Braselton, Ga. – Nic Minassian definitely has found a comfort zone racing in the American Le Mans Series. Minassian earned his second Series pole position in three career events, taking the top spot in qualifying for the ninth-annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda CX-7 on Friday at Road Atlanta.
Minassian posted a time of 1:10.829 in the Judd-powered Creation Autosportif entry to best the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI of Allan McNish by a razor-thin 0.081 seconds. Minassian's first appearance in the Series came at Petit Le Mans in 2004, qualifying second overall.
"The more poles the better. It's great," said Minassian, who will team with Jamie Campbell-Walter and Harold Primat in the No. 88 entry for Saturday's race. "The American ambience is always great. The competition is very tough and when you are able to beat the Audi it's very special. They are the best in sports cars right now."
Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda CX-7
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.
Saturday's lineup
1. Nic Minassian, England; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Creation CA06/H-01 Judd (P1), 1:10.829, 129.10
2. Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Audi R10 TDI Power (P1), 1:10.910, 128.95
3. Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Johnny Mowlem, England; Haruki Kurosawa, Japan; Zytek 06S (P1), 1:11.090, 128.63
4. Emmanuelle Pirro, Italy; Frank Biela, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi R10 TDI Power (P1), 1:11.372, 128.12
5. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:11.409, 128.05
6. Sascha Maassen, Germany; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:11.631, 127.65
7. Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Wallace, England; James Weaver, England; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:11.738, 127.46
8. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:12.007, 126.99
9. Duncan Dayton, North Salem, NY; Memo Gidley, San Rafael, CA; Vitor Meira, Brazil; Lola EX257 AER (P1), 1:12.316, 126.45
10. Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B05/40 AER (P2), 1:13.396, 124.58
The Vette C6.R is on the GT1 pole for the race and featured on the article below.
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Updated with final standings after the race today. All images and news used with permission of the American LeMans Series.
DaveK
