIST CHANGES

Exxon World SportsCar Championship CAR CHANGE 17 ADD Martin Guimont/Quebec, Canada 63 ADD Barry Waddell/Evansville, IN

Exxon Supreme GT Series presented by Virgin Interactive CAR CHANGE 36(GTS-3) CHANGE number to #99 and class to GTS-2, ADD Larry Schumacher/Cincinnati, OH & John O'Steen/Cincinnati, OH DELETE Jim Matthews and David Murry 76(GTS-3) ADD Gary Blackman/Sebring, FL and DELETE Terry Lingner 01(GTS-1) ADD Dorsey Schroeder/Osage Beach, MO

SPEEDVISION CUP CAR CHANGE 22(C) SCRATCH entry 23(C) ADD David Delgenio/Acworth, NH and Manny Matz, N.Y. 36(T) ADD Terry Earwood/Sebring, FL and DELETE John Green 37(GS) ADD Stu Hayner/Yorba Linda, CA and John Heinricy/Holly, MI 45(C) ADD David Del Genio/Acworth, NH; John Bourassa/Hobie Sound, FL and Ken Payson, Worcester, MA; DELETE Willie Casson 46(GS) ADD Craig Conway/Daytona Beach, FL and Bo Lemler/Bonita, CA 48(C) CHANGE car number to #49, ADD Kris Skavnes/Rockaway, N.J. and DELETE Lance Stewart 57(T) ADD John Bourassa/Hobe Sound, FL & William Casson/Ridge, N.H. 78(C) DELETE Buddy Norton 82(T) and 86(S) ADD Michael Galati/Olmstead, OH and DELETE Peter Cunningham 94(T) Gary Blackman/Sebring, FL 06(T) ADD John Weisberg/Fairfield, CT

42. This concludes the Press Notes for Friday. Good night!