LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 17, 2009) Eric Curran, of Easthampton, Mass., topped the opening practice session for Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship in preparation for Sundays World Challenge ACS Grand Prix of Long Beach Presented by Lala Motorsports. Local drivers Dino Crescentini, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and James Sofronas, of Newport Beach, Calif., completed the top three during the 35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend.Piloting the No. 30 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette, Currans practice times shuffled about the top five in the order throughout the 25-minute session. On his penultimate lap around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit, the 2007 Long Beach race winner clocked his fastest time, a 1:26.401 (81.999 mph).The car is working pretty well, Curran said. This No. 30 Whelen Corvette is good here. Weve always been good here. had some bad luck last year, not qualifying and having to start from the back of the pack. But the year before that, we won here and hopefully this is an every other year thing for us at Long Beach.Currans fast lap was turned shortly after a short red flag period to retrieve the stalled No. 34 Kleinschmidt/Blackdog Racing Chevrolet Corvette of Tony Gaples. The brief time in the pit lane allowed Currans crew to make some productive adjustments.We stickered up for that session, Curran added. We dont have very much time on track here so we wanted to make the most of it to see what weve got. Right at the end there, we were the fastest. We made a nice little change and went in the right direction. Were showing everything we have right now. Im not sure that everyone else is. Well have to wait and see what qualifying brings out.This track is going to change a lot before qualifying. Its slippery right now. It reminds me of the old ice racing daysits that slippery right now. On a day like today, youve just got to be smooth. I see a lot of guys muscling the car around quite a bit and thats not the way to go fast on a track like this. Youve got to be smooth, dont get sideways and dont get crossed up and just roll the speed right through the corner. This is one of those situations where slower and smoother in a lot of the corners is going to be faster.Relishing the comforts of racing at their home track, Crescentini and his GMG teammate Sofronas followed Curran on the timing sheets. The No. 4 Stoptech/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 driver and Sebring pole winner clocked a 1:26.894 (81.533 mph) to finish second-quick. After leading the early part of the session, Sofronas ended the session third in the No. 14 GMG Porsche 911 GT3 with a 1:27.006 (81.428 mph).Sebring race winner Tony Rivera, of Missouri City, Texas, was fourth fastest in practice. Driving the No. 97 Tax Masters/Mirage Group Porsche 911 GT3, Rivera clocked a 1:27.020 (81.415 mph) in his first laps around the Long Beach street circuit.Brandon Davis, the defending race winner, completed the top five. Driving the No. 10 Applied Computer Solutions/Sun Micro Systems Ford Mustang Cobra. Davis from nearby Huntington Beach, Calif., turned a 1:27.080 (81.359 mph) at his home track.Jason Daskalos and Ritch Marziale led the Dodge Viper contingent in sixth and seventh, respectively.K-PAX teammates Randy Pobst and Andy Pilgrim showed the new Volvo S60s had made solid progress since Sebring, with Pobst ninth and Pilgrim 10th in the practice order.Long Beach resident Craig Stanton was the fastest of the GT3 Cup Shootout competitors in the No. 07 AASCO Performance Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Stanton entered a fast lap of 1:28.287 (80.247 mph).The second World Challenge GT practice session is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, at 8:05 a.m. (PDT). Live timing, notes and streaming audio are available at www.world-challenge.com by clicking the Long Beach link. The World Challenge ACS Grand Prix of Long Beach Presented by Lala Motorsports will go green at 4:15 p.m. (PDT) on Sunday, April 19.LONG BEACH, Calif. - Results from the first practice session Friday in preparation for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Round Two racethe World Challenge ACS Grand Prix of Long Beach Presented by Lala Motorsports, part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.1, (30), Eric Curran, Easthampton, Mass., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:26.401, 81.999.2, (4), Dino Crescentini, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:26.894, 81.533.3, (14), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:27.006, 81.428.4, (97), Tony Rivera, Missouri City, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3, 1:27.020, 81.415.5, (10), Brandon Davis, Huntington Beach, Calif., Ford Mustang Cobra, 1:27.080, 81.359.6, (5), Jason Daskalos, Albuquerque, N.M., Dodge Viper, 1:27.264, 81.188.7, (56), Ritch Marziale, Tempe, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 1:27.387, 81.073.8, (1), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Volvo S60, 1:27.868, 80.630.9, (11), Mike Davis, Huntington Beach, Calif., Ford Mustang Cobra, 1:28.115, 80.404.10, (8), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Volvo S60, 1:28.158, 80.364.11, (07), Craig Stanton(G), Long Beach, Calif., Porsche GT3 Cup, 1:28.287, 80.247.12, (47), Rob Morgan, Costa Mesa, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:28.582, 79.980.13, (34), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:28.944, 79.654.14, (9), Gunter Schaldach, Aspen, Colo., Dodge Viper, 1:29.143, 79.476.15, (99), Jeff Courtney, Slinger, Wis., Dodge Viper, 1:29.514, 79.147.16, (17), Rob Foster, Phoenix, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 1:29.809, 78.887.17, (06), Joey Scarallo, Smithtown, N.Y., Pontiac GTO, 1:29.949, 78.764.18, (13), David Welch(R), Kirkland, Wash., Dodge Viper, 1:30.457, 78.322.19, (31), Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:30.871, 77.965.20, (7), Chip Herr, Litiz, Pa., Lamborghini Gallardo, 1:31.790, 77.184.21, (05), William Ziegler(R), Jacksonville, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:31.819, 77.160.22, (36), Wesley Hoaglund(G), Tustin, Calif., Porsche GT3 Cup, 1:32.447, 76.636.23, (69), Galen Bieker(R)(G), Burbank, Calif., Porsche GT3 Cup, 1:32.679, 76.444.24, (45), Bret Curtis(R), Valencia, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 1:33.461, 75.804.25, (18), Kyle Foster, Phoenix, Ariz., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:37.248, 72.853.26, (25), Robert Rodriguez(R)(G), Burbank, Calif., Porsche GT3 Cup, 1:38.016, 72.282.27, (24), Patrick Flanagan(R)(G), Laguna Niguel, Calif., Porsche GT3 Cup, no time.Note No. 97 and No. 25 did not have working transponders, were timed manually at pit out-30-
