“Our engine and package is hurting us big time on the straights at this track,” Diaz said. “But this track doesn’t have as many straights and we expected to be more competitive. We beat what the computer predicted so we’re showing what this team is all about.”
Klaus Graf qualified Team Cytosport’s Porsche RS Spyder third on the P2 grid with a lap of 1:14.492 (108.157 mph). He will drive with team owner Greg Pickett.
Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen won his third consecutive pole position at Mazda Raceway but his first in GT2. The flying Dane posted a lap of 1:23.053 (97.008 mph) in the Corvette C6.R that he is driving with Johnny O’Connell. Magnussen also was the GTS pole-winner in 2003 driving a Ferrari.
The pole also was the first for the GT2 version of the Corvette, which made its race debut in August at Mid-Ohio. Magnussen and O’Connell drove the car to a victory at Mosport in just its third race.
“It’s my favorite race track. I always do well here,” Magnussen said of Mazda Raceway. “Unfortunately I’ve only turned one of those poles into a win. Hopefully we can change that. The car has been fantastic in practice but I didn’t expect to be fighting for pole. Everything worked really well. I kept going faster and faster. The Michelins came in really fast, and I think I only had one lap to back off because traffic was slower.
“I like the layout and way it flows,” he added. “It’s not a high-grip surface. There will be a lot of dust on the track not very far into the race. This is the car with the least amount of downforce that I’ve driven here. You can allow it to get a lot more out of shape and slide it around a lot more than the GT1 cars and the Panoz prototype.”
Pierre Kaffer sat second in GT2 with a lap of 1:23.220 (96.813 mph) for Risi Competizione, two weeks removed from another endurance victory at Road Atlanta and Petit Le Mans. He will drive with Jaime Melo with the Risi squad gunning for its third class win at the circuit in four years. The pairing also is still alive in the GT2 championship, needing at least a runner-up finish to have a chance at overtaking the Flying Lizard duo of Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Bergmeister qualified fifth Friday.
Oliver Gavin was third in qualifying in the second Corvette entry. He turned a lap of 1:23.283.
ORBIT Racing’s Guy Cosmo won his fourth consecutive pole in the first-year Challenge class. He posted a lap of 1:29.546 (89.974 mph) in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car that he will drive with John Baker.
“Qualifying was pretty tame and calm the first few laps for us,” Cosmo said. “You figure that those are the ones where our tires will be at their best. But that’s also the time when the GT2 guys are trying to get their laps. So the race will be pretty exciting. The speed difference around here isn’t all the great so that makes it even busier.”
Cosmo outpaced Galen Bieker’s lap of 1:29.844 (89.675 mph) in the P7 Racing that he will share with Robert Rodriquez. Bob Faieta was a further 0.043 seconds back in the Gruppe Orange Porsche that he will drive with Wesley Hoaglund.
A season-high total of eight cars are entered in the class for Saturday’s race
“There are some really fast drivers in this class this week. It will be tough,” Cosmo said. “My margin of lap time was much smaller than it has been previously. It will be a lot for four hours. We’ll make sure John has a really good stint, then I’ll get in and hopefully not look back.”
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