Dalziel steals pole in Vancouver

The Scotsman is back! Ryan Dalziel is back on top again, having taken the pole position away from Jon Fogarty in the final lap of today's qualifying session for round eight of the Toyota Atlantic Championship series. Ryan Dalziel. Photo ...

The Scotsman is back! Ryan Dalziel is back on top again, having taken the pole position away from Jon Fogarty in the final lap of today's qualifying session for round eight of the Toyota Atlantic Championship series.

Ryan Dalziel.

Photo by Todd Corzett.

Fogarty had the provisional pole on Friday and was in the top spot when the Sierra Sierra racer snatched it away with a time of 1:09.036 with a speed of 92.873 miles per hour on the 1.781-mile street circuit in Vancouver.

"I'm delighted to have pole here in Vancouver," said Dalziel. "I love racing in Canada and to come here following an average showing in Toronto and bounce back with pole is a real boost for everyone on the team."

Dalziel not only dazzled the Vancouver crowd, he also set a new qualifying lap record. The old record of 1:09.759 had been set by Hoover Orsi back in 2001. The top six drivers all topped the former Atlantic champion's record.

Fogarty, a former champion who returned to the series full-time this season with Pacific Coast Motorsports, will start second on the grid. "We were quick out of the box but I tagged the wall and had to change a flat tire. We waited to see what Ryan (Dalziel) would do as he used up his tires," explained Fogarty.

"We wanted to go out with fresh tires but go caught up by the red flags. The car was good, we just didn't play our cards right. It's a tricky track," added Fogarty.

Lynx Racing's Bryan Sellers will start from third, just 0.067-seconds off the time Fogarty turned. Even if Sellers had bested Fogarty, he still would start from the third spot as the top qualifier on Friday, Fogarty was guaranteed a front row start.

"We still have a way to go to be consistently competitive with Ryan and Jon," commented Sellers. "The track has improved in certain spots in significant amounts. It seems like more rubber that gets laid down in turns 1 and 2 and in 6 and 7, which was most significant for us. (For the race) you have to be on your game the whole time. There's more (speed) to come (from his car)."