It was business as usual for Henrique Cisneros, as he took his fifth pole position in six races in the Platinum Cup class, with 15-year-old phenom Madison Snow earning his second pole in the Gold Cup class in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama, ahead of tomorrow’s Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park.
For Cisneros, driving the #26 NGT Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, the rainy weather that descended on the qualifying session came just in time to keep him ahead of the hard charging Tim McKenzie (#92 Kelly Moss Motorsports). Cisneros had the fast time in the rainy afternoon practice, but McKenzie was much quicker in the relatively dry morning practice session.
“I was watching the radar closely before qualifying,” said Cisneros. “I was actually hoping for rain! I didn’t quite have the pace to keep up with McKenzie in the dry – I was quite comfortable in the rain, so when it came, I knew that was my chance to clinch the pole. I was able to get a quick lap in early, before it really started to rain. So I was in the right place at the right time.”
This is the first time the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama has raced at the famed Connecticut road course, so drivers spent much of the two practice sessions getting comfortable with the 1.5 mile circuit’s layout – not an easy thing to do in the rain. Cisneros, leading the Platinum Cup championship, knows that staying out of trouble is the most important item on his agenda.
“I did a Skip Barber school a year ago, but it’s still a steep learning curve. It could be dry tomorrow, so I’ll be conservative, keep it clean and finish the race. There are 27 cars out there, which is a lot of traffic, so I have to take it easy.”
McKenzie starts alongside Cisneros, with NGT Motorsport’s Carlos Kauffmann in third. The young Snow, behind the wheel of the #62 Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the Gold Cup class, earned his first series pole earlier in the season at his home track, Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. With that experience – and three subsequent race victories – under his belt, there was no doubt that he was going for the top spot, despite the conditions.
“I was definitely going for the pole,” smiled Snow. “I was pretty close to the edge and kept locking up my brakes. I went off on the access road once. I tried adjusting the brake bias, but I kept locking them up. I knew I had the pole at that point, so I came in figuring if someone went faster, I’d go back out. Otherwise, I could save the tires. It sounds as though it may not rain tomorrow – it would be great to have one full dry session!”
Wright Motorsports’ #54 Mitch Landry starts just behind Snow – Landry joined Snow earlier in the week at a two-day Skip Barber School session at Lime Rock, which gave both drivers a chance to get to know the track ahead of the race weekend.
The IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama features semi-professional drivers racing head to head in the largest single-make series in North America. Powered by one of the world’s most successful race cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, the multi-class structure of the series teaches drivers essential skills for an eventual career in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.
The series is divided into two classes; the Platinum Cup, featuring the more powerful 2011 and 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, and the Gold Cup, which includes 2005½ – 2009 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. Both classes race on environmentally-focused Yokohama ADVAN ENV-R2 racing tires.
Rounds 6 and 7 will take the green flag Saturday at 10:25am and after the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón race at 5:00pm. Live timing, news and schedule information is at http://www.imsachallenge.com
Source: IMSA
Photo credit: Casey Keil / Greg Clark / Lime Rock Park
