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Practice report

Pobst Tops Practice Charts at Cadillac Mid-Ohio Grand Prix; Esayian, Herbert Lead Classes

#6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60: Randy Pobst

#6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60: Randy Pobst

Michael Tan

LEXINGTON, Ohio - In the lone official Pirelli World Challenge Championships practice session of the Cadillac Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Presented by StopTech weekend, Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., topped the time charts with Nick Esayian, of San Diego, Calif., and Tristan Herbert, of Reston, Va., leading their respective classes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

#6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60: Randy Pobst
#6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60: Randy Pobst

Photo by: Michael Tan

Pobst turned in a best lap at 1:23.048 (97.880 mph) in the No. 6 K-PAX Racing Volvo S60 inside the final 10 minutes of the hour-long session to lead the way. His lap was quicker than the existing qualifying record of 1:23.967 (96.809 mph) set by Patrick Long last year.

“The K-PAX Volvo team works so hard; nobody in this paddock would argue with that,” Pobst said. “We had a little trouble yesterday [during the promoter test day] and had to work on the car last night. We got out today and the Volvo ran beautifully the whole session. We worked on the handling. Our Volvo is an interesting car in this series in that it’s all-wheel drive. As a result, we run a lot heavier than the other cars and we run a lot more front weight bias, so it’s a very tricky car to set up, but we have the all-wheel drive. That’s what we worked on was trying to balance the car and we made tremendous progress.”

Preparing for his first World Challenge races this weekend, Jordan Taylor, of Apopka, Fla., was second quickest in the No. 5 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V.R with a lap at 1:23.184 (97.720 mph). Though just 21 years old, Taylor brings a wealth of top-level road racing experience, and is certainly no stranger to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Third quickest was Pobst’s K-PAX Racing teammate, Alex Figge, of Denver, Colo. Figge – who won the first race of the Mid-Ohio World Challenge doubleheader last year – posted a best lap at 1:23.268 (97.622 mph) in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing Volvo S60.

Lawson Aschenbach, of Darnestown, Md., was fourth in the No. 1 TruSpeed/Privacy Star/Entrust Porsche 911 GT3 at 1:23.624 (97.206 mph) and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., completed the top five at 1:23.676 (97.146 mph) in the No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V.R. The top five drivers in practice eclipsed Long’s qualifying record time.

Leading the way in GTS practice was Esayian thanks to a lap at 1:29.966 (90.354 mph) in the No. 34 Acura/HPD/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. As in GT, the fastest GTS times were also quicker than the existing qualifying record of 1:31.826 (88.524 mph) set by Peter Cunningham last year.

Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., was second quickest to his teammate in practice, posting a best lap at 1:29.978 (90.342 mph) in the No. 42 Acura/HPD/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. Third in GTS went to Michael Galati, of Olmstead, Ohio, in the No. 36 Kia Motors America Kia Optima at 1:30.518 (89.803 mph), followed by Jack Baldwin, of Marietta, Ga., at 1:30.560 (89.761 mph) in the No. 68 Team Hot Wheels/Invoice Prep Porsche Cayman.

Andy Lee, of Colorado Springs, Colo., completed the GTS top five at 1:30.632 (89.690 mph) in the No. 20 Best IT Chevrolet Camaro. The top 15 drivers in among the 25 GTS entries turned laps in excess of Cunningham’s existing qualifying record.

Herbert was quickest in Touring Car practice on the strength of a best lap at 1:35.622 (85.009 mph) in the No. 33 HPA/Renn Gruppe Volkswagen Jetta GLI. He is looking for his first victory since taking the Touring Car win in the third race of a tripleheader at Miller Motorsports Park in April.

Second quickest in Touring Car was Todd Lamb, of Atlanta, Ga., at 1:35.700 (84.940 mph) in the No. 71 National Karting News/HPD Honda Civic Si; followed by Travis Wolcott, of Boulder, Colo., in the No. 30 Emich VW/StopTech/3Zero3 Motorsports Volkswagen Jetta GLI at 1:35.722 (84.921 mph). Alex Popow, of Caracas, Venezuela, was fourth at 1:35.784 (84.866 mph) in the No. 94 APR Tuned/Motul/Rays Volkswagen GTI followed by Touring Car points leader Michael Cooper, of Syosset, N.Y., at 1:35.795 (84.856 mph) in the No. 03 Mazdaspeed Motorsports Mazdaspeed 3.

The next on-track activity for the Pirelli World Challenge Championships will be this afternoon’s qualifying session, which gets under way at 4:30 p.m. ET.

LEXINGTON, Ohio - Results from practice for Saturday's Pirelli World Challenge Championship Pirelli World Challenge Round 10 race, part of the Cadillac Mid-Ohio Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with position, class, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.

1. GT, (6), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Volvo S60, 1:23.048, 97.880.
2. GT, (5), Jordan Taylor, Apopka, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V.R, 1:23.184, 97.720.
3. GT, (9), Alex Figge, Denver, Colo., Volvo S60, 1:23.268, 97.622.
4. GT, (1), Lawson Aschenbach, Darnestown, Md., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:23.624, 97.206.
5. GT, (8), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V.R, 1:23.676, 97.146.
6. GT, (3), Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga., Cadillac CTS-V.R, 1:24.223, 96.515.
7. GT, (02), Mike Skeen, Charlotte, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 1:24.339, 96.382.
8. GT, (14), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Audi R8, 1:24.572, 96.117.
9. GT, (85), Steve Ott, Houston, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3, 1:24.733, 95.934.
10. GT, (12), Patrick Lindsey, Santa Barbara, Calif., Nissan GTR, 1:25.767, 94.777.
11. GT, (11), Tony Gaples, Lincolnshire, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:25.796, 94.745.
12. GT, (99), Jeff Courtney, Milwaukee, Wis., Porsche GT3 Cup, 1:26.687, 93.771.
13. GT, (89), Fred Roberts, Toronto, Ontario, Dodge Viper, 1:26.719, 93.737.
14. GT, (47), Brett Sandberg, Allendale, N.J., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:26.739, 93.715.
15. GTS, (34), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., Acura TSX, 1:29.966, 90.354.
16. GTS, (42), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:29.978, 90.342.
17. GTS, (36), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Kia Optima, 1:30.518, 89.803.
18. GTS, (68), Jack Baldwin, Marietta, Ga., Porsche Cayman S, 1:30.560, 89.761.
19. GTS, (20), Andy Lee(R), Colorado Springs, Colo., Chevrolet Camaro, 1:30.632, 89.690.
20. GTS, (57), Al Carter, Greenville, Del., BMW E92, 1:30.708, 89.615.
21. GTS, (16), Alec Udell, The Woodlands, Texas, Ford Mustang Boss 302R, 1:30.760, 89.563.
22. GTS, (60), Kevin Gleason, Johnstown, Pa., Porsche Cayman S, 1:30.792, 89.532.
23. GTS, (59), Charlie Putman, Mills, Wyo., BMW E92, 1:30.990, 89.337.
24. GTS, (58), Mark Boden, Winnetka, Ill., BMW E92, 1:31.107, 89.222.
25. GTS, (37), Karl Poeltl, Knoxville, Tenn., Porsche 996, 1:31.289, 89.044.
26. GTS, (38), Mark Wilkins, Aurora, Ontario, Kia Optima, 1:31.517, 88.822.
27. GTS, (55), Richard Golinello, Tampa, Fla., Ford Mustang FR500S, 1:31.613, 88.729.
28. GTS, (26), Aaron Povoledo, Toronto, Ontario, Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 1:31.653, 88.691.
29. GTS, (96), Brad Adams, New Orleans, La., Ford Mustang FR500 C, 1:31.696, 88.649.
30. GTS, (19), Jason von Kluge, Ann Arbor, Mich., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 1:32.046, 88.312.
31. GTS, (48), Dane Moxlow, Grosse Ile, Mich., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 1:32.728, 87.662.
32. GTS, (50), Justin Bell, Los Angeles, Calif., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 1:32.746, 87.645.
33. GTS, (39), Todd Napieralski(R), Chelsea, Mich., Chevrolet SS Camaro, 1:32.789, 87.605.
34. GTS, (29), Harry Curtin(R), Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet Camaro, 1:33.102, 87.310.
35. GTS, (07), Brian Kleeman(R), Towson, Md., Nissan 370 Z, 1:33.343, 87.085.
36. GTS, (62), Mark Klenin(R), Lonetree, Colo., BMW E92 M3, 1:33.495, 86.943.
37. GTS, (23), Roger Miller(R), Salt Lake City, Utah, Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 1:33.523, 86.917.
38. GTS, (95), Bill Ziegler, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Pontiac Solstice, 1:34.447, 86.067.
39. GTS, (51), Ric Bushey(R), Virginia Beach, Va., Nissan 370 Z, 1:35.016, 85.552.
40. GTS, (01), Don Istook, River Oaks, Texas, Audi TT RS, 1:35.341, 85.260.
41. TC, (33), Tristan Herbert, Reston, Va., Volkswagen GLI, 1:35.622, 85.009.
42. TC, (71), Todd Lamb(R), Atlanta, Ga., Honda Civic Si, 1:35.700, 84.940.
43. TC, (30), Travis Wolcott(R), Boulder, Colo., Volkswagen GLI, 1:35.722, 84.921.
44. TC, (94), Alex Popow, Caracas, Venezuela, Volkswagen GTI, 1:35.784, 84.866.
45. TC, (03), Michael Cooper(R), Syosset, N.Y., Mazda 3, 1:35.795, 84.856.
46. TC, (70), Ray Mason III, Columbus, Ohio, Honda Civic Si, 1:36.485, 84.249.
47. TC, (67), Shea Holbrook, Orlando, Fla., Honda Civic Si, 1:36.732, 84.034.
48. TC, (87), Fred Emich(R), Denver, Colo., Volkswagen GLI, 1:36.799, 83.976.
49. TC, (49), Ian Baas, Noblesville, Ind., Volkswagen GTI, 1:36.912, 83.878.
50. TC, (41), Peter Schwartzott, Freeville, N.Y., Honda Civic SI, 1:37.695, 83.205.
51. TC, (64), Bob Roth(R), La Crosse, Wis., Honda Civic, 1:37.892, 83.038.
52. TC, (35), Tom Martin(R), McLean, Va., Volkswagen GTI, 1:38.497, 82.528.
53. TC, (80), Patrick Seguin, Clarence Creek, Ontario, Volkswagen GTI, 1:45.636, 76.951.
54. TC, (72), Ryan Winchester(R), Mason City, Iowa, Honda Civic Si, 1:46.836, 76.086.
55. TC, (69), David Tuaty, Miami, Fla., Honda Civic Si, no time.
56. TC, (97), Carl Rydquist(R), Redondo Beach, Calif., Mazda RX-8, no time.

Source: Pirelli World Challenge

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