Ligier Honda P2 sets the pace in practice
Ligier Honda P2 sets the pace in practice
Last year a P2 car won the pole and won the race in the TUDOR Championship round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. History could repeat itself this weekend.
Oswaldo Negri Jr. turned the quickest overall laps in two practice sessions today with Michael Shank Racing’s No. 60 Ligier Honda P2. The Brazilian toured the classic 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit in 1:09.216, a margin of more than six tenths of a second over the next quickest Prototype, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP driven by Ricky Taylor.
“The car is very good,” said team owner Michael Shank. “We didn’t get to test here last week, so we’re missing a little bit, but the car is progressing every session. It’s a great little car and it loves this track. We’ll be competitive and hopefully be toward the top at the end of the day.”
Negri turned his quick lap just as the checkered flag fell at 5:00 p.m. on the second practice session. With warm temperatures predicted to continue for Saturday’s 15-minute qualifying session and Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race, the only P2 car currently competing in the eight-car Prototype field could be in position to score its first victory.
The No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DP driven by Dane Cameron was third quickest in the heat of the afternoon, followed by the No. 01 Ganassi Racing Ford EcoBoost Riley DP with Scott Pruett. Surprisingly, the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP driven by Richard Westbrook was slowest among the Prototypes, more than 1.7 seconds adrift of the leader – an unexpected performance by the car that’s already won twice in 2015, including a victory two weeks ago in the wet at Watkins Glen International.
While Negri dominated the Prototype category, the Prototype Challenge class was a free-for-all as the top spot changed hands frequently. Colin Braun ended up quickest in both sessions in the No. 54 CORE Autosport ORECA FLM09. Braun stopped the clock at 1:11.795 in the morning session, then cut half a second off his time in the afternoon with a 1:11.227. Bruno Junqueira, Conor Daly, and Renger van der Zande all posted quickest laps in PC in the second session.
Practice will continue on Saturday with a one-hour session at 10:00 a.m. local time, followed by qualifying at 4:40 p.m.
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