Fontana: Qualifying report

Borcheller grabs first pole in Grand American 400 qualifying at California

FONTANA, Calif. (June 7, 2003) -- Terry Borcheller picked up his first overall pole in the Rolex Sports Car Series during qualifying at California Speedway for Sunday's Grand American 400. After starting in the number two position at the last three races, Borcheller finally moved the Bell Motorsports #54 Chevy Doran JE4 Daytona Prototype into the top spot with his 1:32.314 lap at 109.972 mph.

David Donohue once again put the #58 Red Bull Porsche Daytona Prototype on the front row for Sunday's race. Donohue, who has held the pole position at the last three events, has started the Red Bull machine on the front row at every race this season. Today he turned a 1:33.233 lap at 108.888 mph to earn the number two position beside Borcheller.

Tommy Riggins will lead the GTS class to the green flag in the Heritage Motorsports #48 Mustang. His 1:34.378 lap at 107.567 mph not only earned him the Acxiom Grand Touring Challenge $1,000 bonus, but also the number three starting position for Sunday's Grand American 400, as well as the GTS qualifying track record. Riggins shattered RK Smith's record by 2.938 seconds.

Los Angeles native Cort Wagner put on a good show for the hometown crowd during qualifying, clocking the fastest time in the GT class. Wagner picked up a $1,000 bonus check from the Acxiom Grand Touring Challenge for his 1:37.822 lap at 103.780 mph at the wheel of the brand new #33 Ferrari 360GT that the Ferrari of Washington team is breaking in this weekend.

Wagner also set a new qualifying track record for the GT class, besting Joao Barbosa's record set last year by 0.535 seconds.

The green flag will drop on the Grand American 400 at 1 p.m. PT. Zippo Live Timing and Scoring will be available throughout the race on Grand American's official website - www.grandamerican.com. The Grand American 400 race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel.

Tickets are currently on sale for the Grand American 400 at California Speedway and can be purchased at the gate, online at www.californiaspeedway.com or by calling the Speedway ticket office at 800-944-RACE. Additional information is available on the Grand American website at www.grandamerican.com.

**************************************************** Rolex Sports Car Series Qualifying Driver Quotes

Daytona Prototypes Class

No. 54 Bell Motorsports Chevrolet Doran, Terry Borcheller -- "I feel pretty good about the car selection, the team and about a lot of things. We could easily finish last. We've got some good teams, good drivers, good competition and good cars. The way the rules are written it's hard to get an advantage. We knew we were going to be good here. With the formula we' ve got and with the long straight-aways it's going to be to our advantage. I made a mistake on one of the fast laps. I went too hot into the hairpin before the chicane. I could have made the corner and I saw the access road. If I would have tried to make the corner, I was afraid I would have flat spotted the tires. I straightened it out and lifted my foot off the brake. It took me a couple of laps to get the car cooled down and make sure the tires had traction. I only had a couple of good laps left because of the tires and the time and I was lucky enough to get a good one in there."
(Qualifying time of 1:32.314)

No. 58 Brumos Racing Porsche Fabcar, David Donohue -- "When I pulled in, there was brake fluid all over the floor, so the master cylinder let go. It really didn't affect us that much (on qualifying), so at least it happened now instead of Sunday at 1:15. There are some interesting parts of this track, although it's really bumpy. The tires seem to be holding up pretty well, so we are going flat out through the banking. We are really leaning on these tires around the banking, but I don't think that tires will be a problem."
(Qualifying time of 1:33.233)

No. 8 G&W Motorsports BMW Picchio DP2, Darren Law -- "Overall the run was okay. We had some electrical problems, which is why we had to come in and get it fixed. It kept cutting out on the banking. The car is fast, quick. The problem isn't set-up. It's mechanical issues. The weather isn't a problem. It's okay to race. We just need to work out our mechanical problems."
(Qualifying time of 1:35.059)

No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche Fabcar, Hurley Haywood -- "We aren't as fast as we want to be. We are working on some handling issues we can't get a grasp on. It's a long race, 250-mile race, so it will give us plenty of time to do what we need to do. It has nothing to do with the track or the weather. We just brought the wrong set-up. We have too much oversteer and we'll just have to work it out.
(Qualifying time of 1:35.360)

GT Class

No. 33 Scuderia Ferrari of Washington Ferrari 360 GT, Cort Wagner -- "Overall it was a good lap. We were fighting a push issue, so we made a couple of changes that gave us almost too much front end. The car turned in really well and it was good for a couple of laps, but I'm glad it was just a couple of laps as we would have been fighting a bunch of oversteer. At least we know the parameters and where we are with the car. (On the change in temperature) "Physically, I train really hard. A little hotter might benefit me. I don't mind the heat at all." (on the track) "I really like the track. I wish we weren't flat so long on the oval. You really have to hang it out there. You need good grip and good aero. It's also a horsepower game."
(Qualifying time of 1:37.822 -- new track record)

GTS Class

No. 48 Heritage Motorsports Mustang, Tommy Riggins -- "That is the fastest we 've run here. We've been working on the car a lot and have been chasing a few things. We ran here last year but didn't run that many laps. Essentially, we are rookies because of the lack of time here last year. We got the car better for the race. We still need to make a few more adjustments." (On the change in weather) -- "We didn't make any adjustments with the sun popping out but we will for tomorrow. We hope it's warmer tomorrow for the morning practice, so it won't be as difficult for the race set-up."
(Qualifying time of 1:34.378 -- new track record)

-garra-