August 5, 2006

Kevin Lacroix sixth in qualifying

Trois-Rivières, 5 août 2006 - This weekend, Kevin Lacroix is at Trois-Rivières to participate to the 8th round of the Star Mazda Series.

He had a tough start. The same situation that happened at Salt Lake City two weeks ago took place again. After almost 8 laps of the first practice session, the young Canadian crashed his #74 Uniselect machine into a wall of tires because of a brake problem. The series put a penalty to Lacroix because he caused a red flag. When it ended, he only did two laps before a thunderstorm stopped the session.

A fatal rule

The Star Mazda Series has established a rule 3 years ago that divides the drivers in two groups for the qualifying session. The order is made in function of the best lap times during the practice sessions. Kevin only did 10 laps so he was 21st in this rank. He had to take the start of the qualifying session in the first group, the slowest one. It was a really big disadvantage for Lacroix because he could get by the other drivers only in a couple of corners. Also, there was no other competitor as fast as Kevin to compare himself.

6th in qualifying

He was certainly faster than the other drivers in his group, but when the other category went on track, Lacroix went back to 6th position, a couple of tenth behind the pole position held by Ryan Justice. The 17-year-old Canadian will take the start of the race tomorrow in the 6th place at 1:40 ET.

Always confident

It is not a 6th place that will discourage our young driver. Kevin Lacroix says he is still confident for the race and he hopes to win or at least to finish on the podium.

Don't miss the chance to see the Star Mazda Series finale tomorrow at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières circuit. The race will be at 1:40 PM, ET.

By: Jess Galarneau