Series Leader Goikhberg Paces Opening Day In Canada

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Subtitle:Father-Son Duerson Duo Lead Chasing Pack

The dominant beat marches on for Mikhail Goikhberg.

Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda championship leader Goikhberg paced the opening practice for the series Thursday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 14.522 seconds in the No. 10 JDC Motorsports entry.

Goikhberg, from North Vancouver, British Columbia, has been nearly perfect this season entering the only event in the series in Canada. He has won five of the first six rounds, with his only blemish a runner-up finish to Tony Bullock in Round 3 in early June at Kansas Speedway. Goikhberg has scored 118 out of 120 possible points.

His closest pursuer in the championship, Craig Duerson, was second overall Thursday at 1:14.650 in the No. 27 Performance Tech Motorsports Élan DP02 chassis powered by a Mazda engine.

Duerson’s son, Hayden Duerson, was third overall at 1:14.780 in the No. 39 Performance Tech Motorsports entry. Remo Ruscitti was fourth at 1:15.147 in his season debut in the No. 4 8Star Motorsports car, while 16-year-old Matt McMurry rounded out the top five at 1:15.443 in the No. 20 JDC Motorsports entry.

Two Canadian residents besides Goikhberg encountered mixed results Thursday in the Lites 1 class at CTMP, Canada’s most prestigious natural road circuit, which features 10 turns on an undulating, fast, 2.459-mile layout.

Veteran Masters competitor Michal Chlumecky, from Windsor, Ontario, was 10th overall at 1:16.809 in the No. 31 Eurosport Racing entry. Guy Laporte, from Montreal, ended up 21st at 1:21.741 in the No. 68 Quorum Racing/Performance Tech entry.

Jerome Mee led the Lites 2 class at 1:18.648 in the No. 95 Alta Velocita Racing car. Mee earned his first victory of the season last month at Watkins Glen.

Practice continues at 9:45 a.m. Friday, with qualifying starting at 3:40 p.m. that afternoon. The 30-minute Round 7 of the season takes the green flag at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, July 12. Round 8, a 45-minute race, starts at 9:50 a.m. Sunday, July 13.

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