Mosport: Team Cadillac race report

Team Cadillac Finishes Second and Fourth in Mosport SPEED GT

Aschenbach and Pilgrim Gain Ground in Championship Chase

Lawson Aschenbach notched his fourth runner-up finish of the season for Team Cadillac in today's SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT race at Mosport International Raceway. Andy Pilgrim finished fourth in his Cadillac CTS- V in the 30-lap race, while Ron Fellows was sidelined by contact with points leader Randy Pobst at the start of the race. Eric Curran scored his fourth win of the season in a Corvette with a 6.164-second margin of victory over Aschenbach.

Pilgrim's steady progress in the championship race cut Pobst's lead to four points with two races remaining, and Aschenbach is two points behind Pilgrim. Cadillac is now three points ahead of Chevrolet and seven points up on Porsche in the manufacturers championship standings.

"I'll be a little heavy with REWARDS weight at the next race in Atlanta, but I'll definitely be going for a win," Aschenbach promised after the race. "I'm sick of second place."

As the race began on a damp track under threatening skies, the frontrunners opted for wet-weather tires. The rain never came, and the racing line dried quickly. The start was chaotic as both Aschenbach, the pole winner, and Randy Pobst, the No. 2 qualifier, stalled as the starting lights went out. Fellows tried to avoid the motionless Porsche in front of him, but contact between the two damaged both cars.

"It was my fault, I hit the No. 22 car," Fellows said. "It never occurred to me that the car in front wouldn't move at the start; he wasn't waving his hand or doing anything to signal a problem. I tried to go around him but didn't want to get off in the grass, and I clipped his left rear with my right front."

The accident damaged the suspension of Fellows' Cadillac, and he went to the pits after four fruitless laps. The Team Cadillac crew made repairs and Fellows rejoined the race after 20 minutes had elapsed. He soldiered to a 21st place finish, while Pobst finished 17th.

Meanwhile the racing at the front of pack was fast and furious. Aschenbach recovered to take second behind Michael Galati's Porsche, and Pilgrim was fourth. Eric Curran's Corvette was on a charge; he passed Aschenbach for second on the seventh lap, and then Galati for the lead on the eighth circuit. Aschenbach and Galati then battled for P2, with the Cadillac finally passing the Porsche on Lap 19.

"We came up behind lapped traffic, Michael checked up a bit and I dove under him in Turn 5B," Aschenbach recalled. "I'd been planning that pass for a couple of laps, just waiting for the right moment."

Pilgrim was under intense pressure from Brian Kupinski throughout the race, and held off the Corvette driver at the finish.

"Kupinski was a little faster than me in several places, but I was better than him in the last two turns," Pilgrim explained. "He couldn't get alongside of me on the straight, so he couldn't get by me going into the corners. But I couldn't make a single mistake, or that was it."

The Mosport SPEED GT race will be televised tape-delayed on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 2 p.m. EDT on the SPEED Channel. The next event for Team Cadillac is at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., on Friday, Oct. 5, at 4:45 p.m. ET.

NEXT EVENT Oct. 5, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga. TV: SPEED, Oct. 13, 3 p.m. ET

-credit: tc/gmracing