PSCR: Visteon Panoz Racing Team Report, Mosport Festival
9 August 1998
QUALIFYINGMOSPORT FESTIVAL
Mosport International Raceway
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, August 8
In today's qualifying session, the Visteon Panoz Racing Team took first and second in the GT1 class.
The #4 Visteon Panoz, driven by David Brabham, shattered the GT1 qualifying record with a 1:14.710 at 118.49 mph lap around the ten-turn 2.459-mile circuit. This is the first time Brabham has driven at the Mosport International Raceway. The previous record was set by in 1997 by Dorsey Schroeder in a Porsche 911 GT1, with a 1:17.361 lap.
David Brabham, #4 Visteon Panoz GTR-1:
"The Visteon Panoz has been getting better and better for every race.
We've made a lot of adjustments during the test and practice sessions,
and the car is well suited for this track.
"I'm certainly glad it stopped raining."
Eric Bernard drove the #5 Panoz to second in GT1 with a 1:15.801 at 116.78 mph, also breaking last year's record. This is also Eric Bernard's Mosport racing debut.
Eric Bernard, #5 Visteon Panoz GTR-1:
"I hit a little bit of traffic on a couple of my qualifying laps, but
other than that, the Visteon Panoz was very good. The car should be
quite good against the competition and the track, which I enjoy driving
very much."
Tony Dowe, managing director, Panoz Motor Sports:
"I'm pleased for the team to start on pole. The cars are in good
shape
for the race tomorrow -- we're looking for reliability and a good
result. It will be nice to challenge the WSC cars during the race."
The #4 and #5 Visteon Panoz GTR-1s will start sixth and seventh overall on the grid.
The Visteon Panoz Racing Team is preparing for the 2 hour and 45 minute combined WSC/GT race Sunday, which begins at 2:45pm EST.
