MX-5 Cup: Mosport qualifying notes

Bond On MX-5 Cup Pole at Mosport, BSI Racing Earns Top Six Spots

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. (June 18, 2006) -- Making his first appearance in the series, Canadian Russ Bond, of Uxbridge, Ont., will start on the pole in today's SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Hankook race, part of the Clarington 200 Mosport Father's Day weekend at Mosport International Raceway.

Driving as part of a six-car BSI Racing lineup, Bond piloted the No. 58 BSI Racing Mazda MX-5 to a quick time of 1:37.115 (91.153 mph) to lead five other BSI entries on the grid.

Payton Wilson, of Chantilly, Va., will start on the front row along with Bond after turning a 1:37.369 (90.916 mph).

The team formed a four-car draft through most of the 20-minute qualifying session, helping each other to their times, but Bond took a different approach, relying on a different draft.

"We all went out together and I was in the back of the line," Bond said. "It seems like there are a couple of places you can be fast here, like down the front half of turns one, two and three, and that's where I was quicker than those guys.

"But, they are much faster than me. I nearly hit Mike [Gatto] a couple of times and decided I didn't want to mess up his race because I'm a guest this weekend. So, I backed out, and when I came back, I got right behind Ben [Hohn]. He gave me just an awesome draft down the straight. Thanks to him, thanks to BSI Racing, Mazda Canada and Mazda USA for all of their support and letting me go this weekend."

Gatto, of Atlanta, Ga., will start third in his No. 57 Vision Painting MX-5 after turning a 1:37.394 (90.892 mph), and current point leader Todd Buras, of Melbourne, Fla., will start fourth (1:37.425 -- 90.863). Todd Lamb, of Covington, Ga., will begin the race fifth (1:37.507 -- 90.787 mph) in his No. 55 Speed, Style and Sound/Mazdaspeed MX-5.

In his No. 60 BSI Racing/Miami Dade Health Mazda MX-5, Carlos Garcia, of Miami, Fla., will start sixth in a 19-car field that showed the top 13 cars separated by 0.942-sec. after qualifying.

To follow race action from Mosport, which begins at 12 p.m. (EDT), via live timing, visit www.mx-5cup.com and click on the Mosport event page link.

For more information about the SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Hankook, including schedule, entry list and event coverage, visit www.mx-5cup.com.

-scca pro racing-