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David
Brabham qualified fourth in class and sixth overall for round seven of the
American Le Mans Series, Generac 500 presented by Time Warner Cable, in what
was a gripping battle on Friday afternoon at Road America. The 42 year-old ended the
session a mere four tenths of a second off of Franck Montagny, who finished
fastest in LMP2, with one second covering the first seven cars at the
challenging circuit in Elkhart Lake,
Wisconsin.
The
Australian sportscar ace, who resides in Henley-on-Thames in the UK,
topped the LMP2 timesheets in the second practice on Friday afternoon and
followed his form into qualifying to run fastest in the first half of the
session. A thrilling LMP2 class battle
ensued, with Montagny slotting in a time good enough for second overall and
fastest in LMP2 while Adrian Fernandez and Romain Dumas also joined the class
battle.
Brabham’s
best time of 1:47.774 in the Patron Highcroft Racing Acura was less than four
hundredths of a second shy from clinching third fastest in LMP2 and qualifying
ahead of championship class leader Dumas. Only one tenth separated Brabs from
lining up second in class and fourth overall.
“We
were struggling on Thursday but everything started to come together in the
second practice session today,” said Brabs. “The qualifying set up
wasn’t quite as good and it was a really close session but I managed to
post consistent times and the car felt comfortable. With a little fine tuning
in warm up tomorrow I’m confident that we have a strong race car set up.
It’s a long race so the aim will be to make the most of it and get as
many points as possible.”
Brabham’s
pairing with team mate Scott Sharp has delivered two wins and two second place
finishes so far this season, earning second overall in the championship
standings. Brabs will start the four-hour Road America battle on Saturday
afternoon aiming for their third victory in order to reduce Dumas and team mate
Timo Bernhard’s 28 point advantage.
American Le Mans Series Generac 500
Presented by Time Warner Cable, Road America
Round 7 Qualifying - Provisional Results
1
– LMP1 – Lucas Luhr/Marco Werner – Audi Sport North America – 1:46.935
2
– LMP2 – Franck Montagny/James Rossiter – Andretti Green
Racing – 1:47.345 +0.410
3
– LMP1 – Emanuele Pirro/Marcel Fässler – Audi Sport North America – 1:47.579 +0.644
4
– LMP2 – Adrian Fernandez/Luis Diaz – Lowe’s Fernandez
Racing – 1:47.639 +0.704
5
– LMP2 – Romain Dumas/Timo Bernhard – Penske Racing –
1:47.736 +0.801
6
– LMP2 – David Brabham/Scott Sharp – Patron Highcroft Racing
– 1:47.774 +0.839
7
– LMP2 – Gil de Ferran/Simon Pagenaud – de Ferran Motorsports
– 1:48.160 +1.225
8
– LMP1 – Jon Field/Clint Field/Richard Berry – Intersport
Racing – 1:48.371 +1.436
9
– LMP2 – Patrick Long/Sascha Maassen – Penske Racing –
1:48.492 +1.557
10
– LMP2 – Marino Franchitti/Butch Leitzinger – Dyson Racing
– 1:48.586 +1.651
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