Washington DC: GT practice notes

Randy Pobst tops hot day of practice in Speed GT at Washington.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 19, 2002) -- Randy Pobst, of Melbourne, Fla., topped a hot day of practice for this weekend's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT event at the RFK Memorial Circuit, part of the Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

Driving the No. 22 1st Interstate Inn/3R Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Pobst turned a fast lap of 1:19.775 (74.955 mph) on his last lap of the second practice session around the 1.661-mile circuit. Pobst edged teammate Phil McClure for the top spot.

"The course is very challenging," said Pobst. "The key to a good lap is getting a good run through the chicane and really hanging it out on the exit as it leads onto the front stretch. It's not really a straight, it's a stretch. The way you drive this course is fast in, turn it, go slow and power it out of the corner hard."

Driving the No. 73 Aggregate Industries/3R Racing Chevrolet Corvette done up in fitting stars and stripes livery, McClure turned a fast lap of 1:20.254 (74.508 mph). Johannes van Overbeek, of Danville, Calif., was third quick in his Porsche, followed by the supercharged Acura NSX of Peter Cunningham and the BMW M3 of Jeff McMillin.

Woody's Ice Qualifying for Saturday evening's race is set for 11:15 a.m. The green lights come on for the standing start of Round Six at 5:25 p.m. (EDT).

-scca pro racing-