Early, Late and Last: Qualifying for VIR Round Four
ALTON, Va. (Apr. 24) - Lorenzo Mandarino did it late, Marco Andretti did it early, and Gerardo Bonilla waited till the very last lap to put in their fliers in qualifying for Sunday's round four of the Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by RACER Magazine at Virginia International Raceway. In the 35-minute session, Andretti's fourth lap was a 2:09.007, enough to break the Formula Dodge VIR record of 2:09.108 -- which Andretti himself had set last year in an Eastern Region race.
But even as he burned the fuel off Andretti could find no more speed, leaving the door open for Mandarino, who with six minutes left stuck in an amazing 2:08.688. Meanwhile, the polesitter for today's race, Bonilla, was good to the very last drop and put his own low :09 on the board as he crossed the line to take the checker that ended the session.
Stars of Karting/Skip Barber Scholarship winner Robbie Pecorari was ninth-quick with five minutes to go when he snatched fourth from Victor Ramos. Sixth-quick was Benny Moon, this past January's Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Run-off winner. Sergio Perez, who did so well yesterday, was quick again, but he fell off the road in the Oak Tree corner on just his fifth lap to end his session. Still, Perez had put a 2:09 up before he crashed and will start eighth, alongside Chris Prey.
In yesterday's qualifying for today's race, Mandarino had overheating problems and had to jump into another car mid-session; with a set-up not to his liking, he could qualify no better than 12th.
Round 4 qualifying and starting grid, Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by RACER, Virginia International Raceway, 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course:
1. Lorenzo Mandarino, Canada, 2 minutes, 8.688 seconds/91.48mph
2. Marco Andretti, Nazareth, Pa., 2:09.007/91.25
3. Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, Fla., 2:09.189/91.12
4. Robbie Pecorari, Aston, Pa., 2:09.404/90.97
5. Victor Ramos, Brazil, 2:09.407/90.97
6. Benny Moon, Shingle Springs, Calif., 2:09.479/90.92
7. Chris Prey, Oshkosh, Wis., 2:09. 729/90.74
8. Sergio Perez, Mexico, 2:09.795/90.70
9. Andrew Alfonso, Danville, Calif., 2:09.800/90.69
10. Jeff Relic, Flagler Beach, Fla., 2:10.155/90.45
11. Mark Burt, Canada, 2:10.171/90.43
12. Chris Pither, New Zealand, 2:10.195/90.42
13. Harrison Brix, San Jose, Calif., 2:10.278/90.36
14. Matt Varsha, Atlanta, Ga., 2:10.512/90.20
15. Jonathan Eriksen, Northville, N.Y., 2:10.549/90.17
16. John Edwards, Little Rock, Ark., 2:10.745/90.04
17. John Pew, N. Palm Beach, Fla., 2:11.233/89.70
18. Robin Warner, Ann Arbor, Mich., 2:11.573/89.47
19. Blake Yager, Effingham, Ill., 2:12.092/89.12
- Rick Roso
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