Hainer Tops MX-5 Field Rain or Shine In Trois-Rivieres Practice
Aug. 4, 2006 - TROIS-RIVIERES - Anders Hainer, of Hidden Hills, Calif., topped the time charts Friday in preparations for this weekend’s SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Hankook Round Six race at Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec. Season point leader Jim Daniels, of Germantown, Tenn., was second quickest on the day.
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| Anders Hainer lays down a fast lap at Trois-Rivieres (Juha Lievonen Image) |
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Driving his No. 13 Under Armour Mazda MX-5, Hainer led both the dry morning session and the damp-to-drying afternoon session, turning the fastest lap of the day on the very last tour around the 1.521-mile circuit with a 1:18.591 (69.672 mph).
"It rained right before the afternoon session, so when we went out it was pretty slippery,” Hainer said. “At the end, one turn was still a little wet.
“I'm sure my experience has helped a lot here,” Hainer added of his previous runs on the temporary circuit and his double-duty status with anther series on the weekend. “The walls here are very close and the corners are close. There are concrete corners that point right at you as you turn into them.”
Hainer, who has not run a full slate of MX-5 Cup races this year but finished well into the top 10 when he has, was happy to be back behind the wheel.
“I feel really comfortable,” he said. “I don"t know if I’ve ever driven anything so much fun. I sit in the car and just giggle.”
Daniels, who enjoys a 35-point advantage coming into the sixth of eight races in his No. 76 specmiata.com/Team MER Mazda MX-5, was second quickest in both sessions, with a best time of 1:18.803 (69.484 mph) in the first session.
Pratt Cole, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was third quick on the day with a best time of 1:19.606 (68.783 mph) in the No. 88 DEX/Western Companies entry. Chip Van Vurst, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., (No. 57 fdiesel.com/Vision Painting) and second-in-points Todd Buras, of Melbourne, Fla., (BSI Racing/SupportThem.com) completed the top five.
Qualifying for Sunday’s race is scheduled for 10:05 a.m. EDT Saturday and can be viewed live via the series web site at www.mx-5cup.com.
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