VIR: Penske Racing qualifying report

Verizon Wireless Porsche Riley Qualifies Second at VIR

ALTON, VA (April 24, 2009) - The No. 12 Verizon Wireless Porsche Powered Riley will start Saturday's Bosch Engineering 250 from the second position at Virginia International Raceway.

Timo Bernhard qualified the Penske Racing Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series entry turning a lap time of 1:42.68 and he hopes to capitalize on his front row starting position at the 3.27-mile road course.

Bernhard, who shares driving responsibilities with Romain Dumas, said the team focused more on the race set-up than qualifying Friday and the results were what he expected.

"I wasn't surprised with [the] second-place [qualifying position]; we were more focused on our race set-up than qualifying," said Bernhard. "We didn't get a lot of track-time today so we looked more toward the race."

Bernhard and the Penske team tested at the Alton, VA-based track in December under wet conditions. Dumas did not attend that test so his first laps were spent familiarizing himself with the track.

"Last night was the first time I've seen the track," Dumas said. "As soon as I got to the hotel last night, our engineer brought me out here to drive my rental car around. It helped a little but I prefer to drive the track in a race car."

The Bosch Engineering 250 will air live on Saturday, April 25 with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on SPEED.

-credit: pr