Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From Crash.net:
O'Connell's first pole gives Corvette 1-2
SUNDAY 17TH APRIL 2005
american lemans series. march 16-19, 2005 mobil one 12 hours of sebring.
sebring international raceway. sebring, fl. #3 corvette
Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell relied on his knowledge of Road Atlanta - and a very quick #3 C6.R - to claim the GT1 class pole for Sunday's Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta, and add his name to those already listed as polewinners in the American Le Mans Series.
Remarkably, it was the first time in his 55-race ALMS career that O'Connell, a resident of nearby Flowery Branch, had proven to be the fastest qualifier in his category, but the American didn't appear too concerned by his record.
"I don't win a lot of poles because I worry more about the race set-up than a one-lap qualifying set-up," O'Connell explained, "This time, I figured I had five good qualifying laps on my tyres, and I got one clear lap when I needed it. My timing was good. I'm happy about my first pole, but I'm happier that I'm going into the race tomorrow with an excellent car. "Everyone on the crew is happy, but I've never put any emphasis on qualifying," he said. "It's not where you start, but where you finish."
Team-mate Olivier Beretta was the second fastest qualifier in the sister #4 Compuware car. Both yellow Corvettes eclipsed the track record set by O'Connell's co-driver Ron Fellows in a C5-R in September 2000.
"Johnny had a very quick lap and I say 'good job!' to the guys with the #3," Beretta acknowledged, "I am happy about how qualifying went although, when my tyres were warmed up and I was ready for a good run on my second lap, I got into traffic and I had to slow down. But I am very happy to see two yellow Corvettes on the first row because the temperature was warmer today and that affected the handling of the chassis."
Maserati provided the biggest challenge to the Corvettes, leaving ACEMCO Motorsports' Saleen to take fourth in class, after Terry Borcheller spun off in the waning moments of morning practice. Despite requiring the team to clean up the #63 S7-R, Borcheller managed to qualify the car with just nine minutes remaining in the session.
"That is the fastest that we have ever gone in the car," Borcheller said, "The updates with the shocks and engine have been a nice progression.
"In practice, I entered into turn six a little hot, went to the brakes and ended up in the gravel - I am exploring the limits of the car with the smaller wing and I guess I found one of those limits! The spin actually acted as a motivator for qualifying, though, the team worked hard to get it cleaned up and I wanted to make a good showing."
Having set the pace in the first of Saturday's practice sessions, Pacific Coast Motorsports had to settle for fifth fastest in class qualifying with its older Corvette. Ryan Dalziel stunned the field by firing the #5 car to the top of the timesheets, but the advantage swung back in favour of the works team in this afternoon.
“I'm confident we'll have a good car for the race," Dalziel commented, "We showed at Sebring that, when we're racing, we can post consistent lap times and I'm sure the same will be true tomorrow. I'm looking forward to an exciting race and hopefully we'll get back up there and show our potential again.”
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O'Connell's first pole gives Corvette 1-2
SUNDAY 17TH APRIL 2005
american lemans series. march 16-19, 2005 mobil one 12 hours of sebring.
sebring international raceway. sebring, fl. #3 corvette
Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell relied on his knowledge of Road Atlanta - and a very quick #3 C6.R - to claim the GT1 class pole for Sunday's Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta, and add his name to those already listed as polewinners in the American Le Mans Series.
Remarkably, it was the first time in his 55-race ALMS career that O'Connell, a resident of nearby Flowery Branch, had proven to be the fastest qualifier in his category, but the American didn't appear too concerned by his record.
"I don't win a lot of poles because I worry more about the race set-up than a one-lap qualifying set-up," O'Connell explained, "This time, I figured I had five good qualifying laps on my tyres, and I got one clear lap when I needed it. My timing was good. I'm happy about my first pole, but I'm happier that I'm going into the race tomorrow with an excellent car. "Everyone on the crew is happy, but I've never put any emphasis on qualifying," he said. "It's not where you start, but where you finish."
Team-mate Olivier Beretta was the second fastest qualifier in the sister #4 Compuware car. Both yellow Corvettes eclipsed the track record set by O'Connell's co-driver Ron Fellows in a C5-R in September 2000.
"Johnny had a very quick lap and I say 'good job!' to the guys with the #3," Beretta acknowledged, "I am happy about how qualifying went although, when my tyres were warmed up and I was ready for a good run on my second lap, I got into traffic and I had to slow down. But I am very happy to see two yellow Corvettes on the first row because the temperature was warmer today and that affected the handling of the chassis."
Maserati provided the biggest challenge to the Corvettes, leaving ACEMCO Motorsports' Saleen to take fourth in class, after Terry Borcheller spun off in the waning moments of morning practice. Despite requiring the team to clean up the #63 S7-R, Borcheller managed to qualify the car with just nine minutes remaining in the session.
"That is the fastest that we have ever gone in the car," Borcheller said, "The updates with the shocks and engine have been a nice progression.
"In practice, I entered into turn six a little hot, went to the brakes and ended up in the gravel - I am exploring the limits of the car with the smaller wing and I guess I found one of those limits! The spin actually acted as a motivator for qualifying, though, the team worked hard to get it cleaned up and I wanted to make a good showing."
Having set the pace in the first of Saturday's practice sessions, Pacific Coast Motorsports had to settle for fifth fastest in class qualifying with its older Corvette. Ryan Dalziel stunned the field by firing the #5 car to the top of the timesheets, but the advantage swung back in favour of the works team in this afternoon.
“I'm confident we'll have a good car for the race," Dalziel commented, "We showed at Sebring that, when we're racing, we can post consistent lap times and I'm sure the same will be true tomorrow. I'm looking forward to an exciting race and hopefully we'll get back up there and show our potential again.”
Keep up to date with the latest motorsport news and the best music with Crash.net Radio
The latest updates and exclusive interviews are always available on Crash Radio
Click here to go to Crash Radio
