Five cars brave rain for practice during unofficial session

David Seuss and the #9 Northern Light Porsche 996 GT3 lead way after qualifying washed out

With all prospects of a qualifying session washed away by the rain, most of the Trans Am paddock opted to sit out what quickly became an unofficial practice session. 

There were a select few who did decided to take to the track to get in a few precious laps on the Lime Rock course.  Leading them was David Seuss—TA3 competitor and driver of the #9 Northern Light Porsche 996 GT3.   Seuss topped out the session with a time of 1.10.461, his 11^th lap of the session.  

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Teammates Peterson and Fix lead official practice session

Lawrence leads TA2, top four competitors within half a second

Current TA points leader Doug Peterson and the #87 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet Corvette led the second practice session of the day with a time of 52.009 seconds, beating out his own teammate, Paul Fix, for the top spot of the second practice session at Lime Rock Park. 

Peterson is currently riding a three race winning streak that dates back to the 2012 season finale, and now he has a fresh face next to him in the paddock and on the timing sheet.  Trans Am veteran Paul Fix raced Trans Am heavily in the early 2000’s and is making his return to the Trans Am paddock in the #4 StopFlex/Beebe Racing/PME/Lamers Chevrolet Corvette. 

Fix has filled in for Tony Ave, who has stepped away from the driver’s seat for the time being to better manage Tony Ave Racing, and his return has produced results.  Fix’s time of 52.140 was only .131 behind Peterson, putting Tony Ave Racing at the top of the time sheet. 

Doug Peterson was quick to credit the quality of the cars and efforts of the crew at Tony Ave Racing.   

“We had some really good cars,” Peterson said.  “This isn’t a horsepower track—we constantly work on setup here; we’re constantly making changes, trying to get the car right on the edge.  We’ve gone through the process this weekend: First we had too much understeer, then too much oversteer, then we got it right.  This car is so easy to drive when it is spot on, and that’s what I’ve always liked about them.” 

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Trans Am takes to wet track at Lime Rock for unofficial session

Portion of competitors brave rain, wet track to get a feel for course 

After a rainy evening and night yesterday, a contingent of the Trans Am competitors braved the damp track in rain tires at 11:40 a.m. EST.   While the session will be considered a wet one, making the practice unofficial, competitors still pushed their cars in an attempt to adjust to the track at Lime Rock Park.

Simon Gregg, in the #1 Gregg Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro led the session with a time of 55.664, good enough for a .729 second lead over recent returnee Paul Fix, driver of the #4 Stop Flex/Beebe Racing/PME/Lamers Racing Chevrolet Corvette, who now races under the banner of Tony Ave Racing. 

Running behind both Fix and Gregg was Ted Sullivan, another Trans Am veteran.  Sullivan drove the #13 Big Boys Toys Chevrolet Camaro and timed in with a lap of 56.747.  

Points leader Cameron Lawrence and the #11 Ctek/Motorstate/NorthStar Battery Chevrolet Camaro was one of the many TA2 drivers to take to the course.  He was rewarded with a lap time of 58.070 for his efforts, placing him at the head of the TA2 group.  

Following Lawrence were teammate Pete Halsmer, in the #12 Ctek/Motorstate/NorthStar Battery Chevrolet Camaro, and defending two-time TA2 Champion Bob Stretch in the #98 Wheels America/Fix Rim Mobile Chevrolet Camaro. 

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