Watkins Glen Press Notes #1-15, Friday

Press Notes #1-15, Friday

30 May, 1997

1. Good morning and welcome to the first day of official activity for the= First Union Six Hours of the Glen. The weekend features four Professional Sport= sCar Racing, Inc. (SportsCar) championships competing in three different races= : A 6-hour Exxon World SportsCar Championship and Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive race, a 3-hour SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars featuring Grand Sports, Sports, Touring and Compact cars and a=

40-minute Black Magic Pro Series race for World Sports Racers. =

2. Today=D5s activities include practice for the Exxon World SportsCar Championship, Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive, Speedvision Cup for Stock SportsCars and the Black Magic Pro Series. =

First round of qualifying begins today for the First Union Six Hours of t= he Glen. Positions one and two for Exxon World SportsCar Championship will be lock= ed in today between 3:15 and 3:45 pm. We=D5ll also have official qualifying = for Saturday=D5s, Speedvision Cup for Stock=CASportsCars. =

3. The following people are here to help you: =

Watkins Glen International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = =2E . . J.J.=CAO=D5Malley, Director of Communications =

Professional SportsCar Racing, Inc. (SportsCar) . . . . . . . . . . . . .= Ed =

Nicholls, Director of Communications =

4. ENTRY=CALIST CHANGES =

EXXON WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP =

CAR CLASS CHANGE =

2 WSC SCRATCH entry =

20 WSC ADD Andy Wallace/Aylesbury, England and Perry McCarthy/London, England =

33 WSC ADD Owen Trinkler/Nashville, TN and Shane Lewis/Jupiter, FL =

43 WSC ADD Eliseo Salazar/Santiago, Chile =

63 WSC ADD Howard Katz/Palisades, NY =

03 WSC ADD Perry McCarthy/London, England and Barry Waddell/Evansville, IN =

EXXON SUPREME GT SERIES PRESENTED BY VIRGIN INTERACTIVE =

CAR CLASS CHANGE =

2 GTS-3 ADD Marvin Epps/Carmel, IN and Jeff Barker/Hesperia, CA =

6 GTS-3 ADD Derek Hill/Santa Monica, CA =

18 GTS-3 ADD Tony Renna/DeLand, FL =

53 GTS-2 NEW ENTRY, Melanie Snow/Pleasant Valley, VT, Porsche 911 =

56 GTS-2 ADD First Union, sponsor =

57 GTS-3 ADD Bobby Basso/Syracuse, NY =

61 GTS-2 ADD Nick Ham/Evergreen, CO, Franz Konrad/Germany, Michel Ligonnet/France =

66 GTS-1 ADD David Brabham/London, England =

80 GTS-1 ADD Paul Hacker/Valatie, NY =

98 GTS-3 ADD Thomas Dittmer/Chicago, IL and Mike Gagliardo/Chicago, IL =

02 GTS-1 ADD Andy Pilgrim/Cooper City, FL, Jochen Rohr/Cincinnati, OH and=

Hurley Haywood/Jacksonville, FL =

SPEEDVISION CUP =

CAR CLASS CHANGE =

2 GS SCRATCH-Entry =

16 GS ADD Kent Hill/Atlanta, GA =

20 GS ADD Adam Franzese/Watkins Glen, NY =

29 GS ADD Rich Rutherford/Newport Beach, CA, Chris Pennington/Alta Loma, CA =

61 GS ADD Joe Kent/Marietta, GA, Mark Mitchell/Los Angeles, CA =

77 GS SCRATCH entry =

80 GS ADD Alex Seiler/New York City, NY =

05 GS ADD Hurley Haywood/Jacksonville, FL =

85 S CHANGE car number to #66 =

93 S ADD Larry Galbo/Tulsa, OK =

10 T ADD Ara Sergenian/Gainsville, FL, Mike Cattrell/Atlanta, GA, Karl Hacker/Albany, NY =

91 T Rob Vining/Buffalo, NY, Joel Solly, Colden, NY, A.J. Frank/Blufflton= , SC =

64 T ADD Julian Calvert/Charlottesville, VA =

94 T SCRATCH entry =

28 T ADD Mike Argetsinger/Chicago, IL =

57 T ADD Martin Landey/New York, NY, David DelGenio/Ackworth, NH =

69 C ADD Ara Sergenian, Gainsville,GA, Grant Lockwood, Cumming, GA, Karl Hacker/Albany, NY =

7 C ADD Owen Trinkler/Nasville, TN =

97 C ADD Charles Espenlaub/Lutz, FL, Joe Jordan/Orange, CA, Jim Jordan/Sacramento, CA =

89 C ADD Gary Lippert/Rochester, NY, car will be a Dodge Neon =

45 C DELETE entry =

89 C CHANGE car to Saturn SC =

40 C ADD Rob Vining/Buffalo, NY =

BLACK MAGIC PRO SERIES =

CAR CLASS CHANGE =

58 WSR ADD Berry Atkins/West Palm Beach, FL =

11 WSR SCRATCH entry =

03 WSR ADD Luis Navarro/New York, NY =

04 WSR ADD Donna Lisciandro/New York, NY =

5. GREEN FLAG drops at 11:00 am to start the first 1-hour practice for th= e Exxon World SportsCar/Exxon Supreme GTS-1, GTS-2, GTS-3 cars...weather is cloudy, cool with threat of rain...Scott Goodyear, who finished second= in the Indianapolis 500 on Tuesday, is at Watkins Glen to drive the #45 GTS-1 Fa= ntasy of Flight Porsche 911 Turbo with Ed Davies of Hobe Sound, FL. Goodyear, originally from Toronto, now lives in Carmel, IN. He and his wife Leslie = are celebrating the birth of a new baby...Early lap times of approximately 1:= 45...#4 WSC car into pits, shuts down at 25-minute mark...#66 GTS-1 does driver change at 25-minute mark, Andy Wallace sharing ride with Doc Bundy at Wat= kins Glen. Paul Newman had been co-driver at Lime Rock last weekend...black fl= ag to field at 28-minute mark for car into gravel pit...course re-opens with 32= minutes left in practice session. =

6. #27 GTS-1 Ford Mustang of Scott Maxwell and Jason Priestley on-track. = Car was running second at Lime Rock on Memorial Day when it broke a half-shaf= t and retired...#30 WSC Momo Ferrari in at 40-minute mark for tire pressure=

check, changed left back and right front tires. Bodywork comes off...#45 = car into pits at 42-minute mark, Goodyear out, Davies into car after tire change..= =2E#66 Panoz back in at 45-minute mark for fuel and driver change...#88 WSC MSI = - Make-A-Wish Chevrolet R&S=CAMK III with Ross Bentley of British Columbia driving, second fastest...#16 WSC=CAGoodyear/Hella/Bosch/H.P. Autotech Fo= rd R&S MK=CAIII fastest car at 1:41.320...#1 WSC Danka/Toshiba Copiers & Fax=

Oldsmobile R&S-MK-III, with Wayne Taylor at the wheel is second fastest c= ar at 1:41.50...third fastest car (Pace/Jachamowitz) #4 WSC Oldsmobile R&S=CAMK=CAIII, was almost three seconds slower...CHECKERED FLAG drops at 12:00 to end first practice session. =

7. GREEN FLAG drops at 12:15 pm to start first practice session for the SPEEDVISION Cup....session is a half-hour...four classes running at the s= ame time...Actor Jason Priestley, who competes with Scott Maxwell in the #27 = Ford Mustang in the Exxon Supreme GTS-1, co-drives the #46 & #98 GS=CAFord Mustang Cobra R with Andy Pilgrim, who also competes in the Exxon Supreme=

GT series...black flag at nine-minute mark because car #34T Honda Prelude= Si of Terry Earwood and Mark Hillestad across track near bridge, heavy front en= d impact, driver taken to infield hospital for precautionary check-up...GRE= EN FLAG drops to re-open session with 15 minutes left...#95 Mazda Miata repo= rted to be spilling oil or fuel...CHECKERED FLAG drops to end session at 12:50=

pm...fastest car was #70 GS Mazda RX-7, with a time of 2:10.565, an avera= ge speed of 93.746 mph...#8 Firebird Formula was fastest S class car, 22nd o= verall.

8. GREEN FLAG drops at 1 pm to start first practice for half-hour session= for Black Magic Pro Series cars...black flag at 2-minute mark because car #58= of Barry Atkins off course, heavy impact at Position 20. Driver OK, walks ba= ck to pit lane...26 entries in event...Track re-opens with 23 minutes left in session...#24 Toyota World Sports Racer of John Warner, off-track at Turn=

1...car #04 in pits, out of oil...CHECKERED FLAG ends session at 1:32 pm.=

Fastest car in session is #83 Toyota WSR of Mike Davies with time of 2:06= =2E257, an average speed of 96.945 mph. Second was #10 car of David Tenney with a=

time of 2:07.218=3D96.212 mph. =

9. Practice session for Exxon World=CASportsCar/Exxon Supreme GST-1, GTS-= 2, GTS-3 cars delayed while crews cleaned up oil spills between Positions 10= -13 and Positions 15-16 on driver=D5s right. Heavy concentration of Speedy Dr= y absorbent put down...GREEN FLAG DROPS to start the half-hour session at 1:50 pm...#12 WSC Mazda Hawk loses tire at entrance to pit road, stops, t= ire bouncing back and forth across track, black flag for field at 2:03 pm bec= ause #12 stopped in dangerous position...10 minutes left in session when cars rele= ased at 2:12 pm...CHECKERED FLAG ends practice session at 2:23 pm. the five faste= st WSC=CAcars were #30 Momo Ferrari 333SP, #3 Ferrari 333SP, #16 Ford R&S=CAMK=CAIII, #1 Oldsmobile R&S=CAMK=CAIII and #88 Ryder Chevrolet R&S=CAMK=CAIII...GTS-1 leaders were #66 Ford Pantos GTR-1, #01 Porsche 91= 1 Turbo, #91 Chevrlet Camaro, #27 Ford Mustang and #45 Porsche 911 Turbo...GTS-2 leaders were #56 Porsche 911, #99 Porsche 911 Turbo, #61 Porsche 911, #53 Porsche 911 and #32 Pontiac Firebird...GTS-3 leaders wer= e #10 BMW M3, #39 Porsche 911, #86 Porsche 911, #15 Ford Mustang Cobra and #89 Porsche 911....#30 Ferrari first car to get below 1:41 mark with = time of 1:40.104=3D122.27 mph. =

10. ADDITIONAL ENTRY CHANGES =

SPEEDVISION CUP =

CAR CLASS CHANGE =

76 GS NEW ENTRY. Nissan 300SX Peter Tonelli/Northboro, MA, Kris Skavnes/Newark, NJ =

78 C NEW ENTRY. Nissan 200SX. David Daughtery/Noblesville, IN, John Phillips/Sealy TX =

63 T CHANGE entrant to John Norris =

65 T CHANGE entrant to John Norris =

EXXON SUPREME =

CAR CLASS CHANGE =

57 GTS-3 ADD Alistair Oag/Jamestown, NY/Frank DelVecchio/Trumble, NY =

11. GREEN FLAG drops at 2:32 pm to start half-hour practice session for SPEEDVISION cars...Black flag at 2:40 pm because of problem in Turn 1...2= 0 minutes left in session when cars released...second black flag with 13 mi= nutes =

left in session when car goes off track into gravel pit...course reopens with = 8:40 =

left in session...CHECKERED FLAG drops at 3:07 pm to end practice session...Deadline for driver changes passed at 3:30 pm. =

12. GREEN FLAG dropped at 3:18 pm to start half-hour qualifying for Exxon=

World SportsCar to establish first and second positions ONLY...all teams=D5= tires checked and marked, all OK. Cars must start race on tires they qualify on= =2E..#1 =

car down to 1:39.838 on just second lap, #30 Ferrari with Montermini driving 1:38.573=3D124.172 mph on lap 3, already under previous qualifying track = record of 1:39.684=3D122.788 mph...#63 Mazda Kudzu, driver change, McAdam out, Katz in...#28 in pits for tire check...#30 in pits to cool tires...Wayne = Taylor =

starts session in 31 Oldsmobile R&S=CAMK=CAIII car. His time of 1:38.825=3D123.8= 55 mph is also under track record...black flag, car #12 hits wall at Turn 7, on = his =

third lap, Chuck Goldsborough OK...#16 car only comes from garage during black flag stoppage, tires checked, OK...#3 Ferrari 333SP brought back to pits = on tow truck during black flag stoppage...13 minutes left when cars released...#= 4 Oldsmobile R&S-MK-III and #16 Ford R&S-MK-III back into pits with about 6=

minutes left in session, #16 third fastest car in just 2 laps. Checked ti= res and =

went back out, Weaver breaks previous record on his fifth lap with time of 1:39.096=3D123.517 mph...#76 Porsche 911 will be allowed one hardship lap= at the end of qualifying. =

13. GREEN FLAG drops at 4:02 for a 20-minute qualifying session for SPEEDVISION Cup Sports, Touring and Compact cars...slight rain starts to = fall with about 5 minutes left in session...John Norris driving #63T Nissan 24= 0SX, Craig Stanton in #65T Nissan 240SX...Peter Cunningham in #82T Honda Accord EX...Mike Doolin driving #59S BMW328is, David Daugherty in #78C Nissan 200SX...Rob Vining in #40C Honda Civic Del Sol si, Jeff McMillin driving #9S BMW 328is, Gary Lippert driving #89C Neon...CHECKERED FLAG drops at 4:22 pm to end qualifying session. =

14. GREEN FLAG drops to start Friday's final qualifying session, for the SPEEDVISION Cup Grand Sports cars...light rain continues to fall but trac= k remains mostly dry, not affecting drivers...#46GS Ford Mustang Cobra take= s early best lap but quickly overtaken by #79GS Mazda RX-7 Turbo, which in = turn bumped by #88GS Toyota Supra Turbo...lap #4, #46GS Pilgrim driving, does lap of 2:10.466=3D93.818 mph on lap 4, taking over first place and breaki= ng track record of 2:11.648=3D92.975 mph...#88GS Toyota Supra Turbo, just 2/10ths = of a second back, also under previous qualifying record...rain stops half-way = through session...with four minutes left in session, top five qualifiers all unde= r the previous record, set by Peter Farrell in a Mazda RX-7 turbo in June, 1995...CHECKERED FLAG ends qualifying session at 4:51 pm. =

15. This concludes today's SportsCar Press Notes. Good night!