Portland: Practice one notes

FRIDAY MONING PRACTICE SESSION

June 8, 2007. Portland, Oregon - R on White of Santa Clara, CA set the fastest time in the first practice session for Round Five of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Portland International Raceway. Driving the #69 Team G.Fro / Wunder-bar Mazda, he lapped the 1.946-mile circuit in a time of 1:09.301 to lead the field of 30 drivers entered in this weekend's event.

Current series points leader Dane Cameron of Sonoma, CA, led most of the session in his #19 JDC Motorsports/Finlay Motorsports Mazda, but running most of the session on old tires and never getting a clean lap on the new set the team put on in the closing minutes of the session, he had to settle for second place with a lap of 1:09.301.

In third was Russell Walker of Dallas, TX, driving the #28 Pavecon Mazda for John Walko Racing with a best lap of 1:09.640. Australian racer James Davison, currently second in the points battle and with a 2nd-place finish in the previous event at Miller Motorsports Park, posted the fourth-best time of 1:09.683 in his #7 Velocity Motorsports/Easternats Mazda.

Rounding out the top-5 was Nick Haye, of Huntington Beach, CA with a lap of 1:09.698 in his #37 JDC Motorsports/NHR Racing Mazda. Lorenzo Mandarino, who won the Miller Motorsports Park race and is currently 4th in points finished the first practice session back in 16th with a lap of 1:10.917 in his #23 Team G.Fro / Newway Forming Mazda.

An overview of session times shows nine cars within 7/10ths of a second, all in the 1:09 bracket. As the session ended, the overcast is clearing and temperatures rising, so the second session may or may not produce faster times.

The one hour afternoon practice session is scheduled to begin at 4:10 pm.

-credit: starmazda