Conor Daly, currently leading the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear points battle with five wins and seven poles, set the quick time in today’s two ‘promoter test day’ sessions leading up to this weekend’s Round 11 of the 2010 Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase at Road America.  Driving the #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda, Daly improved his time by more than half a second – from 2:06.612 (115.098 mph) to 2:06.101 (115.565 mph).

While Anders Krohn, currently second in the championship battle, was quick in the morning session with a 2:06.612 (115.098 mph) in the #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda, he slid down the order in the afternoon, recording a 9th-fast time of 2:08.210 (113.664 mph).  Interestingly, Krohn turned his quick lap in early in both sessions (Laps 4 and 5), while Daly was quickest on Laps 13 and 12. 

Daly and Krohn are typically quick, but the surprise of the day came in the changes in the 3rd and 4th spots on the time sheet between the morning and afternoon sessions.   In the morning, Frenchman Tristan Vautier (a two race winner so far this season and 6th in the championship) was 3rd-quick with a lap of 2:06.905 (114.832 mph) in his #38 Andersen Racing / Moulin TP / Cecibon / Circuit du Laquais / Fontanel Mazda, while young Quebec racer Mikael Grenier (4th in the championship with one win and two poles) was 4th-fast in the #17 Andersen Racing / Slow Cow / April Super Flow / NAPA Auto Parts / HS Telecom / Desharnais Mazda with a 2:07.569 (114.235 mph).

In the afternoon, however, Venezuelan racer Jorge Goncalvez (who scored a podium finish last weekend at Trois-Rivieres) moved up from 8th-fast to 2nd-fast with a lap of Jorge Goncalvez          2:06.319 (115.365 mph) in the #9 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda.  And Texan Rusty Mitchell, one of only three drivers in the field with experience racing Star Mazda cars at Road America (the last time the series visited here was 2008), moved up from 5th in the morning to 3rd in the afternoon with a lap of 2:06.342 (115.344 mph) in his #66 Juncos Racing / Motorola / Petro Communications / HRP Racing Products / Texas Autosports Mazda.

Another driver who has Star Mazda Championship experience at Road America is Texan J.W. Roberts, who races in the Expert Series for drivers 30-44 years old.  He won his class in 2008, and has continued his winning ways in 2010, scoring seven in-class wins in the #65 Team GDT / General Data Tech Mazda; he currently leads the Expert Series championship and turned an afternoon time of 2:10.237 (111.894 mph).

Morning Session

Afternoon Session

On-track activities for the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear continue tomorrow, Friday, August 20, with two half-hour practice sessions, 8:40 am – 9:10 am and 12:40 pm – 1:10 pm Friday, Aug. 20.  The 45-minute qualifying session to set the grid for the Series’ traditional standing start will take place 8:40 – 9:25 am Saturday, August 21, with the field getting the green light for the start of the 45 minute race at 1:00 pm.

This is the second event of a 3-race, back-to-back ‘road trip’ for drivers and teams in the Star Mazda Championship.  The next event, Round 12 at MOBIL1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport will take the green at 1:15 pm Saturday, August 28.  The series’ finale, also with ALMS at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, will take place October 1.