Mid-Ohio: GT practice one notes

Peterson Tops SPEED GT Morning Practice at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 20, 2007) -- With a time better than the existing SCCA SPEED GT lap record, Doug Peterson, of Bonita Springs, Fla., topped morning practice for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge at Mid-Ohio Presented by Trenton Forging race. Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., and Lou Gigliotti, of Dallas, Texas, were second and third fastest, respectively.

A former SCCA National Champion at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Peterson is no stranger to the ebbs and flows of the 2.258-mile road course. The No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Chevrolet Corvette driver's experience shown through in morning practice as he clocked a time of 1:26.759 (93.694 mph), 0.061-second faster than the current SCCA SPEED GT qualifying record at Mid-Ohio.

"It's my home track," Peterson said. "I used to live in Michigan and we would come down and race here all the time. It's a pretty technical track, you really have to let off the brake and let the car flow. It's got slow speeds, uphills, downhills, off camber turns, it's got everything."

As the session concluded, Peterson couldn't believe what he was hearing on his radio.

"I came in and I asked where I was and they said 'P1' and I said 'yeah right, where am I?' I was hoping to be fifth of sixth and when they said P1, I was surprised."

Current SCCA SPEED GT Drivers' Championship leader Pobst made one last push at the end of the session to sneak into the second spot on the time sheets. Driving the No. 22 K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughy Porsche 911 GT3, Pobst put in a time of 1:27.237 (93.180 mph).

Teammate to Peterson as well as last year's polesitter and winner in SPEED GT at Mid-Ohio, Gigliotti stopped the clocks at 1:27.358 (93.051 mph) in his No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette.

Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., put his No. 8 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V fourth on the time sheets with a 1:27.400 (93.006 mph). Brian Kubinski, of Plainfield, Ill., finished the session fifth fastest with a time of 1:27.478 (92.924 mph) in his No. 12 Diamond Construction/Blackdog Racing Chevrolet Corvette.

Michael McCann (Dodge Viper), Michael Galati (Porsche 911 GT3), Lawson Aschenbach (Cadillac CTS-V), Stu Hayner (Pontiac GTO) and James Sofronas (Porsche 911 GT3) completed the top ten.

The second practice session of the day is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. (EDT). Qualifying for Round Seven of the SCCA SPEED GT Championship will take place on Saturday at 7:50 a.m. For the latest news as well as live timing and lap notes visit www.world-challenge.com.

-credit: scca