MX-5 Cup: Road Atlanta practice two notes

Buras Tops MX-5 Cup Practice at Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, Ga. (April 26, 2007) -- Todd Buras, of Melbourne, Fla., took advantage of the only dry session of the day at Road Atlanta to top the practice sheets for Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup, part of the 30th Anniversary Walter Mitty Challenge. Mark Pombo, of Duluth, Ga., and Jason Saini, of Fort Worth, Texas, were second and third quick for the day.

With the first two sessions plagued with rain, the final 25-minute practice of the day was the only dry track time the MX-5 cars received at Road Atlanta. Although he was absent at the season opener in Houston, Buras didn't miss a beat in his return to MX-5 Cup at what he considers to be his home track. Driving the No. 56 BSI/TeamGarcia/MOMO/Joe Gibbs Mazda MX-5, Buras laid down lap of 1:42.325 (89.362 mph) early around the 2.54-mile track, and left the rest of the field to play catch-up for the remainder of the session.

"This is a fantastic series," Buras said. "We're having a lot of fun here. BSI put together a great car. We got out early and got some good laps put down with the new tire. We've never been on it, so we guessed at the shock adjustment and tire pressures. Obviously we hit pretty close to home on the new pavement at Road Atlanta.

"There's a ton of grip, so [this weekend] is gonna be a fight the whole time. The new pavement is so bouncy that you're catching the car every time you go through a corner. I think it's going to be about car control, because the track has changed so much, so it's really a driver's track.

"We left a lot out on the table today. We were having some brake issues and some little things here and there, but we're gonna work on set-up tonight, change some things around, and hopefully we can run even better tomorrow."

Driving the No. 19 FreshFromFlorida/Traqmate/Hooverspeed Mazda MX-5, Pombo put in a fast time of 1:42.414 (89.284 mph) on his final hot lap. It was just enough to edge Houston-winner Saini, who ended the day third-fastest with a 1:42.480 (89.227 mph) behind the wheel of his No. 28 Autobarn Mazda/SafeRacer.com Mazda MX-5.

Local driver Eric Foss clocked a time of 1:42.616 (89.109 mph) in the No. 25 Team MER Mazda MX-5, which was good enough for fourth. Foss was followed on the time sheets by the No. 11 Alara Racing Mazda MX-5 of Ara Malkhassian, from Sonoma, Calif., who turned a 1:42.717 (89.021 mph).

Andrew Caddell and Matt Cross, who were both quick in the damp morning session, finished the day sixth and seventh quick respectively. Jesse Combs, Andrew Carbonell and John C. Kuitwaard completed the top ten.

Qualifying for Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup is scheduled to go green tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. (EDT).

Visit www.mx-5cup.com for all the event news, as well as live timing and lap notes.

-credit: scca pro racing