Mosport

BOWMANVILLE, ONT August 29, 2009 – Unlike last night and this morning, it did not rain for this afternoon’s ALMS qualifying at Mosport International Raceway. On a dry, but “green” track, Dyson Racing scored its first one – two qualifying effort since Portland of 2006 and its seventh overall one – two qualifying effort. Coming off a pole winning effort at Road America, Marino Franchitti drove to his second LMP2 pole in a row in the #20 BP Mazda Lola coupe. Chris Dyson starts second in class on a track that saw him win his first LMP1 pole in 2005 and win in LMP2 in 2003.

“This track here is my number one in the world,” noted Franchitti. “I just love this place. A qualifying run here is something I really enjoy. It is very intense and very satisfying when you get it right. We have been developing this car all season and now the goal is to win more races. This is a great track and there are a lot of Scottish people here. What with the weather and the bag pipes on the grid tomorrow, I feel right at home!”

“This is very satisfying,” said Rob Dyson. “We were still assembling the cars at Sebring. The team has been working hard at each race putting all the pieces together and now we come to the track and the cars are quick off the truck. Today is dedicated to the guys and all of our partners. They have made this car into a winner and a consistent front runner.”

“The car has been very good from the outset,” commented Chris Dyson. “The Mazda MXR-R engine by AER has mated very well with the Lola chassis. The car is fundamentally very well designed and aerodynamically efficient. Being able to come to tracks where we have not yet run and be pretty much right in the ballpark gives you confidence not only as a team, but also as a driver. Looking forward, the car still has a good amount of head room in its development. The best thing I can say about this year is that we are always looking forward to the next race.”

The Grand Prix of Mosport is set for 3:05 p.m. E.T. tomorrow. The race will air live on SPEED. ALMS Radio and Living Timing & Scoring will be available at Racehub on americanlemans.com. Live coverage also can be heard on Sirius 126 (US) and XM 242. You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes).