BOWMANVILLE, ONT July 23, 2011 – Less than four tenths of second separated the top three qualifiers for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Mosport, Canada’s largest sportscar race. Chris Dyson, the Lime Rock pole sitter, qualified the Dunlop shod #16 G-OIL Modspace/Construct Corps Lola Mazda three tenths of a second behind the Muscle Milk Aston Martin. Steven Kane was less than a tenth back in the #20 Oryx Dyson Racing effort he shares with Humaid Al Masaood. The #16 car of Dyson and Guy Smith come to Mosport having won the Lime Rock American Le Mans Series race two weekends ago and are co-leaders in the ALMS championship.
“After the speed the Aston showed yesterday, we knew the pole might be a bit of a reach,” said Dyson. “The guys really regrouped after our first practice session and we have been working today on a good car for the race. This is always our main priority. For Guy and me tomorrow, it will come down to how things play out with traffic and keeping an eye on tire wear.”
“We have to be happy with our effort today,” judged Kane. “These tracks are new to myself and Humaid and to come to a very difficult track like Mosport and learn it in a short period of time and qualify third, three tenths away from pole, is a credit to the team. This is a track you have to treat with respect and cannot rush the learning process, so we are happy to be this close.”
This is the second race for Al Masaood and Kane with the Oryx Dyson Racing effort, having qualified second and finished third at Lime Rock. Commented Al Masaood, “Lime Rock was a large plus for us. It showed how well the teams work together. The Dysons are an excellent team with very good equipment and with that combination we look to do well here tomorrow and the rest of the year.”
On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car: www.mazdausa.com. G-OIL is the world’s most eco-friendly biodegradable motor oil and the first bio-based oil to be approved by the American Petroleum Institute: www.getg.com. ModSpace is a leading provider of modular buildings, portable storage and services for temporary or permanent space needs: www.modspace.com. Construct Corps is a leading provider of temporary skilled workers for U.S. construction, disaster response, environment and manufacturing companies: www.constructcorps.com.
Live coverage of the Grand Prix of Mosport is scheduled for 2:50 p.m. ET tomorrow on ESPN3.com and americanlemans.com internationally with ESPN2 broadcasting the race starting at 10 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available at americanlemans.com.
