DÉJÀ VU IN PRACTICE TWO AT SEBRING – SZYMCZAK TOPS MX-5 CUP

Christian Szymczak, of Palos Verdes, Calif., backed up his time from the morning’s SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup practice session to lead the field in the afternoon at Sebring International Raceway, in support of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh From Florida.

 

Driving the No. 34 ALARA Racing MX-5, Szymczak has made himself the target at which every driver will be aiming, setting the best time in the 30-minute second practice session. He, like most of the drivers, set his fast lap early in the session, posting the fast time on Lap four. Szymczak’s time of 2:31.220 (88.083 mph) was 1.037 seconds quicker than the No. 28 MAZDASPEED/Howard Concrete/CTL Engineering MX-5 of Patrick Gallagher, from Thornville, Ohio. Like in the morning session, Gallagher was able to hold onto the second spot once again, with a best lap of 2:32.257 (87.483 mph).

 

“We definitely have a good handle on this car, or at least better than I’ve ever had,” Szymczak said. “We had a lot of time during testing to get things right and I think we’ve got the car pretty well dialed.

 

“I hope we get on pole, but I never count my chickens,” Szymczak added, when asked about the outlook for Thursday’s qualifying session.

 

Sebring native John Dean II, in the No. 16 Projections Research/PPG MX-5 entry, will enter qualifying sessions on Thursday with some strong results. Dean’s lap of 2:32.300 (87.459 mph) was good enough to put him third in the session. Driving the No. 8 OOTSK PERFORMANCE/Bimmerworld MX-5, Nathanial Sparks, of Spanish Fort, Ala., also set the fourth fastest time in practice, once again, logging a 2:32.625 (87.433 mph).

 

The only change in the top five was San Antonio, Texas’ Bryan Hixson, in the No. 12 MAZDASPEED/ BFGoodrich/ALARA Racing MX-5, moving into the fifth position with a time of 2:32.846 (87.146 mph).

 

Houston’s Ara Malkhassian, driving the No. 11 ALARA Garage/ALARA Racing MX-5, posted a time of 2:32.995 (87.061 mph). That time was good enough for the sixth position, bolstering the ALARA Racing team’s success, early on.

 

Kenton Koch, of Glendora, Calif., was class of the field in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Series, clocking a 2:33.609 (86.159 mph).

 

The series next takes to the track for Qualifying at 11:30 a.m. (EDT). The SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup will conduct two races this week, Round One on Thursday at 5:20 p.m. and Round Two on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

 

Follow the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup on Twitter @MazdaMX5Cup.

SEBRING, Fla. - Results from practice session one for Friday's SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Round 1 race, part of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida, with position, class, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.

 

1, MX, (34), Christian Szymczak, Palos Verdes, Calif., MX-5, 2:31.220, 88.083.

2, MX, (28), Patrick Gallagher(R), Thornville, Ohio, MX-5, 2:32.257, 87.483.

3, MX, (16), John Dean_II, Sebring, Fla., MX-5, 2:32.300, 87.459.

4, MX, (8), Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort, Ala., MX-5, 2:32.345, 87.433.

5, MX, (12), Bryan Hixon(R), San Antonio, Texas, MX-5, 2:32.846, 87.146.

6, MX, (11), Ara Malkhassian, Houston, Texas, MX-5, 2:32.995, 87.061.

7, MX, (49), Sebastian Landy(R), Great Falls, Va., MX-5, 2:33.558, 86.742.

8, MX, (7), Dean Copeland, Bowie, Md., MX-5, 2:33.582, 86.729.

9, MX, (17), Elliott Skeer, Vista, Calif., MX-5, 2:33.609, 86.713.

10, MX, (10), Brent Mosing, Lafayette, La., MX-5, 2:34.718, 86.092.

11, MX, (26), Tim Probert, Houston, Texas, MX-5, 2:34.753, 86.072.

12, MX, (38), Chris Windsor, Thurmont, Md., MX-5, 2:35.046, 85.910.

13, MX, (00), Harrison Williams, Houston, Texas, MX-5, 2:35.075, 85.894.

14, MX, (87), Scott Phillips(R), Tucson, Ariz., MX-5, 2:35.213, 85.817.

15, MX, (41), Forrest Landy(R), Great Falls, Va., MX-5, 2:35.903, 85.437.

16, MX, (19), Emilee Tominovich, Clarksville, Md., MX-5, 2:35.987, 85.391.

17, MX, (2), Beth Chryst, Herndon, Va., MX-5, 2:36.039, 85.363.

18, MX, (29), Ari Strauss, Cold Spring, N.Y., MX-5, 2:37.143, 84.763.

19, MX, (23), Christian Tetzlaff, Athens, Ga., MX-5, 2:37.329, 84.663.

20, MX, (27), Charles Paquin, Ottawa, Ontario, MX-5, 2:37.345, 84.654.

21, SBMX, (63), Kenton Koch, Glendora, Calif., Barber MX-5, 2:34.598, 86.159.

22, SBMX, (60), Lucas Bize, New York, N.Y., Barber MX-5, 2:35.069, 85.897.

23, SBMX, (97), David Knight, Ludlow, Vt., Barber MX-5, 2:36.015, 85.376.

24, SBMX, (93), Robby Foley, Randolph, N.J., Barber MX-5, 2:36.192, 85.279.

25, SBMX, (95), Russell Muck, Grosse Pointe, Mich., Barber MX-5, 2:36.635, 85.038.

26, SBMX, (69), Greg Holloway, Melbourne Australia, Barber MX-5, 2:38.092, 84.254.

27, SBMX, (90), Fred Chin, Henderson, Nev., Barber MX-5, 2:40.160, 83.166.