Kuno Wittmer: “We know we have a good qualifying setup, but the race setup is what counts”
Braselton, Ga.
Oct 04, 2007
Mark Weber
Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal, Quebec, was the quickest car in practice for Round Nine of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships at Road Atlanta, part of the 10th Anniversary Petit Le Mans. Seth Thomas, of nearby Cumming, Ga., was second fastest, followed by Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla.
The second practice session for the SCCA SPEED Touring Cars had none of light rain experienced in the morning session, although the overcast skies remained. Running on the same tires as the morning session and testing out his race trim, Wittmer was unable to top his morning time of 1:32.890 (98.439 mph) in the 20-minute afternoon session.
“This morning we had newer tires on the car and we kept the same tires on in the afternoon, so we were just trying to get a proper race setup on the car, ” Wittmer said. “We know we have a good qualifying setup, but the race setup is what counts. Pierre and myself showed that we have good race setups, because all of our laps were within two tenths or so. We have a really good car right now for Friday’s race.
“Track conditions changed a little bit. It got greasier because of the ALMS cars. It also got a little bit warmer and more humid, but nothing crazy. ”
Wittmer’s No. 44 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Acura RSX is the same car Eric Curran used to win the pole last year at Road Atlanta and Wittmer admits there weren’t many changes that needed to be done from last year’s set-up.
“Eric Curran proved that the car could be pretty quick around here, so I said, ‘why don’t we just start with what Eric did last year. Then we changed a couple of things to suit my driving style. It’s proven to be really good again. ”
Georgia driver Thomas remained second fastest of the day, turning a 1:33.091 (98.226 mph) in the morning session at the wheel of his No. 38 Bimmerworld BMW 325i.
In the second session, Wittmer’s teammate and defending SCCA SPEED Touring Car Champion Pierre Kleinubing improved to a 1:33.132 (98.226 mph) in his No. 1 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura TSX, holding onto the third spot.
RealTime Racing team owner Peter Cunningham, of Grafton, Wis., was fourth fastest. The No. 42 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura TSX driver entered a time of 1:33.388 (97.914 mph). Brandon Davis, of Denver, Colo., completed the top five in his No. 43 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura TSX with a time of 1:33.431 (97.914 mph), which he clocked in the second session.
James Clay (BMW 325i), Ian Baas (Audi A4), Michael Galati (Mazda 6), Nick Esayian (Acura TSX) and Jeff Altenburg (Mazda 6) completed the top ten.
Combined practice results for Friday’s SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship Round Nine race, part of the 10th Anniversary Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.
1, (44), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Quebec, Acura RSX, 1:32.890, 98.439.
2, (38), Seth Thomas(T), Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:33.091, 98.226.
3, (1), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:33.132, 98.183.
4, (42), Peter Cunningham, Grafton, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:33.388, 97.914.
5, (43), Brandon Davis, Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:33.431, 97.869.
6, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:33.466, 97.832.
7, (18), Ian Baas, Noblesville, Ind., Audi A4, 1:33.479, 97.818.
8, (95), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mazda 6, 1:33.494, 97.803.
9, (34), Nick Esayian(T), Encinitas, Calif., Acura TSX, 1:33.634, 97.656.
10, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:33.706, 97.581.
11, (19), Adam Pecorari, Aston, Pa., Audi A4, 1:33.756, 97.529.
12, (29), James Sofronas(T), Newport Beach, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:33.817, 97.466.
13, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:33.835, 97.447.
14, (17), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Audi A4, 1:33.879, 97.402.
15, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:34.178, 97.092.
16, (92), Stan Wilson(R), Mount Juliet, Tenn., Dodge SRT-4, 1:34.443, 96.820.
17, (96), Charlie Putman(T), Denver, Colo., Mazda 6, 1:34.580, 96.680.
18, (16), Phil Parlato(T), Commack, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:36.217, 95.035.
19, (24), Jim Osborn(T), Ooltewah, N.J., Volkswagen Jetta TDI, 1:37.339, 93.939.
20, (49), Carl Hober, Cape May, N.J., Acura TSX, 1:39.090, 92.279.
