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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Westbrook Leads Corvette 1-2-3 In Barber Qualifying
Spirit of Daytona Corvette claims DP pole; Paul Edwards rebounds from practice accident to take top spot in GT for Saturday's Porsche 250...
Richard Westbrook claimed pole for Saturday's Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park. (Photo: John Dagys)
Having never seen Barber Motorsports Park until this week, Richard Westbrook proved to be a quick learner, as the Spirit of Daytona driver claimed the pole for Saturday's Porsche 250 (4 p.m. ET, SPEED).
Westbrook, piloting the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP, enjoyed a battle with two-time GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series champion Jon Fogarty during the 15-minute Daytona Prototype qualifying session, which saw an early stoppage for the beached SunTrust Corvette of Ricky Taylor.
By the time the track went back green, with less than five minutes remaining, the GM driver reeled off a best lap of 1:21.420, which was good enough to give the Troy Flis-led squad its second consecutive pole at Barber. Co-driver Antonio Garcia claimed the top spot here last year.
"The SDR boys seem to have put a really good car out here," said Westbrook, who claimed his first career Rolex Series pole. "It's felt great the last three days and felt really great in race trim, as we saw in the last practice session. But I wasn't sure if we had the overall pace to get a pole. I just got it hooked up and the car felt superb."
The Englishman edged out Fogarty's No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP by 0.074 seconds, with Thursday's pace-setting No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette of David Donohue in third with a 1:22.379 lap time, making it a 1-2-3 sweep for the bow-tie.
"We assumed our new Corvette bodywork would be along the lines of last year's Coyote and it looks like that's the case," Fogarty said. "There's just a ton more grip, the high-speed stuff is the most comfortable.
"We have a little bit of work to do, but we're pretty happy that we've closed the gap to these guys. They were pretty much in a class of their own [here] last year."
Defending Rolex Series champions Chip Ganassi Racing was the best of the non-Chevys in fourth, thanks to Memo Rojas' 1:22.946 lap time in his No. 01 Telmex Riley-BMW, while Rolex 24 winner John Pew completed the top five aboard his Michael Shank Racing Riley-Ford.
Taylor, who earned six straight pole positions last year, was not allowed to rejoin following his early session spin, relegating the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Corvette to the ninth and final starting position. It ended the team's streak of nine consecutive front row starts.
In GT, Paul Edwards rebounded from a late practice session accident to put his Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R on pole. The GM driver turned a best lap of 1:30.762 in the GT qualifying session, which was also interrupted early due to an off by the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW of Paul Dalla-Lana.
Edwards' Camaro sustained bodywork damage when he drove off course on his in lap during the morning's final practice session.
"It was good the team bounced back and got the car fixed and ready for qualifying," said Edwards, who will share the No. 88 car with Jordan Taylor. "They had 30 minutes before qualifying, so it was really cool to see the boys in action, getting the car fixed.
"Overall, I got a pretty good lap in and good enough to get the pole for Camaro. It's really cool that Chevy is starting first in DP and GT."
The surprise of the day came from 2010 Rolex GT Series champion Emil Assentato, who put the No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari F458 Italia on the front row in second, following a 1:30.985 lap time in the red Prancing Horse.
Assentato, who will team with Jeff Segal on Saturday, are now considered one of the favorites for the class victory.
Third went to the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R of Ronnie Bremer, who is filling in for the injured John Edwards, while Eric Foss ended up the quickest of the Porsche contingent, pedaling his Horton Autosport 911 GT3 Cup car to fourth.
Dempsey Racing's Charles Espenlaub completed the top five in class.
The Porsche 250, Round 2 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, gets underway Saturday at 12:15 p.m. CT. Catch the race on SPEED, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
PHOTOS: Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Westbrook, piloting the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP, enjoyed a battle with two-time GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series champion Jon Fogarty during the 15-minute Daytona Prototype qualifying session, which saw an early stoppage for the beached SunTrust Corvette of Ricky Taylor.
By the time the track went back green, with less than five minutes remaining, the GM driver reeled off a best lap of 1:21.420, which was good enough to give the Troy Flis-led squad its second consecutive pole at Barber. Co-driver Antonio Garcia claimed the top spot here last year.
"The SDR boys seem to have put a really good car out here," said Westbrook, who claimed his first career Rolex Series pole. "It's felt great the last three days and felt really great in race trim, as we saw in the last practice session. But I wasn't sure if we had the overall pace to get a pole. I just got it hooked up and the car felt superb."
The Englishman edged out Fogarty's No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP by 0.074 seconds, with Thursday's pace-setting No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette of David Donohue in third with a 1:22.379 lap time, making it a 1-2-3 sweep for the bow-tie.
"We assumed our new Corvette bodywork would be along the lines of last year's Coyote and it looks like that's the case," Fogarty said. "There's just a ton more grip, the high-speed stuff is the most comfortable.
"We have a little bit of work to do, but we're pretty happy that we've closed the gap to these guys. They were pretty much in a class of their own [here] last year."
Defending Rolex Series champions Chip Ganassi Racing was the best of the non-Chevys in fourth, thanks to Memo Rojas' 1:22.946 lap time in his No. 01 Telmex Riley-BMW, while Rolex 24 winner John Pew completed the top five aboard his Michael Shank Racing Riley-Ford.
Taylor, who earned six straight pole positions last year, was not allowed to rejoin following his early session spin, relegating the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Corvette to the ninth and final starting position. It ended the team's streak of nine consecutive front row starts.
In GT, Paul Edwards rebounded from a late practice session accident to put his Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R on pole. The GM driver turned a best lap of 1:30.762 in the GT qualifying session, which was also interrupted early due to an off by the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW of Paul Dalla-Lana.
Edwards' Camaro sustained bodywork damage when he drove off course on his in lap during the morning's final practice session.
"It was good the team bounced back and got the car fixed and ready for qualifying," said Edwards, who will share the No. 88 car with Jordan Taylor. "They had 30 minutes before qualifying, so it was really cool to see the boys in action, getting the car fixed.
"Overall, I got a pretty good lap in and good enough to get the pole for Camaro. It's really cool that Chevy is starting first in DP and GT."
The surprise of the day came from 2010 Rolex GT Series champion Emil Assentato, who put the No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari F458 Italia on the front row in second, following a 1:30.985 lap time in the red Prancing Horse.
Assentato, who will team with Jeff Segal on Saturday, are now considered one of the favorites for the class victory.
Third went to the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R of Ronnie Bremer, who is filling in for the injured John Edwards, while Eric Foss ended up the quickest of the Porsche contingent, pedaling his Horton Autosport 911 GT3 Cup car to fourth.
Dempsey Racing's Charles Espenlaub completed the top five in class.
The Porsche 250, Round 2 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, gets underway Saturday at 12:15 p.m. CT. Catch the race on SPEED, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
PHOTOS: Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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