Star Mazda Mosport Qualifying
“We’ve been making good progress throughout the sessions leading up to the weekend, and we have a race-winning car whether the weather is wet or dry for the race," said the 18 year-old from Sonoma, California who has won three races and finished on the podium three times so far this year. “My total focus right now is to win this race and try to wrap the title up at the next race at Road Atlanta in October. The JDC team is working at a very high level right now, despite a very limited budget, and we’re all feeling very confident."
Cameron set a quick lap in the low 1:16s early in the session, and sat in the pits watching Jonathan Goring of Norfolk, Connecticut, whittle away at the 4/10ths of a second gap that separated the two. When it got down to 2/10ths, Cameron displayed one of the indispensable qualities of a top driver by taking to the track for an additional three laps and going a half-second faster before returning to watch the clock in pit lane.
The skies opened up for their daily downpour just minutes after the session ended, but before they did, Goring, driver of the his #14 Andersen Racing/Skip Barber Racing Mazda, turned a lap of 1:16.047 (116.407 mph), slotting in next to Cameron on the front row of the starting grid.
Directly behind Cameron, third on the grid, will be Canadian racer Lorenzo Mandarino, who led last week’s Round Nine at Trois Rivières before being punted off into the Turn 6 tire wall. He turned a lap of 1:16.059 (116.389 mph) in his #15 Team G.FRO/Newway Forming Mazda.
Rounding out the top-5 for this afternoon’s race are Toronto’s Marco Di Leo, driver of the #21 Maxwell Racing/Nugget Casino Mazda. After qualifying on the front row for eight of the season’s ten races so far, Di Leo’s lap of 1:16.148 (116.253 mph) was good for 4th on the grid.
Staring 5th will be Australian racer James Davison, who turned a lap of 1:16.148 (116.253 mph) in his #7 Velocity Motorsports / Easternats Mazda. Davison is hungry for both vindication and validation, having been deprived of his victory at Road America by series officials for driving infractions, and then being caught up in a first-lap, multi-car accident last weekend at Trois Rivières.
In 6th is the Star Mazda Championship’s lone female racer, Natacha Gachnang, a Swiss driver with experience in the European Formula BMW series. She joined the Star Mazda series part way into the season and made series history be becoming the first female driver to score back-to-back podium finishes at Portland and Cleveland. Her lap of 1:16.497 (115.722 mph) in the #35 AIM Autosport Mazda puts her in touch with the lead pack, and the hilly Mosport track is well-suited to her driving style.
Also positioned for a potential charge to the front are Russell Walker (#28 John Walko Racing/Pavecon), Devin Cunningham (#33 AIM Autosport/Discovery Channel), Nick Haye (#37 JDC Motorsports/Quantum Sphere) and Jonny Baker (#6 Andersen Racing).
The 45-minute Star Mazda Championship race is scheduled to take the green flag at 3:50 pm Saturday afternoon.
Pos No. Name Best Tm
1 19 Dane Cameron 1:15.745
2 14 Jonathan Goring 1:16.047
3 15 Lorenzo Mandarino 1:16.059
4 21 Marco DiLeo 1:16.148
5 7 James Davison 1:16.206
6 35 Natacha Gachnang 1:16.497
7 28 Russell Walker 1:16.585
8 33 Devin Cunningham 1:16.718
9 37 Nick Haye 1:16.781
10 6 Jonny Baker 1:16.827
11 97 Scott Rettich 1:17.281
12 68 Chuck Hulse 1:17.442
13 71 Stephen Hickham Jr. 1:17.467
14 69 Ron White 1:17.509
15 85 Charles Anti 1:17.524
16 51 Alex Ardoin 1:17.783
17 52 Tony Rivera 1:18.144
18 3 Eric Freiberg 1:18.314
19 17 Steve Hickham 1:20.052
20 55 Gerry Kraut 1:20.053
21 56 Dan Tomlin III 1:20.436
22 58 Dan Tomlin, Jr. 1:21.135
Star Mazda races are broadcast on the SPEED Channel, with the Mosport event scheduled to air on Saturday, September 11 at 12 pm Eastern. To find out when future Star Mazda races will air, log on to www.speedtv.com/programs.