Kimball Leads The Way For Team USA In NZGP Qualifying

Jan 17, 2004
Invercargill, New Zealand — A day of mixed fortunes for the three Team USA Scholarship drivers saw Charlie Kimball and Ryan Millen each claim a sixth-place grid position for tomorrow’s pair of hotly contested Talley’s International Formula Ford Series races at Teretonga Park.

Millen will start sixth for the preliminary race, to be held over 10 laps, while Kimball earned sixth on the grid for the main event, the 40-lap Ford New Zealand Grand Prix.

The first of two qualifying sessions saw Kimball turn unofficially the third fastest time, 1m 03.00s, beaten only by New Zealanders Tim Edgell and Kenny Smith. The results were later nullified, however, when it became apparent that the timing transponders on several cars were not functioning properly. MotorSport New Zealand officials decided instead to determine grid positions for tomorrow’s first race according to the overall times from the second session, which saw Millen a strong sixth (just over two-tenths slower than polesitter Simon Gamble), Kimball eighth and the third Team USA driver, Joe D’Agostino, 11th following a carburetor malfunction. The top 12 cars were separated by less than a half-second.

The fastest 10 drivers then were invited to take part in a one-car-at-a-time shootout to decide the top starting positions for the feature event. This time it was Kimball who emerged quickest of the American contingent, in sixth, with Millen in eighth. D’Agostino once again will start 11th for the NZ GP.

“The car pushed really bad in the Turn One sweeper,” said Kimball after his first-ever attempt at single-car qualifying. “I stayed in the throttle longer than I had before because I just didn’t have anything to lose, but I had to lift a little bit at the exit, just to get the car to turn.”

Millen opted for a conservative approach to qualifying for the Grand Prix, and will start from eighth.

“It was a good day,” he said. “I’d rather aim for an OK position than risk it all and end up 10th. I wasn’t at full pace – just [losing] a little bit at each corner.”

D’Agostino, who finished a fine second on his Formula Ford debut one week ago at Timaru, had to make do with 11th on the grid for each race after enduring all manner of misfortune this weekend. First of all he was involved in an accident on Friday when veteran Kenny Smith spun in front of him. In first-qualifying this morning he lost a little more track time when excessive understeer caused him to slide into the gravel trap at Turn One. Then, in final qualifying, a broken accelerator pump in the carburetor cost him some speed on initial acceleration. Under the circumstances, 11th on the grid represented a fine effort.

“It’s been a rough couple of days but it’s just a matter of getting through it and doing the best I can,” he said. “The car’s pretty good. We dialed out most of the understeer so I think I’ll have a good car for the races.”

Qualifying results for Race One: 1. Simon Gamble (NZ), Spectrum 010, 1m 02.711s; 2. Tim Edgell (NZ), Van Diemen RF03, 1m 02.779s; 3. Phil Hellebrekers (NZ), Spectrum 010, 1m 02.790s; 4. Kenny Smith (NZ), Van Diemen/Stealth Evo2, 1m 02.880s; 5. Chris Pither (NZ), Spectrum 07, 1m 02.886s; 6. Ryan Millen (USA), Van Diemen/Stealth RF94, 1m 02.938s. Also, 8. Charlie Kimball (USA), Van Diemen/Stealth RF94, 1m 03.010s; 11. Joe D’Agostino (USA), Van Diemen/Stealth RF94, 1m 03.123s.

Qualifying results for the New Zealand Grand Prix: 1. Edgell, 1m 03.004s; 2. Hellebrekers, 1m 03.065s; 3. Gamble, 1m 03.172s; 4. Smith, 1m 03.446s; 5. Pither, 1m 03.500s; 6. Kimball, 1m 03.553s. Also, 8. Millen, 1m 03.692s; 11. D’Agostino (did not take part in single-car qualifying).