Mid-Ohio: Team Cadillac qualifying report

Team Cadillac Qualifies Seventh and Eighth for Mid-Ohio SPEED GT
Aschenbach and Pilgrim Beat Track Record on Classic Road Course

LEXINGTON, Ohio, July 21, 2007 - Team Cadillac drivers Lawson Aschenbach and Andy Pilgrim qualified seventh and eighth respectively for Sunday's seventh round of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Both drivers' qualifying times were quicker than the existing track record, but the 2.25-mile, 13-turn track ultimately favored Team Cadillac's rivals.

Eric Curran won the pole in a Corvette with a record-setting lap of 1:25.624 (94.936 mph), followed by Tommy Archer in a Dodge Viper, Randy Pobst and Michael Galati in Porsche 911 GT-3s, and Doug Peterson and Lou Gigliotti in Corvettes. Aschenbach turned his fastest lap at 1:26.408 (94.074 mph) to take the seventh spot on the starting grid, and Pilgrim ran 1:26.489 (93.986 mph) for eighth. Both Cadillac drivers were under the 1:26.820 track record set by Wolf Henzler in 2005.

The Team Cadillac crew made multiple adjustments to the race cars in pursuit of quicker lap times. Aschenbach returned to the pits after his first quick lap for a tire pressure change, but was stymied by traffic in the remainder of qualifying.

"The track was a little dirty in the beginning, but as it cleaned up my car was better in the second run," Aschenbach reported. "Unfortunately when I went out for a second run, I was in traffic every lap. It's tough on a track as tight as this one when a guy's going slow on the racing line, but what can you do?

"I don't think we had a shot at the pole today, but I think we had a little better qualifying time in it," he continued. "This track seems to favor the Porsches and Corvettes, but we've definitely got a good car for the race."

Pilgrim's crew made three adjustments to his car's chassis setup during the timed 20-minute session.

"I'm happy with the car and happy with the way I drove," said Pilgrim. "We tried our best and got some good laps, but unfortunately it wasn't quite good enough. I duplicated the times I ran in the final practice session yesterday when the track conditions were a little better, so I'm happy with that - but I'm a little disappointed with our qualifying position."

The seventh round of the SPEED GT is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 22. The race will be televised tape-delayed on Saturday, July 28, at 4 p.m. EDT on the SPEED Channel.

-credit: tc/gm racing