Starting birthday celebration in grand style
Birthday boy Klaus Graf (pictured) set the fastest time in the first official practice for Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport on Saturday morning. The now 43-year-old Graf posted a lap of 1:07.404 (131.33 mph) around the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.
Graf’s No. 6 Honda Performance Development ARX-03a prototype is on a three-race winning streak in the ALMS. Graf and Lucas Luhr lead the Series’ P1 championship.
The Muscle Milk entry was 3.5 seconds clear of Level 5 Motorsports’ Christophe Bouchut – the quickest P2 car. The Frenchman’s time came in the No. 055 HPD ARX-03b that he shares with team owner Scott Tucker. The pairing lead the class championship with three victories in four races. Conquest Racing’s Martin Plowman, quickest in Friday’s test day driving his No. 37 Morgan-Nissan, was just 0.051 seconds back.
RSR Racing’s Bruno Junqueira ran fourth overall and first in Prototype Challenge. The No. 9 ORECA FLM09 set a time of 1:11.417 (123.954 mph) – just 0.192 seconds ahead of Guy Smith in Dyson Racing’s No. 16 Lola-Mazda P1 entry.
Jörg Bergmeister (pictured) led GT for Flying Lizard Motorsports and Porsche. The class winner two weeks ago at Lime Rock Park with Patrick Long, Bergmeister’s best time in the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR was 1:16.859 (115.177 mph). That was good enough to lead both of Corvette Racing’s Corvette C6 ZR1s; Tommy Milner was the quickest of the factory Corvettes at 1:17.022 (114.933 mph).
Damien Faulkner went quickest in GT Challenge for Green Hornet Racing. The Irishman turned a lap of 1:22.350 (107.497 mph) in the No. 34 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was a slim 0.078 seconds clear of TRG’s Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 66 Porsche. He won in class last year.
Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport is scheduled for noon ET on July 22 from the 2.459-mile, 10-turn Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. ESPN2’s broadcast featuring live coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET. Full, live coverage is available starting at 11:45 a.m. ET on ESPN3. Canadian coverage begins at noon on Sportsnet One.
The Series’ website offers additional content such as live in-car cameras, and timing and scoring for all users around the world. Viewers outside the U.S. can watch the Mosport round and all ALMS races live on www.ALMS.com.
Visit ALMS.com for current and future event information including tickets and area accommodations. Follow the Series on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
