MX-5 Cup: Gallagher tops first CTMP practice

Fresh off his first win in the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Patrick Gallagher, of Thornville, Ohio, finished in the lead of the opening practice of the weekend from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. John Dean, of Sebring, Florida, finished second while Peter Portante, of Plainville, Connecticut, and Ara Malkhassian, of Houston, tied for third.

Gallagher threw down his best lap of 1:35.258 (92.931 mph) on his seventh lap around the 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit. He turned a total of 13 laps during the 30-minute session in his No. 44 Howard Concrete Pumping MX-5. Following some struggles during Thursday's promoter test day, Gallagher said his team was able to make the adjustments to put him at the top of the time charts of the opening session."The car's really good right now," Gallagher said. "We showed up here and rolled off the trailer and the car wasn't that good. Jason [Hoover] and the Atlanta Motorsports crew got it working. I don't have words for what they were able to do. Everyone else seems to be fighting the same issues we were when we got here, but our guys were able to figure things out and make things easy on me."It feels pretty good coming into this race on the heels of my first win in the series. We're in the thick of the Championship. Halftime is over and if that had been everything, we wouldn't have won. We are going to do everything we can to win the second half of the season."In his No. 16 Bulb Jacket/PPG/Sick Sideways MX-5, Dean banked his fast lap of 1:35.721 (92.481 mph) late in the session. His fast lap didn't come until Lap 12 of the 16 he turned. Following some wholesale changes made overnight, Dean said all three cars on the Sick Sideways squad were able to turn faster laps."Yesterday's promoter test day was atrocious," Dean said. "We did a lot of work last night on the cars. We tried something new this year and it didn't work well, at all. So, we went back to the settings we had last season. The car feels a lot more stable now. I thought we were running really good times, since I was by myself most of the time."When it comes to the race, it's all about good placement and having yourself in the right position at the right time and working well in the draft. We're trying to make the car work well for qualifying and transfer some of that to the race."In his first visit to the famous Canadian circuit, Portante finished his first official session tied for third with a lap of 1:35.723 (92.479 mph). Portante said he feels that he is adjusting well during his first trip to the venue that requires massive commitment from each driver that takes up the challenge of running fast laps."Everything with the car is pretty good," Portante said. "The car rolled off the trailer feeling good, so I can't complain on that front. We're running consistent 35s without a tow, so we feel pretty good about that."I feel pretty good about being in the top five in my first visit to this track. The elevation changes don't seem as significant behind the wheel as they do during the track walk, but it's still a lot of fun. The key is more right foot and less left foot."Ara Malkhassian, in the No. 11 ALARA Racing MX-5, finished the session by matching Portante's lap time. Malkhassian said the track located north of the border is one of his favorite on the 2015 series calendar. He said the long, fast straights and high-commitment corners play into his strengths as a driver.Rookie Matt Koskinen, of Harper Woods, Michigan, finished the session in fifth place. At the controls of his No. 34 ALARA Racing MX-5, Koskinen set a best time of 1:35.907 (92.302 mph).In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Sam Adams, of Richfield, Wisconsin, led the way with a time of 1:38.064 (90.272 mph). In his first time at the track Adams spent much of the promoter test day learning the track, but has transitioned over to optimizing the car setup."I spent yesterday learning the track, but made a couple changes to the car before today's session that made it a little better," Adams said. "This track is tough. It's difficult going from a very technical circuit to one that requires a lot of technical ability and outright speed."Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, was the second-quickest driver in the class after turning a lap of 1:38.065 (90.271 mph). Ben Albano, of Greenwich, Connecticut, stopped the timing clock at 1:38.108 (90.231 mph) in his No. 61 Project Yellow Light/Manfredi Jewels SBMX-5.The second practice session of the weekend is scheduled to start at 6:15 p.m. (EDT), later today. The field will be set during Qualifying, which is slated to take place on Saturday, at 9:10 a.m. (EDT), with Rounds Seven and Eight set for Sunday at 8:35 a.m. (EDT) and 4:30 p.m. (EDT), respectively.Like the series on Facebook, at Facebook.com/MazdaMX5Cup, and follow the series on Twitter and Instagram @MazdaMX5Cup.Bomanville, Ont., Can. - Results from Practice One for Saturday's SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires Round Seven race, part of the Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with position, class, car number in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.1,MX,{44},Patrick Gallagher, Thornville, Ohio, MX-5,01:35.3,92.9312,MX,{16},John Dean II, Sebring, Fla., MX-5,01:35.7,92.4813,MX,{24},Peter Portante, Plainville, Conn., MX-5,01:35.7,92.4794,MX,{11},Ara Malkhassian, Houston, Texas, MX-5,01:35.7,92.4795,MX,{34},Matt Koskinen(R), Harper Woods, Mich., MX-5,01:35.9,92.3026,MX,{7},Dean Copeland, Bowie, Md., MX-5,01:35.9,92.2827,MX,{8},Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort, Ala., MX-5,01:35.9,92.2628,MX,{4},Kyle Loustaunau(R), Vacaville, Calif., MX-5,01:36.0,92.2589,MX,{99},Drake Kemper, Toluca Lake, Calif., MX-5,01:36.0,92.2210,MX,{35},Devin Jones, Mooresville, N.C., MX-5,01:36.0,92.20911,MX,{6},Timothy Paul, Mahopac N.Y.,MX-5,01:36.1,92.0712,MX,{29},Chad McCumbee, Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., MX-5,01:36.3,91.88513,MX,{14},Sarah Montgomery, Lafayette, La., MX-5,01:36.8,91.46814,MX,{17},Alex Bachoura(R), Houston, Texas, MX-5,01:36.9,91.3815,MX,{12},Zach Lee, San Antonio, Texas, MX-5,01:36.9,91.33716,MX,{49},Forrest Landy, Great Falls, Va., MX-5,01:36.9,91.32517,MX,{77},Hernan Palermo(R), Houston, Texas, MX-5,01:37.4,90.90718,MX,{32},Keith Jensen(R), Dallas, Texas, MX-5,01:37.7,90.65319,MX,{26},Tim Probert, Houston, Texas, MX-5,01:37.9,90.41520,SBMX,{67},Sam Adams, Richfield, Wis., SBMX-5,01:38.1,90.27221,SBMX,{65},Robby Foley, Randolph, N.J., SBMX-5,01:38.1,90.27122,SBMX,{61},Ben Albano, Greenwich, Conn., SBMX-5,01:38.1,90.23123,SBMX,{68},Nikko Reger, Houston, Texas, SBMX-5,01:38.1,90.21724,MX,{10},Brent Mosing, Lafayette, La., MX-5,01:38.4,89.96925,MX,{28},Marc Boily(R), West Chester, Pa., MX-5,01:39.2,89.21126,SBMX,{62},Kieron O'Rourke, Grand Cayman, SBMX-5,01:39.6,88.83527,MX,{72},Charles Paquin, Ottawa Ont., Can., MX-5,01:40.1,88.46728,MX,{2},Beth Chryst, Herndon, Va., MX-5,01:40.1,88.429,SBMX,{63},Bryan Hixon, San Antonio Texas, SBMX-5,01:41.0,87.61430,SBMX,{69},Chris Beaufait, Freeland Wash., SBMX-5,01:44.2,84.956Image: Patrick Gallagher leads the field during opening practice at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.Credit: Al Merion Padron