28.02.2004 STEADY QUALIFYING RUN FOR SCUDERIA FERRARI OF WASHINGTON AT THE GRAND PRIX OF MIAMI
Scott
Pruett captured his second-straight Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series pole
of the season during qualifying for the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami
Speedway yesterday. Pruett turned in a blistering 1:13.375 lap at 112.845 mph in
the Chip Ganassi Lexus Riley XI, shattering the Daytona Prototype track record
by 3.6 seconds, while further back, the sole Scuderia Ferrari of Washington
Maserati Trofeo Light entry claimed 11th place in the GT class after a steady
run during the Thursday and Friday qualifying sessions.
The Grand American drivers got their first taste of racing on the banking of the new Homestead-Miami Speedway on Thursday during the opening practice session for today's Grand Prix of Miami. The speeds were quicker due to the new configuration, and several teams were at the top of the leaderboard during the one-hour, 45-minute practice session.
The Trofeo Light which, made its racing debut last month in the legendary Daytona 24 Hours last month, is once again being piloted by Stephen Earle, Emil Assentato and Nick Longhi, the trio who battled on at Daytona until damage suffered during an on track incident finally forced the team to withdraw the car late morning.
Their fastest lap at the new Homestead track of 1:23.206 during qualifying leaves them in 11th place in GT, almost four seconds adrift of the GT pole winning Prototype Technology Group BMW M3 of Boris Said and Bill Auberlen, the Scuderia Ferrari of Washington team acknowledging that the new car is in the initial stages of its development.
The team's recently announced Cup class entry, a Ferrari 360 Challenge for Thomas Jermoluk and Dan Kennedy, wound up 11th in the SGS class and 40th overall on the grid after posting a 01:28.069 lap during qualifying.
The flag will drop to signal the start of the Grand Prix of Miami today at 3pm local time.
| Pos. | No. | Class | Class Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 01 | DP | 1 | Scott Pruett, Loomis, Calif.; Max Papis, Miami Beach, Fla. | CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates / Lexus Riley | 01:13.375 | 112.845 |
| 2 | 27 | DP | 2 | Didier Theys, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Jan Magnussen, Denmark | Doran Lista Racing / Lexus Doran | 01:14.159 | 111.652 |
| 3 | 6 | DP | 3 | Oswaldo Negri Jr, Aventura, Fla.; Burt Frissell, Kilei, Hawaii | Michael Shank Racing / Lexus Doran | 01:14.166 | 111.641 |
| 4 | 58 | DP | 4 | David Donohue, Malvern, Pa.; Darren Law, Phoenix, Ariz. | Red Bull - Brumos Porsche / Porsche Fabcar | 01:14.172 | 111.632 |
| 5 | 02 | DP | 5 | Jimmy Morales, Mexico City, Mexico; Luis Diaz, Mexico City, Mexico | CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates / Lexus Riley | 01:14.782 | 110.722 |
| 6 | 10 | DP | 6 | Wayne Taylor, Altamonte Springs, Fla.; Max Angelelli, Monaco | SunTrust Racing / Pontiac Riley | 01:14.811 | 110.679 |
| 7 | 81 | DP | 7 | Cort Wagner, Los Angeles, Calif.; Brent Martini, Corona del Mar, Calif.; Kelly Collins, Newport Coast, Calif. | G&W Motorsports / BMW Doran | 01:14.938 | 110.491 |
| 8 | 7 | DP | 8 | Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla.; Jack Baldwin, Marietta, Ga. | Southard Motorsports / BMW Fabcar | 01:14.978 | 110.432 |
| 9 | 09 | DP | 9 | Stephan Gregoire, Carmel, Ind.; Doug Goad, Farmington Hills, Mich. | Spirit of Daytona Racing / Pontiac Crawford | 01:15.075 | 110.290 |
| 10 | 39 | DP | 10 | Chris Hall, Port Orange, Fla.; Larry Huang, Ponte Vedra, Fla. | Silverstone Racing Services / Pontiac Crawford | 01:15.183 | 110.131 |
| 11 | 59 | DP | 11 | JC France, Daytona Beach, Fla.; Hurley Haywood, Ponte Vedra, Fla. | Brumos Racing / Porsche Fabcar | 01:15.764 | 109.287 |
| 12 | 9 | DP | 12 | Mike Borkowski, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Paul Mears Jr, Orlando, Fla. | Mears Motorcoach / SpeedSource / Ford Multimatic | 01:15.863 | 109.144 |
| 13 | 5 | DP | 13 | Justin Pruskowski, Woodinville, Wash.; Joe Pruskowski, Woodinville, Wash.; Ross Bentley, White Rock, B.C., Canada | Essex Racing / Ford Multimatic | 01:16.176 | 108.696 |
| 14 | 54 | DP | 14 | Forest Barber, Fort Worth, Texas; Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, Ga.; Andy Pilgrim, Delray Beach, Fla. | Bell Motorsports / Pontiac Doran | 01:16.470 | 108.278 |
| 15 | 2 | DP | 15 | Milka Duno, Venezuela; Andy Wallace, England | Howard - Boss Motorsports / Pontiac Crawford | 01:16.988 | 107.549 |
| 16 | 70 | DP | 16 | Selby Wellman, Cary, N.C.; Sylvain Tremblay, Sunrise, Fla. | SpeedSource / Ford Multimatic | 01:18.752 | 105.140 |
| 17 | 21 | GT | 1 | Boris Said, Carlsbad, Calif.; Bill Auberlen, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. | Prototype Technology Group / BMW M3 | 01:19.325 | 104.381 |
| 18 | 18 | DP | 17 | Jon Leavy, Sunrise, Fla.; Johnny Miller, Johnson City, Tenn. | Murrays Speed & Custom / Pontiac Chase | 01:19.342 | 104.358 |
| 19 | 66 | GT | 2 | Ian James, Kissimmee, Fla.; RJ Valentine, Hingham, Mass.; Chris Gleason, Johnstown, Pa. | The Racers Group / Porsche GT3 RS | 01:19.575 | 104.053 |
| 20 | 44 | GT | 3 | Jay Policastro, Latrobe, Pa.; Joe Policastro, Latrobe, Pa.; Mike Fitzgerald, Fountain Hills, Ariz. | Orbit Racing / Porsche GT3 RS | 01:19.652 | 103.952 |
| 21 | 22 | GT | 4 | Justin Marks, Chico, Calif.; Joey Hand, Concord, Ohio | Prototype Technology Group / BMW M3 | 01:19.753 | 103.821 |
| 22 | 79 | GT | 5 | Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Milt Minter, Sanger, Calif. | Gunnar Racing / Porsche GT3 RS | 01:20.231 | 103.202 |
| 23 | 67 | GT | 6 | Kevin Buckler, Sonoma, Calif.; Liz Halliday, Rancho Sante Fe, Calif. | The Racers Group / Porsche GT3 RS | 01:20.383 | 103.007 |
| 24 | 80 | DP | 18 | Steve Marshall, Blacksburg, Va.; Roger Scotton, Boca Raton, Fla.; Price Cobb, Danville, Va. | G&W Motorsports / BMW Picchio | 01:20.575 | 102.761 |
| 25 | 57 | GT | 7 | Chip Vance, Dublin, Ohio; John Stevenson, Swansboro, N.C.; Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla. | Stevenson Motorsports / Auto Assets / Porsche GT3 RS | 01:20.834 | 102.432 |
| 26 | 06 | GT | 8 | Steve Lisa, Paradise Valley, Ariz.; David Rosenblum, Langhorne, Pa. | ICY / SL Motorsports / Corvette | 01:21.286 | 101.863 |
| 27 | 98 | GT | 9 | Brady Refenning, Stuart, Fla.; Carlos DeQuesada, Coral Gables, Fla. | Alegra Motorsport / GT Technologies / BMW M3 | 01:21.515 | 101.576 |
| 28 | 84 | GT | 10 | Mark Hupfer, Indianapolis, Ind.; Paul Mortimer, Memphis, Tenn. | Acme Motorsport / Porsche GT3 RS | 01:22.483 | 100.384 |
| 29 | 33 | GT | 11 | Stephen Earle, Garden Ridge, Texas; Emil Assentato, Locust Valley, N.Y.; Nick Longhi, Valley Cottage, N.Y. | Scuderia Ferrari of Washington / Maserati GT | 01:23.206 | 99.512 |
| 30 | 71 | SGS | 1 | Greg Wilkins, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dave Lacey, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Doncaster Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:23.378 | 99.307 |
| 31 | 38 | SGS | 2 | Marc Bunting, Monktow, Md.; Andy Lally, Northport, N.Y. | TPC Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:23.592 | 99.053 |
| 32 | 91 | SGS | 3 | Robert Julien, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Jean-Francois Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada | Doncaster Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:23.634 | 99.003 |
| 33 | 36 | SGS | 4 | Michael Levitas, Jessup, Md.; Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga. | TPC Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:24.102 | 98.452 |
| 34 | 63 | SGS | 5 | Geoff Escalette, Newport Beach, Calif.; Hugh Plumb, Chadds Ford, Pa. | Glenn Yee Motorsports / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:24.325 | 98.192 |
| 35 | 41 | SGS | 6 | Joe Nonnamaker, Massillon, Ohio; Will Nonnamaker, North Canton, Ohio | Orison-Planet Earth Motorsports / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:24.670 | 97.791 |
| 36 | 47 | SGS | 7 | Bob Ward, Casselberry, Fla.; Michael Baughman, Clear Spring, Md. | Michael Baughman Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:25.461 | 96.886 |
| 37 | 37 | SGS | 8 | John Littlechild, Medfield, Mass.; Bill Adam, Miami, Fla. | TPC Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:26.414 | 95.818 |
| 38 | 42 | SGS | 9 | Wayne Nonnamaker, North Canton, Ohio; | TheRaceSite.com Racing / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:26.690 | 95.513 |
| 39 | 86 | SGS | 10 | Shawn Bayliff, Pelham, N.C.; Armando Trentini, Houston, Texas; Mae Van Wijk, Kingwood, Texas | G&W Motorsports / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:27.076 | 95.089 |
| 40 | 35 | SGS | 11 | Thomas Jermoluk, Atherton, Calif.; Dan Kennedy, Scottsdale, Ariz. | Scuderia Ferrari of Washington / Ferrari 360 Challenge | 01:28.069 | 94.017 |
| 41 | 46 | SGS | 12 | Gary St Amour, ; Mike Yeakle, Clear Spring, Md. | Michael Baughman Racing / Corvette | 01:30.273 | 91.722 |
| 42 | 16 | SGS | 13 | David Murry, Cumming, Ga.; Craig Stanton, Long Beach, Calif. | AASCO Motorsports / Porsche GT3 Cup | 01:21.961 | 101.024 |
| photo: Mark Windecker |