After a challenging morning practice session that saw both Red Bull Team Forsythe Atlantic cars a bit off the pace and one car with a gearbox problem, today’s first round of qualifying at the historic Mont-Tremblant road course saw a significant jump in pace as drivers Robert Wickens of Toronto, Ontario (#3 Red Bull / INDECK Mazda-Cosworth/Cooper/Swift) and John Edwards of Little Rock, Arkansas (#7 Red Bull / INDECK Mazda-Cosworth/Cooper/Swift) put in quick laps at the end of the session to claim fourth and seventh respectively on the provisional grid.
Wickens even had a shot at pole on his final lap with split times that showed him even with eventual pole winner Raphael Matos two-thirds of the way around the 2.621-mile circuit, but traffic in the final corners prevented a move to the front. Edwards, despite missing the first minutes of the session as the crew finished repairing his malfunctioning transmission, put in a strong lap at the end to move from outside the top fifteen.
Assisting in the effort was former Atlantic standout and Quebec racing legend Claude Bourbonnais, serving as spotter and coach as he maneuvered around the circuit providing real-time feedback on line and technique to the two high school teenagers.
Robert Wickens
#3 Red Bull / INDECK
Mazda-Cosworth/Cooper/Swift
Fourth on Provisional Grid
1m28.032s/107.184mph/172.491kph
“The car was very good there at the end. The guys made a pretty big change as we went to our last set of Coopers and it really helped settle the rear end. Having Claude Bourbonnais on the radio was a cool thing; he knows this track like the back of his hand and helped us find the proper lines. This is a really great track to drive with all the hills and valleys, so I’m looking forward to final qualifying tomorrow since it looks like we have a good shot at Pole! ”
John Edwards
#7 Red Bull / INDECK
Mazda-Cosworth/Cooper/Swift
Seventh on Provisional Grid
1m28.342s/106.808mph/171.886kph
“I’m really thankful to the team. We found some things that settled down the rear of the car a bunch since the Cleveland race last week. It feels like I can really lean on it so now we can focus on getting overall grip and moving up there with Robby. I think we would have been right there if we hadn’t lost half the practice session this morning when the gearbox started acting up, but we’re on the pace and tomorrow should be good! ”
| 
|