Audette Takes Pole With New Track Record
Alton, VA – Remy Audette took pole for today’s race at VIR in dominating fashion under very overcast skies with a lap of 1:54.708, breaking the previous F2000 qualifying track record of 1:55.067. The Canadian out of Quebec had the field gapped by more than half a second, as Chris Miller could only manage a 1:55.307, which will put him next to Audette on the front row for this afternoon’s 2:30pm start.
Audette, driving the #21 for Audette Racing, turned three laps under the track record all within a tenth of a second of one of another, “It was a good run. We did a lot of laps with very good times. The car was very good. It’s going to be a good race, now we’ll just have to see if it rains or not,” Audette commented after the session.
Chris Miller, who paced yesterday’s session in the JDC Motorsports Van Diemen couldn’t match the 1:54.532 he turned in practice, “We had the pace but I just couldn’t put a lap down,” said Miller. “We lost radio contact so I couldn’t talk to the team about changes. But we are starting on the front row so it should be a good race”
Matthew Inge was able to put the #02 St. Clair Motorports entry third on the grid. “The track didn’t have as much grip as yesterday. Chris Miller and I were running together. There was a car off here and there. It was hard to get a clear lap with the cautions and the traffic,” explained Inge. “But Chris and I were able to put together a good lap right at the end of the session”
Jesse Yorio proved yesterday was no fluke with his Piper Chassis. Yorio commented, “The car is running great. I just wish I had a draft or something on that lap. We were all alone on the track. We also finally got the correct map on the ECU.”
Z-Sports driver Benjamin Searcy continued to show impressive speed in his first F2000 event, rounding out the top five with a lap of1:55.725.
2008 Masters champion Tim Minor was the first of the Masters class drivers, clocking in at 1:55.751 for sixth on the grid. “It went very well,” said Minor. “We had an engine miss yesterday and last night we found the problem. Turns out the old fuel cell had clogged everything including the injectors. I only did six laps as we were on scrub tires so I have to save them for the race. Hopefully it doesn’t rain.”
The race gets underway at 2:30pm eastern time.
Full Qualifying Results
Pos PIC No. Name Class Best Tm
1 1 21 Remy Audette F2 1:54.708
3 3 02 Matthew Inge F2 1:55.312
4 4 11 Jesse Yorio F2 1:55.472
5 5 10 Benjamin Searcy F2 1:55.725
6 6 88 Tim Minor/M F2 1:55.751
7 7 80 Bobby Caldwell F2 1:56.298
8 8 3 Phil Lombardi F2 1:56.418
9 9 90 Robert Wright/M F2 1:56.549
10 10 26 Fabio Orsolon F2 1:56.606
11 11 30 Jerry Szykulski/M F2 1:56.685
12 12 12 Colin Alexander F2 1:56.749
13 13 95 Al Guibord, Jr. F2 1:56.754
14 14 23 Victor Carbone F2 1:56.771
15 15 7 Brent Gilkes/M F2 1:56.855
16 16 41 Brian Belardi F2 1:57.097
17 17 16 Peter Gonzalez/M F2 1:57.349
18 18 20 Caitlin Johnston F2 1:57.615
19 19 25 Jeff McCusker/M F2 1:57.717
20 20 4 Chris Camadella/M F2 1:57.768
21 21 70 Tom Fatur/M F2 1:57.908
22 22 22 Jonathon Scarello F2 1:58.020
23 23 27 Craig Clawson/M F2 1:58.297
24 24 97 Chris Gumprecht F2 1:59.055
25 25 96 Alejandro Munoz F2 1:59.312 3
26 26 94 Blake Teeter F2 1:59.897
27 27 67 Dave Weitzenhof/M F2 2:02.769
28 28 03 Tim Walsh F2 2:12.331