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Ave leads practice with time of 1:17.258, edges out defending champ Simon Gregg
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Robert Huffmaster paves the way for ultra-competitive TA2 class with Stretch close behind
Tony Ave showed the Trans Am field exactly why he’s won the Trans Am Series twice in the past by beating out current Champion Simon Gregg by the slimmest of margins in the last few minutes of today’s practice at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Ave and the #4 Lamers/PME Engines/RPX/Chevrolet Corvette clocked in a lap of 1.17.258 on the 2.459-mile track, edging out Gregg and the #1 Gregg Motorsports/Chevrolet Corvette’s time of 1:17.261.
Following Gregg and Ave were Canada’s own Blaise Csida and Allan Lewis in Gateway Racing Chevrolet Corvettes. The teammates put in times of 1:18.688 and 1:18.942, respectively, showing that they will not be quick to relinquish their home track and bragging rights north of the border.
After the session, Ave was unaware of just how close his time was to Gregg’s.
“I really had no idea what Simon had run.” Said Ave. “This car has been sitting and we still have some work to do on it. We were off a fair bit and we changed a lot last night, and I feel like we’re still a second or so off from where I’d like to be. To be honest, I wasn’t even looking at the times."
While Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has made a plethora of changes on site and has laid down some additional pavement, Ave does not feel that the changes have made any major impact on to the way he drives the course.
“The changes here haven’t really seemed to effect me.” Said Ave. “I lost a few landmarks, but where they’ve added a lot of pavement is where we really don’t run. I think it may make things easier for people who don’t have their line buttoned down yet, but it hasn’t really changed the fast line.”
May 18, 2013;)
