Montreal: TRG qualifying report

Four TRG Porsches Solidly in Montreal 200 Field; TRG Looks to Defend Montreal Victory with Four-Car Assault

No. 67 Porsche MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada - In qualifying for this evening's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Montreal 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, all four TRG Porsches turned in solid performances as the team looks to repeat its GT victory from a year ago in Montreal.

"Everybody did a great job with a little bit of track time," said TRG owner Kevin Buckler. "There was not a lot of track time for a couple of the guys yesterday with a few issues, but all four cars are solidly in the show. We won it last year and we've got all of our starting and finishing driver lineups like we normally do. We should have a good shot at this. I'm looking forward to it."

Leading the way for TRG was MESCO Building for the Future Rookie of the Year leader Tim George Jr. in the No. 67 TRG Porsche GT3. George placed the No. 67 machine ninth on the GT grid with a best lap at 1:45.079 (92.810 mph). It was George's third top-10 qualifying performance in the last four Rolex Series qualifying sessions and puts him and co-driver Andy Lally in good position to challenge for their first victory of the season.

Starting 12th will be Ted Ballou with a lap at 1:45.466 (92.469 mph) in the No. 66 Mitchell Rubber Porsche GT3. Ballou is looking for his fourth consecutive top-five race result in this evening's Montreal 200, and he is making his second straight start with co-driver Spencer Pumpelly.

In qualifying for his first race on home soil, Canadian racer Hima Maher placed the No. 65 Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing/Total R Insulation Solutions Porsche GT3 for TRG/Riegel Autosport 16th on the starting grid with a lap at 1:47.252 (90.929 mph). Maher, who hails from Calgary, Alberta, is sharing the No. 65 machine with 2005 Rolex Series GT champion Craig Stanton.

RJ Valentine-who won last year's Montreal 200 alongside Andy Lally in a TRG Porsche-qualified 18th in the No. 68 CRG/Maxter/Rotax/MBA Group/F1 Air Porsche GT3. Valentine's best lap was 1:48.905 (85.549 mph). In yesterday's practice sessions, Valentine's No. 68 co-driver Bryan Sellers was fourth quickest on the day.

Thursday's practice sessions weren't without incident for TRG, however, as the No. 66 Porsche suffered significant damage in a crash during one of the afternoon sessions. Fortunately, the TRG team was able to get the car repaired and back on course in time for this afternoon's qualifying session, but the team was still forced to play catch up during qualifying.

"Yesterday, one of our competitors decided to make a new brake marker that didn't exist and decided to use the No. 66 as his backdrop," Buckler said. "He just ran right into the back of us and took the car out for the whole day. Those guys got very limited track time. It was a bummer."

-credit: trg