St. Pete: GT qualifying report

Henzler Leads All-Porsche Front Row for SPEED GT At St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 2, 2005) -- German Wolf Henzler dropped the early hammer Saturday at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, taking the pole in the No. 55 Applied Materials/Jongbloed Wheels Porsche 911 Cup for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT race, nailing down his fast lap of 1:18.886 (82.143 mph) barely three minutes after he entered the 1.8-mile street course.

Porsche claimed the top two spots on the SPEED GT grid as Robin Liddell, of Edinburgh, Scotland, came in behind Henzler with a 1:19.250 (81.766 mph) in the No. 66 AXA Financial/PFAFF Porsche 911 Cup.

"I love this track, it reminds me of Monaco very much" said Henzler, who will have started first on the grid in three of four career World Challenge GT starts. "I used to drive street courses a lot, especially Monaco, and I think the 40-minute practice sessions [here] helped me a lot. Those things together left a large advantage for me."

Sebring Round One winner Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., in the No. 1 c3controls/3R-Racing Dodge Viper, and Cadillac driver Max Papis, of Miami, Fla., in the No. 16 XM/Mobil 1/Motorla/Bose Cadillac CTS-V, posted identical qualifying times at 1:19.659 (81.346 mph), but Archer's came first, meaning the 3-R Racing driver gets the nod for the third spot on Sunday while Papis will start fourth.

Papis' teammate, Andy Pilgrim, of Del Ray Beach, Fla., qualified fifth in the No. 8 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V, with a 1:19.732 (81.272 mph).

Sunday's SPEED GT Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race, Round Two of the 2005 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT slate, is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. (EDT), with the SPEED Channel broadcast set for Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m.

Complete information and live timing and scoring of both the SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car races can be viewed at www.world-challenge.com.

-scca pro racing-