USRRC: Weaver Takes Second Can-Am Pole of Season at Minneapolis
27 June 1998
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Weaver, who teams with Butch Leitzinger in the No. 16 Goodyear/Safety Glow/300 Below Zero Riley & Scott Ford, set a fast time of 1:15.366 (76.427 mph) on the 1.6-mile street circuit during qualifying for the one-hour, 45-minute contest. Forbes-Robinson, of Sherrils Ford, N.C., and teammate Dorsey Schroeder, of Little Torch Key, Fla., will start the No. 20 Goodyear/Safety Glow/300 Below Zero Riley & Scott Ford second with a time of 1:16.188 (75.602 mph), making it an all-Dyson Racing front row for the third-straight race.
"We're really having a great year," said Weaver. "I've been to some fantastic street circuits and it's great to be back to a nice one. Dorsey (Schroeder) and Elliott (Forbes-Robinson) got us at Mid-Ohio, and we returned the favor at Road Atlanta. We'd like to do it again here."
Johnny O'Connell put the No. 4 Visteon-Elan Natural Waters Panoz GTR on the GT1 class pole, third overall, with a lap of 1:17.182 (74.628 mph). This marks the fourth-consecutive race a Panoz has taken a GT1 pole, dating back to the Rolex 24 At Daytona, but is the first-career USRRC GT pole for O'Connell.
"Our main competition, the No. 38 Porsche GT1 got burnt down in practice, but a lot of our guys have been over there helping get it back together -- it's kind of neat," said O'Connell. "As for going for the overall win, I think the Dyson cars will really have to beat themselves, they're very fast here."
The Prototype Technology Group BMW M3s captured both the GT2
and
GT3 poles with Peter Cunningham and Mark Simo driving, respectively.
Cunningham, in the No. 6 Yokohama/Fina BMW M3, turned a fastest time of
1:21.814 (70.403 mph) to start seventh overall with teammate Brian Simo,
of
Carlsbad, Calif. Canadian Ross Bentley will join Mark Simo (twin brother
of
Brian Simo) in the No. 10 Yokohama/Fina BMW M3 to start ninth overall with
a time of 1:22.360 (69.936 mph). Simo just edged the No. 07 Franklin
Covey's Porsche 911 RSR of Darren Law, who had a fast time of 1:22.367
(69.936 mph).
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Starters for Sunday's 1-hour, 45-minute USRRC Can-Am/GT Championship race, part of the Sprint PCS Grand Prix of Minnesota at the Minneapolis street circuit, with starting position, driver(s), hometown(s), class, car, time and speed in miles-per-hour.
1. (16), James Weaver, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, Pa.; Dorsey Schroeder, Little Torch Key, Fla., CA, R&S Mk.III Ford, 1:15.366, 76.427.
2. (20), Dorsey Schroeder, Little Torch Key, Fla.; Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Sherrils Ford, N.C.; James Veaver, Wiltshire, England; CA, R&S Mk.III Ford, 1:16.188, 75.602.
3. (88), Bill Dollahite, Austin, Texas; Mike Davies, Deland, Fla.; CA, Ferrari 333 SP, 1:16.642, 75.154.
4. (4), Doc Bundy, Gainesville, Ga.; Johnny O'Connell, Pheonix, Ariz., GT1, Panoz GTR, 1:17.182, 74.628.
5. (8), Scott Schubot, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Henry Camferdam, Indianapolis, Ind., CA, R&S Mk.III Ford, 1:18.206, 73.651.
6. (2), Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla.; Vic Rice, San Rafael, Calif., GT1, Mosler Raptor, 1:18.916, 72.989.
7. (6), Peter Cunningham, West Bend, Wis.; Brian Simo, Carlsbad, Calif., GT2, BMW M3, 1:21.814, 70.403.
8. (95), Tom Volk, Blissfield, Mich.; Jeret Schroeder, Vineland, N.J.;CA, Kudzu Chevrolet, 1:22.165, 70.102.
9. (10), Ross Bentley, British Columbia, Can.; Mark Simo, Carlsbad, Calif.; GT3, BMW M3, 1:22.360, 69.936.
10. (07), Danny Marshall, Danville, Va.; Darren Law, Phoenix, Ariz.; GT3, Porsche 911, 1:22.367, 69.930.
11. (06), Henry 'Trip' Goolsby, Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Rick Polk, Excelsior, Minn., GT3, Porsche 911 RSR, 1:25.246, 67.569.
12. (26), Eric Johnson, Minneapolis, Minn.; James Oppenheimer, Chicago, Ill., GT3, Porsche 911 RSR, 1:25.563, 67.318.
13. (75), Cameron Worth, Lighthouse Pt., Fla.; Scott Sansone, Coconut Creek, Fla., GT2, Mazda RX7, 1:25.887, 67.064.
14. (92), A.J. Smith, Vorhees, N.J.; Joaquin DeSoto, Miami, Fla., CA, Buick Kudzu, 1:27.181, 66.069.
15. (86), Steve Marshall, Christianburg, Va.; Cole Schrogham, Waynesboro, Va.; GT3, Porsche 911 RSR, 1:27.687, 65.688.
16. (52), David Russell.Jr., Highland Beach, Fla.; William Stitt, Boca Raton, Fla.; GT2, Porsche 911, 1:27.840, 65.573.
17. (50), J. Robert Johnson, Northfield, Minn.; Thomas McGlynn, Minneapolis, Minn., GT2, Porsche 993 T, 1:28.114, 65.369.
18. (38), Thierry Boutsen, Belgium; Bob Wollek, France, GT1, Porsche 911 GT1, no time.
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