Series Staff
Drissi, Povoledo Lead Wet Pirelli World Challenge Practice In Detroit
Jun. 1, 2012 - DETROIT, Mich. - Despite the rain and soaked track, the Pirelli World Challenge GT and GTS fields opened the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on Friday morning with the first practice session for Rounds Six and Seven this weekend, the Cadillac V-Series Challenge at Belle Isle.
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Tomy Drissi, Vampire Hunter. (Weber photo) |
Tomy Drissi, of Hollywood, Calif., led the GT field with a flying lap at the checkered flag, while Toronto’s Aaron Povoledo topped the GTS class.
Drissi turned a lap of 1:52.571 (66.518 mph) around the 14-turn, 2.08-mile circuit located on the island in the middle of the Detroit river. Drissi’s No. 47 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Porsche 911 GT posted the best time on the final lap of the 20-minute session after learning from his team that he’d fallen to second.
“It’s no secret, I’ve been here a few times back in the old Trans-Am days,” Drissi said. “It’s funny, because they’re great cars but they’re not the best in the rain. This is the first time I’ve been in a car that works great in the rain. A couple of the Cadillacs were fast for a little while, and I don’t think anybody was really pushing too crazy.
“I found out I was down a second with two minutes to go, so I threw one down.”
Povoledo was second overall in his No. 26 Total Lubricants/Dell Cherries Ford Mustang Boss 302S with a time of 1:55.006 (65.109 mph) to lead his class.
“It wasn’t monsoon wet, but it was the stage before,” Povoledo said. “The puddles were getting pretty steep out there, and you had to take it seriously.
“I was trying my best without taking any unnecessary risks. I’ve never been here before, and the Mustang is still fairly new to me. If it gets dry, though, you can take everything you learn and throw it out the window. It was an exercise in knowing where to put the car in the wet.”
Two Cadillac teammates were second and third in GTS. Johnny O’Connell turned a lap of 1:56.768 (64.127 mph) in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V, followed by Andy Pilgrim’s No. 8 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V in 1:58.284 (63.305 mph).
Jack Baldwin was second in the GTS class with a 2:00.680 (62.048 mph) in the No. 68 Hot Wheels/Voodoo Ride/Invoice Prep Porsche Cayman S. Don Istook’s Revo Technik Audi TT was third in the class with a 2:01.518 (61.620 mph).
A large number of cars elected not to turn a lap during the wet session.
The Pirelli World Challenge field returns to the track for a second practice session at Belle Isle on Friday afternoon at 6:00 p.m. (EDT).
More information is available at www.world-challenge.com. Follow Pirelli World Challenge on Twitter @WCRacing.
