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2010 World Challenge Drivers Champion, Randy Pobst once again got behind the wheel of his K-PAX Volvo S60 and did what he has done so well over his career and put his car at the top of the time sheets in the morning practice leading the entire field with a track record time of 1:16.373.
K-PAX has added two Volvo C30s to their stable of Volvos for the 2011 season. Veteran pro drivers Robb Holland and Aaron Povoledo spent the past several weeks working with the K-PAX crew to get the cars up and running for their St. Petersburg debut. Results of the morning practice sessions were mixed for the new C30’s, with Povoledo taking an encouraging 8th. Holland missed the morning session with mechanical issues that were resolved in time for him to place 12th in the second practice session.
Heading into GT Qualifying with the top 6 cars separated by less than 1 second it was anyone’s guess who would come out on top in the GT class. At the end the Porsche of Patrick Long snatched the pole on the last lap with a 1:15.071. Pobst finished up the session in 4th, less than 7 tenths of a second off the fastest time. “The new Pirelli slicks have changed the balance of power in the class. AWD is not the advantage it was before. And we're working on it. But I’m confident that my guys at K-PAX are up to the task and we’ll be back at the front in no time.” said Pobst.
The C30’s took the track for Qualifying looking to improve on their morning times but with the strong Florida sun brought rising temperatures which caused the C30’s to lose power compared to the early sessions run in cooler temperatures. Povoledo and Holland finished in 9th and 11th respectively just over 2 seconds off the Tristian Herbert’s pole setting time of 1:25.899.
Holland was optimistic of the C30’s potential. “Of course it would be nice if we were further up the field but we have to be realistic, we have only had a few test days in these cars and we knew that it was going to take a few races to get up to speed. The K-PAX Volvo C30 is an awesome platform and we know that both the car and the team have the proven ability to win races.”
Povoledo echoed those thoughts: “I’m having to balance my excitement with how good this car was out of the box with the realistic patience needed in developing a car this new. I know these cars will win races, just give us some time. We’re improving the handling characteristics every session.”
