Jon Fogarty: “I was able to get a good clean fast lap on my first flying try”
Montreal, Quebec
Aug 03, 2007
GAINSCO
Pontiac Daytona Prototype (DP) and GT teams will start from the front row in their respective classes for this afternoon’s round 11 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.
The No. 99 GAINSCO Pontiac driven by Jon Fogarty will start from pole in the DP class based on his time of 1:35.071. The Texas-based team continues their hot streak of seven straight pole positions on the season. Fogarty, joined behind the wheel by Alex Gurney, will be going for their seventh win this year.
Starting next to Fogarty will be SunTrust Pontiac No. 10 driver Jan Magnussen. In third, Patrick Carpentier will take the No. 11 CITGO Pontiac to the green, with Nic Jonsson wheeling the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac, to fill out an all Pontiac front two rows in the Rolex Series DP race.
In GT, Kelly Collins put the No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP. R on point with a time of 1:42.610. The Californian logged the fifth pole for the 07 car. Collins and co-driver Paul Edwards are going for their second straight win in the pentultimate GT race of the season.
Fogarty had a good lap and is very familiar with the Montréal island circuit, having won in Formula Atlantic in 2004.
“I was able to get a good clean fast lap on my first flying try, ” Fogarty said. “Alex and I have competed here in Atlantics, so we don’t have to learn the track, that was a definite advantage in qualifying. Again, the car is working great and the team really has a good handle on the changing track conditions. With the GT cars running with us, it was vital to start up front today. ”
Magnussen will start alongside the No. 99 and with teammate Max Angelelli. They will be looking to log SunTrust racings second win on the season.
“My last lap was really good, ” Magnussen said. “I had slowed a little on my previous lap to get a gap in traffic, cool the tires and then I went for it. Our car is really good here so the 99 must be cheating (laugh). I had raced here in Formula 1 and actually scored my only F1 championship point at this circuit, so I would really like to win here. ”
The local racing hero Patrick Carpentier put the No. 11 CITGO Pontiac in third on the grid for this afternoon’s two-hour-and-thirty-minute race.
“I had a good run in the No. 11, ” Carpentier said. “We are really trying to get the car back up the grid like we had it earlier in the season. I know the circuit really well and in qualifying I kept it clean and put in a good lap. The stands will be full this weekend, I think they have sold every ticket. So it is easy for me to get motivated in front of such a big crowd for my home race. ”
In GT, Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards will start from the pole in their No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP. R. The duo are in a must win situation to have any hope going into the last two races to capture the GT class championship.
“A great piece of teamwork in qualifying today, ” Collins said. “I exited turn 10 and my team owner Leighton Reese was just ahead and he gave me a tow down the straight and let me bye into the next turn without any hesitation, so this one is for the boss. Paul and I need to win to remain a factor in the GT championship with just one race to go after this one. So we need to put our heads down and get it done. ”
