CONOR DALY SCORES 7TH POLE OF THE SEASON WITH FOR STAR MAZDA ROUND 10 AT TROIS-RIVIÈRES


By Star Mazda

August 14, 2010

GP3R / Trois Rivières / Quebec (August 14, 2010) – Continuing his string of pole position qualifying efforts, Indianapolis native Conor Daly, the current series points leader with five wins and seven poles, will start on the inside of the front row for tomorrow's Round 10 of the 20th anniversary 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at the 41st annual GP3R at Trois-Rivières.  Daly earned his position on the grid with a lap of 1:01.617 in his #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda.  Starting alongside Daly, appropriately enough, will be the Norwegian racer who is currently second in the championship battle, Anders 'The Viking' Krohn.  He turned a lap just 8/100ths of a second slower, 1:01.698, in his #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda.

Rounding out the top-4 are Brazilian driver Caio Lara (3rd in the championship battle), on the inside of the second row with a lap of 1:01.792 in the #19 JDC Motorsports / MLD / ATW Mazda, followed by the 'surprise factor' in the race, last year's winner Alex Ardoin of Lafayette, Louisiana who turned a lap of 1:01.830 in the #51 Team GDT / General Data Tech / Oral and Facial Surgery Center Mazda.  It is worth noting that Ardoin has not driven a race car since the end of last season, and was in Trois-Rivières as a driver coach for the Team GDT drivers when the team owner and leading Expert Series driver, Texan J.W. Roberts, decided to put him in a car for the race.  Although a 3-season veteran of the series and winner of this race in 2009, Ardoin had not driven a lap in anger for the better part of a year.  That notwithstanding, the talented young Cajun – resigned to a weekend with friends -- responded to a request from Team GDT by flying up to Trois-Rivières on a moment's notice to coach their drivers.  As such situations will, it developed into him entered as the team's third driver for the event. 

Home-town hero Mikael Grenier, will start 7th on the grid with a lap of 1:02.097 in the #17 Andersen Racing / Slow Cow / April Super Flow / NAPA Auto Parts / HS Telecom / Desharnais Mazda.  He was quicker in practice, but his car suffered from a fuel pump failure during the early laps and his time is not really an indicator of his capabilities; look for a charge up through the field from the young Quebec racer who won his first race at New Jersey Motorsports Park earlier in the season and is currently 4th in the points.  It should also be noted that Grenier was named the official spokesperson for the GP3R for the next two years at an announcement will be made by GP3R General Manager Francois Bordeleau and GP3R President Joël St Pierre during a press conference in Quebec City, on Tuesday morning.

In addition to young hotshoes from around the globe, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear also features a race-within-a-race for drivers in the Expert (ages 30-44) and Master (45 and older) Series.  Last year's Expert Series winner, the aforementioned Texan J.W. Roberts,  won his class at the 40th annual GP3R and has continued his winning ways; he is the leading the Expert Series with six in-class wins so far this season driving the #65 Team GDT / General Data Tech Mazda.  He will start 16th in the 18-car field with a time of 1:03.741.

The 18-car field will take the green light for the traditional standing start at 1:00 pm tomorrow.  The race is scheduled for 45 minutes and will be broadcast in two different formats; on RDS in Quebec (in HD, tape-delayed until later in the month), and worldwide via streaming video through a pay service offered by the Grand Prix.  Please visit PPV.DL2-Timing.com for additional information.

Star Mazda GP3R Qualifying  

Saturday, August 14, 2010 / 2:35 pm – 3:20 pm

Pos

No.

Name

Class

Best Tm

In Lap

Diff

Best Speed

1

22

Conor Daly

Formula Mazda

1:01.617

7

88.848

2

47

Anders Krohn

Formula Mazda

1:01.698

13

0.081

88.731

3

19

Caio Lara

Formula Mazda

1:01.792

12

0.175

88.596

4

51

Alex Ardoin

Formula Mazda

1:01.830

10

0.213

88.541

5

9

Jorge Goncalvez

Formula Mazda

1:01.836

15

0.219

88.533

6

38

Tristan Vautier

Formula Mazda

1:01.984

15

0.367

88.322

7

17

Mikael Grenier

Formula Mazda

1:02.097

6

0.480

88.161

8

11

Connor De Phillippi

Formula Mazda

1:02.285

14

0.668

87.895

9

81

Nick Andries

Formula Mazda

1:02.447

18

0.830

87.667

10

16

David Ostella

Formula Mazda

1:02.498

11

0.881

87.595

11

21

Kevin Toledo

Formula Mazda

1:02.637

16

1.020

87.401

12

18

Joao Horto

Formula Mazda

1:02.661

15

1.044

87.367

13

66

Rusty Mitchell

Formula Mazda

1:02.836

11

1.219

87.124

14

25

Tatiana Calderon

Formula Mazda

1:02.857

6

1.240

87.095

15

85

Chris Miller

Formula Mazda

1:03.086

7

1.469

86.779

16

65

J.W. Roberts

Formula Mazda

1:03.741

7

2.124

85.887

17

23

Walt Bowlin

Formula Mazda

1:04.667

7

3.050

84.657

18

31

Carlos Conde

Formula Mazda

1:04.819

18

3.202

84.459

19

20

Carlos Linares

Formula Mazda

0

-

 

This is the first event of a 3-race, back-to-back 'road trip' for drivers and teams in the Star Mazda Championship.  Round 11, part of the American Le Mans 'Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase' weekend will take place on Saturday, August 21, followed by Round 12, also with ALMS, at the MOBIL1 Presents the Grand Prix of Mosport on August 28.  The series' finale, the 13th race in an 11-weekend season, is also with ALMS at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and will take place October 1.

Star Mazda drivers are competing for prizes valued at $1.5 million, with prize money paid down through 15th place.  The series champion wins $100,000 in cash, a test with a top Indy Lights team and a Mazda-sponsored drive in the 2011 Grand-Am series, racing an RX-8 in the GT1 class as part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder, the only automaker-supported motorsports scholarship program reaching from entry-level karting to the top levels of the sport.  Drivers in the series also benefit from the IndyCar 'Road to Indy' program that provides a clear path for young open-wheel drivers whose goal is to race in IndyCar and the Indy 500. 

About Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear

For 2010, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will feature an 11-weekend, 13-race schedule, most on major race weekends with American Le Mans and the Indy Racing League. Rising stars from around the world will compete for prizes valued at $1.5 million and benefit from two driver development programs, including the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder and the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program.  Series alumni include Indy Car stars Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and Raphael Matos, rising NASCAR drivers Michael McDowell, Scott Speed and Colin Braun and prototype racers Dane Cameron and Guy Cosmo.  Drivers 16 and older are welcome to compete and the Star Mazda Championship also features Expert (30 to 44) and Master (45 and older) classes for more mature racers. The Star Mazda Championship features standing starts, wheel-to-wheel racing at 150 mph and budgets a fraction of other top open-wheel ladder series. For more information on the Star Mazda Championship please visit www.starmazda.com.  Selected Star Mazda Championship races are broadcast on HDnet and syndicated through a variety of international, national and regional networks.  Information on the TV schedule can be found at www.MazdaRacing.tv.  Additional information, including search links and affiliates, can be found at the 'TV Information' link on the Series web site.

________________________________

For more information on the Star Mazda Championship and its drivers, as well as the Mazda Motorsports ladder system, please visit www.starmazda.com and www.mazdausa.com.   For information, interviews and photos, contact Star Mazda Communications Director Peter Frey at (818) 398-5733 or StarMazdaPR@aol.com. 

________________________________

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle.  At the track, you’ll see MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing, because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. 

For more information on the various Mazda spec series, visit:

www.usf2000.com                          www.skipbarber.com                    www.mx-5cup.com

Dean Case / Communications Officer / MAZDASPEED Motorsports

(310) 318-4582 / E-mail: MAZDASPEED@MazdaUSA.com

Keywords: star mazda

Related News



« Back to News