Race Weekend Central

Patrick Long Wins Pole for CTMP Sprint-X Race No. 1

Friday afternoon, Patrick Long was not the fastest man on track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. However, he was the fastest man to keep his car straight.

Long turned in a lap of 75.221 seconds (117.685 mph) around the 2.459-mile road course to qualify second fastest for the CTMP Sprint-X Race.  Only R. Ferri Motorsports’ Alex Riberas was faster.  However, Riberas crashed his Ferrari 488 GT3 in turn 3 and brought out the red flag.  In accordance with Pirelli World Challenge rules, Riberas lost his fastest lap.  As a result, Long will start Saturday’s first Sprint-X race of the weekend from the overall pole.

Long’s lap was only five-thousandths of a second faster than the DeVilBiss-sponsored Mercedes driven by Daniel Morad.  Riberas’ second fastest lap was good enough for third on the grid.  However, the No. 61 Ferrari suffered a lot of damage in the crash.  Whether or not the team makes it to the grid depends on how repairs go.

Cadillac Racing’s Johnny O’Connell qualified his Cadillac ATS-V.R. fourth in class, roughly a quarter of a second off of Long.  Absolute Racing’s Adderly Fong was fifth quickest.  Cadillac Racing’s No. 8 ATS-V.R. for Michael Cooper did not set a time in the session.

In the Pro-Am/Am-Am session, Always Evolving Racing’s Frankie Montecalvo was quickest with a lap of 75.779 seconds (116.819 mph) in the lone Nissan GT-R.  Montecalvo’s lap was good enough for sixth overall of all Sprint-X teams.

Montecalvo was nearly three-tenths of a second faster than Wright Motorsports’ Michael Schein, who will start eighth.  GMG Racing owner/driver James Sofronas was third in class, followed by Absolute Racing’s Yufeng Luo.  K-PAX Racing’s Mike Hedlund was fifth in Pro-Am.

In Am-Am, NGT Motorsport’s Tyler McQuarrie was quickest with a lap of 77.042 seconds (114.904 mph) in his Ferrari 458 GT3.  This lap was fifth quickest in the Pro-Am/Am-Am session and 15th overall.  The lap was 28-thousandths of a second faster than The Racers Group’s Kris Wilson.

In GT Cup, Dream Racing Motorsport’s Yuki Harata was quickest with a lap of 81.338 seconds (108.835 mph), beating out Autometrics Motorsports’ Cory Friedman by a half-second.  GTS saw Stephen Cameron Racing’s Ari Balogh fastest with a lap of 85.131 seconds (103.986 mph), roughly three-tenths of a second faster than GMG Racing’s George Kurtz.

Pirelli World Challenge CTMP Sprint-X Race No. 1 Pro-Pro Qualifying Results

Pirelli World Challenge CTMP Sprint-X Race No. 1 Pro-Am/Am-Am/GT Cup/GTS Results

Sprint-X Race No. 1 is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.  It will be streamed live at world-challenge.com for free.  It will also be streamed on Motor Trend OnDemand.

About the author

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

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