MOSPORT: Aschenbach gets first SPEED GT pole at damp Mosport

_{source: SCCA - Erin Cechal}

His first pole position in this class

Lawson Aschenbach, of W. Palm Beach, Fla., captured his first career pole at a soggy Mosport International Raceway for Round Eight of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship, part of Mobil 1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport. Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., will start second.

Just before the SCCA SPEED GT cars made their way to the grid for qualifying, the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.95 km) course was visited by a brief rain shower.

Carefully pushing his car to the limits on the slick track, Aschenbach put his No. 1 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V on pole with a time of 1:39.654 (88.831 mph). The defending SCCA SPEED GT Champion's first pole came on his final lap as the course continued to dry throughout the session.

"I'm pretty happy with it," Aschenbach said. "It's great to get my first pole in conditions like this. We knew whether it was rain or shine that we had a shot at pole, but to our advantage it wasn't raining. The track was drying up as the session went on. I knew I had to stay out, because every lap was going to get better and better. I think my last lap was my best lap.

"We like this track whether it's rain or dry. Whatever comes at us for the race, we'll be happy with either one. The Corvettes are fast down the straights here, so if it's dry, they'll be the cars to beat. Right now, we're happy with starting first."

Pobst completes the front row in his No. 22 K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughey Porsche 911 GT-3. The current SCCA SPEED GT point leader entered a time of 1:39.950 (88.568 mph) on the damp course. His teammate Michael Galati, of Olmstead, Ohio, will start third in his No. 23 K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughey Porsche 911 GT-3. The defending Mosport race winner posted a fast time of 1:40.039 (88.489 mph).

The 'Mayor of Mosport,' Ron Fellows, of Mississaugua, Ont., will start the race fourth on the grid in his No. 16 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V. Fellows led qualifying early, but couldn't match the pace of his teammate on the drying track, ending the session with a 1:41.661 (87.077 mph). The third Cadillac of Andy Pilgrim, from Boca Raton, Fla., qualified fifth with a time of 1:41.921 (86.855 mph).

Eric Curran (Chevrolet Corvette), Doug Peterson (Chevrolet Corvette), Brian Kubinski (Chevrolet Corvette), James Sofronas (Porsche 911 GT-3) and Rob Foster (Chevrolet Corvette) complete the top ten.

Round Eight of the SCCA SPEED GT Championship will launch from a standing start this evening at 6:35 p.m. (EDT). The race will be broadcast on SPEED, Saturday, Sept. 1 at 2:00 p.m. (EDT). Live timing and lap notes can be found at www.world-challenge.com.