Washington DC: GT qualifying report

Pobst leads field in SPEED GT qualifying at Washington, D.C. WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 20, 2002) - Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., dominated qualifying to capture the Woody's Ice Pole Position for this afternoon's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World ...

Pobst leads field in SPEED GT qualifying at Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 20, 2002) - Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., dominated qualifying to capture the Woody's Ice Pole Position for this afternoon's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT event at Washington. Johannes van Overbeek, of Danville, Calif., and Jeff McMillin, Erie, Pa., completed the top three.

Pobst, driving the No. 22 1st Interstate Inn/3R Racing Porsche 911 Cup, wasted no time in jumping to the top of the time sheets on his first hot lap. He then improved on his own time the next time by, setting a fast lap of 1:17.970 [76.691 mph] that would hold up for the remainder of the 20-minute qualifying session.

"My SCCA autocross upbringing from 20 years ago really helped me learn how to get cars around hairpins quickly," said Pobst. "Temporary circuits are very friendly to me for the same reason. I can learn a course fast. To me, it doesn't look like a road-more like a video game with the walls. I pick out points on the walls and the track to use as reference."

Phil McClure, of Floris, Iowa, and series point leader Michael Galati, of N. Olmstead, Ohio, completed the top five.