Kimber-Smith Holds Off Mowlem For PC Class TOTAL Pole Award

Subtitle:PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport Will Start Up Front

Keeping PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ slim championship hopes alive, Tom Kimber-Smith held off Johnny Mowlem to capture his first TOTAL Pole Award of the season in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class.

Kimber-Smith ran a lap of 1:32.378 (98.985 mph) in the No. 52 Cuttwood/Spyder ORECA FLM09 co-driven by Mike Guasch and Andrew Palmer.

Mowlem was second, running 1:32.924 (98.403 mph) in the No. 16 BAR1 Motorsports Southwest Realty Advisors/The Walk/Top 1 Oil entry co-driven by Mark Drumwright, Tomy Drissi and Don Yount.

NEWS AND NOTES

- PC points leader Jon Bennett qualified seventh in the No. 54 Flex-Box Composite Resources entry. Bennett and regular co-driver Colin Braun enter the event leading PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports drivers Mike Guasch and Tom Kimber-Smith by 12 points – 289-277. Bennett can secure the title by driving the minimum two-hour, 30-minute distance. Anthony Lazzaro will also co-drive in Saturday’s event.

- Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda also serves as the final event in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup, a 52-hour competition combining the classic races at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen. Barbosa and Fittipaldi hold a seven-point lead in the Prototype standings entering the finale, while Kimber-Smith, Guasch and Palmer hold a three-point lead in PC over CORE autosport.

- Saturday’s activity begins with a 20-minute warm-up session at 8 a.m. ET. Live coverage of the Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda begins at 11 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 2, with coverage alternating throughout the day with IMSA.com. The race will be rebroadcast Sunday on FS1 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

QUOTEBOARD

Tom Kimber-Smith – No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Cuttwood/Spyder ORECA FLM09

“It was very wet. It was all about trying to stay on track. The session was getting wetter toward the end. The Esses seemed to have more river flows than I’ve ever seen. Mowlem was pushing pretty hard, he’s not working toward a championship so he has nothing to lose. The way the weather has been, we don’t know what’s going to play out tomorrow. I really enjoy my racing but I really am wanting this championship.”