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| July 06, 2012 News |
| Star Mazda: Karam Leads Toronto Practice Day |
 | Sage Karam was within striking distance of the lap record during practice on the streets of Toronto
(Photo: Star Mazda Championship - Eric McCombs) |
Andretti Autosport is the early team to beat in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear's return to street circuit racing, as Sage Karam posted the fastest time in Friday (July 6) practices at the Indy Toronto. Teammate Zach Veach was quickest in the slower morning run.
The Star Mazda competitors were the first cars on-course, when the Indy Toronto officially began on Friday morning. As expected, the opening session was primarily spent with the drivers getting acclimated to the fast and bumpy track around the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, given the track was dirty/green having been used by roads up until Thursday night. In a session that was only briefly halted for JDC MotorSports Juan Piedrahita spinning, the times slowly lowered. When the checkered flag waved, Veach was P1 on the scoring charts, just ahead of his Andretti Autosport colleague Karam, and Team Pelfrey rookie Petri Suvanto, who is racing in Star Mazda via the Mazda Road to Indy program scholarship for winning the 2011 USF2000 Championship.
When the Star Mazda cars returned to action under increasingly very hot temperatures after the lunch break, it was quickly apparent that the lap times would be significantly faster. The added heat also meant trickier conditions on the assorted concrete patches, which resulted in JDC MotorSports' Gabby Chaves, Team Pelfrey's Gustavo Menezes, and Juncos Racing's Martin Scuncio all making contact with the concrete walls. Karam avoided the incidents to continue his recent run of form - having won last time out at Iowa - posting the fastest time (1:08.793) in the session, within striking distance of the lap record (1:08.755 by Dane Cameron in 2007). Completing the top-three in the faster afternoon run were Suvanto and Veach.
"The track picked up a lot of grip since this morning, but between the bumps and the heat this afternoon, I think this is the most physically demanding track we've raced on," said Karam. "I wrestle at my high school when I'm not racing and think that kind of conditioning is ideal for these circumstances. If the track stays as good as it is, when we qualify in the cooler morning hours tomorrow, I think there's probably half a second left in the car and the track… and the Andretti team is doing everything they can to help me find it."
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear title chase continues on Saturday (July 7), with a morning qualifying run and Round Seven in the afternoon.
The top-three will be posted following every session on the EFCN Facebook page, and EFCN Twitter page.
Star Mazda Championship
Round 7 - Combined Practice Results
July 6, 2012
Streets of Toronto - Toronto, Ontario
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Fast Time | Session| 1. | Sage Karam | Andretti Autosport | 1:08.793 | Session 2 | | 2. | Petri Suvanto | Team Pelfrey | 1:09.201 | Session 2 | | 3. | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | 1:09.286 | Session 2 | | 4. | Jack Hawksworth | Team Pelfrey | 1:09.336 | Session 2 | | 5. | Gabby Chaves | JDC MotorSports | 1:09.639 | Session 2 | | 6. | Martin Scuncio | Juncos Racing | 1:09.766 | Session 2 | | 7. | Connor De Phillippi | Juncos Racing | 1:09.897 | Session 2 | | 8. | Cory Lewis | Team GDT | 1:10.064 | Session 2 | | 9. | Juan Piedrahita | JDC MotorSports | 1:10.094 | Session 2 | | 10. | Stefan Rzadzinski | JDC MotorSports | 1:10.471 | Session 2 | | 11. | Bruno Palli | Juncos Racing | 1:10.581 | Session 2 | | 12. | Zack Meyer | AIM Autosport | 1:10.618 | Session 2 | | 13. | Ashley Freiberg | JDC MotorSports | 1:10.670 | Session 2 | | 14. | Diego Ferreira | Juncos Racing | 1:10.828 | Session 2 | | 15. | Andre Mendez | Team GDT | 1:10.857 | Session 2 | | 16. | Ryan Tveter | Team GDT | 1:11.488 | Session 2 | | 17. | Gustavo Menezes | Team Pelfrey | 1:11.609 | Session 1 | | 18. | Camilo Schmidt | Linares Racing | 1:11.652 | Session 2 | | 19. | Jerimy Daniel | The Racing Company | 1:11.735 | Session 2 | | 20. | Walt Bowlin (E) | AIM Autosport | 1:14.813 | Session 2 | |
(E)= Expert Series class |
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