Super Touring Qualifications at Laguna Seca: Report and Results
8 September 1997
Laguna Seca, CA-Points leader David Donohue may have the championship lead but he is not resting on his laurels. In the first qualifying session for race #1, Donohue secured pole position and broke the track record set by Randy Pobst last year. Donohue toured the challenging 14-turn, 2.238 mile course in 1:31.147 for an average speed of 88.393mph. Aside from the pole position Donohue added 1 more point to his championship lead. Following closely behind Donohue were Neil Crompton and Peter Cunningham. Crompton turned in a time of 1:31.370 for an average speed of 88.177. Cunningham turned in the third fastest time of the 1st round with 1:31.653 for an average speed of 87.905mph. For Cunningham the qualifying results were less than satisfactory. His second-place standing in the championship fight required that he win both pole positions to gain the two valuable points to cut into Donohue's lead. None the less Cunningham was optimistic about his over-all chances he commented, "that he would not quit without a good fight for Donohue." In the Independent's Challenge Ford driver David Welch was the fastest. Welch turned in a time of 1:32.382 for an average speed of 87.211. Randy Pobst followed closely behind with a time of 1:32.492 for an average speed of 87.108mph. For Pobst, the news was good in that he will be starting race #1 ahead of the Mazda driver Bob Schader. Pobst is 3 points behind Schader in the fight for the Independent's Challenge Championship Qualifying Round #1 Driver Marque Time 1)David Donohue Dodge 1:31.147/88.393 2)Neil Crompton Honda 1:31.370/88.177 3)Peter Cunningham Ford 1:31.653/87.905 4)Dominic Dobson Dodge 1:32.079/87.498 5)David Welch* Ford 1:32.382/87.211 6)Randy Pobst BMW 1:32.492/87.108 7)Forrest Granland Honda 1:34.935/84.866 8)Bob Schader Mazda 1:37.339/82.770 9)Paul Charsley BMW 1:41.992/78.994 10)Dave Jolly Pontiac 1:47.209/75.150 11)Darren Law BMW No Time 12) Roberto Quintanilla Honda No Time #Donohue breaks existing track records set by Randy Pobst last year. *Independent's Challenge Top Qualifier-David Welch The second round of qualifying became the Crompton/Donohue show. Crompton set a fast time early in the thirty-minute session. The session was interrupted by Forrest Granland's spectacular shunt in turn 5. Fortunately, Granland was OK. However, his Honda appeared to be a write-off for the two races. The interruption of qualifying left only five minutes in the session. When the track was cleared Donohue turned in a spectacular time of 1:30.957. Not to be outdone, Crompton on the following lap turned in a blistering lap of 1:30.679. By setting the fastest time Crompton moved 1 point closer to second place in the over-all championship. In the process Crompton broke Donohue's string of five consecutive pole positions and shattered Donohue's earlier track record by .5 of a second. The Independent's Challenge qualifying was dominated by BMW driver Randy Pobst who surprised everyone by setting the fourth fastest time (1:31.751/87.811mph) of the afternon. Pobst commented, referring to the handling of the car "that the beast has finally been tamed." Ford driver David Welch ended up sixth with a time of 1:32.423/87.173. Qualifying Round #2 Driver Marque Time 1)Neil Crompton Honda 1:30.679/88.849 2)David Donohue Dodge 1:30.957/88.578 3)Peter Cunningham Honda 1:31.023/88.513 4)Radny Pobst* BMW 1:31.751/87.811 5)Dominic Dobson Dodge 1:31.810/87.755 6) David Welch Ford 1:32.423/87.173 7)Forrest Granland Honda 1:33.962/85.745 8)Bob Schader Mazda 1:35.048/84.765 9)Paul Charsley BMW 1:36.318/81.946 10)Ron Emmick Mazda 1:42.440/78.648 11)Dave Jolly Pontiac 1:45.105/76.654 12)Darren Law BMW No Time 13)Roberto Quintanilla Honda No Time #Crompton breaks track record set by Donohue (1:31.147) with a time of 1:30.679 *Independent's Challenge Top Qualifier - Randy Pobst David Treffer -- The Auto Channel
