04.07.2004 David Brabham AND Peter Kox in the Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT have already found three secondS a lap as the new car faces its second race in a week: ALMS qualifying report AND timeS from Lime Rock

Olivier Beretta won his first ALMS pole since the end of the 2000 season when he drove the Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C5-R to the GTS class pole with a time of 51.425. Beretta, who will co-drive with Oliver Gavin, won 10 poles in two seasons with the former Dodge Viper factory effort operated by Team ORECA.

The other Corvette Racing entry of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell qualified second, followed by the ACEMCO Saleen S7R of Terry Borcheller and Johnny Mowlem, with the Krohn-Barbour Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT two places further back in fifth after a solid performance with the sole car to make it to Lime Rock.

However tomorrow's race could bring some upsets, according to Krohn-Barbour Racing drivers David Brabham and Peter Kox, after both practice and qualifying for the inaugural New England Grand Prix saw the performance of the team's new Murciélago R-GT improve by three seconds per lap.

Kox, who drove with flawless aggression to record a 53.970secs lap in qualifying, said that the circuit, being used for the first time in ALMS competition, could play a big part in the result. “This track is so short, and so up-and-down, that there's going to be a lot of traffic out there," the Dutchman explained, "I would be surprised if there are not a lot of yellow flags during the race.

"It's going to be tough for us, because we're having to work hard with the car to drive it at full pace, and that doesn't leave much [mental capacity] to look out for faster cars coming up behind. But it's also going to be hard for everyone else. This is one race where you're really going to have to stay sharp.”

Brabham, who was IMSA GT1 winner last time he raced at Lime Rock in 1988, agreed with his co-driver's assessment. “Because the track's so up-and-down and twisty, it's not easy around here to see when faster cars catch you up," he confirmed, "The way you move through traffic will definitely play a role in the race. And there's rain forecast for Monday, which really could make things unpredictable."

Unpredictable conditions would not necessarily go amiss in the Krohn-Barbour camp, however. "Rain would also teach us more about the Lamborghini, because so far we've only run about three laps in the wet,” Brabham revealed, "But we're starting to get a better understanding of the car and we're going in the right direction.”

Despite the close confines, however, Kox pushed as hard as possible in qualifying. “I said to myself ‘really go for it - either I'm going to come back or I'm not'," the Dutchman laughed, "I pushed hard immediately, and the nose of the car ran straight on in turn one as soon as I hit the change of surface to concrete strips. That lap was ruined but, after that, the tyres came good and I continued to push.

"Being racers, we want everything at once, but, realistically, we have to be thankful that we're in better shape than we were this time last week.”

“To find three seconds is quite a big gain," chief engineer John Bright said of Kox's effort, "Peter drove really well in qualifying, despite that first lap ‘off', and we've made real progress.”

Not everyone was happy, however, as expectant team boss Dick Barbour admitted. “I'm encouraged, but I'd be dishonest if I told you I'm happy," he said, "We're struggling because we haven't had any testing time, but we made some abrupt changes to the car today, we're working well with our technical partner Pirelli, and we've gone forwards. It just shows the Lamborghini's potential.”