Mosport: Friday practice notes

On a damp but drying track in the first official Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear practice session at Mosport, Trois Rivi0x00e8res pole-sitter Alex Ardoin put in the fastest lap, a 1:17.093 (114.828 mph) in his #51 Mundill / Oral and Facial Surgery Center Mazda. Close behind was Englishman Jonathan Goring, who posted a lap of 1:17.135 (114.765 mph) in his #14 Andersen Racing / Skip Barber Racing Mazda. In third was 2007 championship points leader Dane Cameron driving the #19 JDC Motorsports/Finlay Motorsports Mazda. His lap of 1:17.477 was good for an average speed of 114.258 mph around the 2.5-mile, 10-turn Mosport road course.

In fourth was Ron White, winner of the last two races at Road America and Trois Rivi0x00e8res. He turned a lap of 1:17.513 (114.205 mph) in the #69 Maxwell Paper Racing / Maxwell Paper Products Mazda. Rounding out the top-5 was the series' lone female driver, Natacha Gachnang, who drew on her European wet-track experience to post a lap of 1:17.604 in the #35 AIM Autosport Mazda.

The 45-minute afternoon session was a different affair entirely, with a dry track, tumbling lap times and a shakeup of the running order. James Davison, the Australian racer who drives the #7 Velocity Motorsports / Easternats Mazda, was 20th in the morning, but posted the fastest lap later in the day, a 1:16.384 (115.893 mph). Dane Cameron, showing the consistency that has earned him a commanding lead in the points championship, was 2nd-fast with a lap of 1:16.452 (115.790 mph).Ron White suffered a trip into the wall during the session, but not before posting a 3rd-fastest lap of 1:16.838 (115.209 mph).JCameron's JDC Motorsports teammate, Nick Haye, who finished on the podium in the last two races, was 4th-fast in his #37 JDC Motorsports / Quantum Sphere Mazda with a lap of 1:16.888 (115.134 mph). Canadian racer Lorenzo Mandarino made an appearance in the top-5 with a lap of 1:16.928 (115.074 mph) in his #15 Team G.FRO / Newway Forming Mazda.

In both sessions, times toward the top of the field were very close, with less than a second separating the top-10 in the morning session, and the top-8 all with a second of each other in the afternoon. With weather always a big factor at Mosport and rains storms expected to pass through the area during the day, qualifying, scheduled for 9:15 am to 10:00 am Saturday morning, may be a tense affair indeed.

The 45-hour Star Mazda Championship race is scheduled to take the green flag at 3:50 pm Saturday afternoon.Star Mazda races are broadcast on the SPEED Channel, with the Mosport event scheduled to air on Saturday, September 11 at 12 pm Eastern.

-credit: star mazda