Sparks Tops Time Sheets Following Mazda MX-5 Cup Practice Two from Road Atlanta

 Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort, Alabama, was able to back up his chart-topping performance from the morning practice after setting the fast time in practice two of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires, in preparation for Championship Round 11; part of the Petit LeMans Powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta. Sebastian Landy, of Great Falls, Virginia, and Dean Copeland, of Bowie, Maryland, completed the top three positions.
 
In the No. 8 OOTSK Performance/Bimmerworld MX-5, Sparks finished the session with a lap time of 1:39.927 (91.506 mph) around the 12-turn, 2.54-mile track. Looking toward this afternoon’s qualifying session, Sparks feels confident regarding his performance.
 
“The heat brought out a couple flaws in our setup,” Sparks said. “We were expecting some of them, but were hoping they wouldn’t be so detrimental. Both John [Dean] and I had really good runs. I’ll be interested to see how fast he goes in qualifying.
 
“I’m looking forward to qualifying since we have some adjustments in mind to counter the heat. The temperature will be similar during qualifying, so I think we’ll end up in good shape.”
 
Landy, in the No. 49 Excitations.com/Atlanta Motorsports Group MX-5, gained three position from that in which he finished the first practice session. His time of 1:39.937 (91.498 mph) was only 0.009-second slower than that of Sparks. Landy said things are coming together for him from a setup standpoint.
 
“It was definitely a good run,” Landy said. “We’ve been sorting the car out throughout the test day, going a couple different directions. Finally, I think we found a pretty good spot. In this session, we were most concerned with how the car was going to behave as the track got hotter since we will be qualifying and racing later in the day.
 
“The car feels great. The BFGoodrich Tires are good. It’s always an experience, here, at Road Atlanta. The track is a bit of a rollercoaster, so that’s just something to which we, as drivers, adjust.”
 
Another driver who made marked improvements from the morning session was Copeland. Following his sweep at Road America in Augut at the controls of the No. 7 Copeland Motorsports Sync Speed Inc./Brimtek MX-5, Copeland advanced four positions over his performance in the official opening session. In the warmer conditions, Copeland completed a best lap of 1:39.970 (91.467 mph).
 
“I feel like we’re a little behind the eight ball,” Copeland said. “I’ve been struggling all weekend. This isn’t my favorite track, but we’ll keep working on it. I felt like the track got really greasy that last session, but everyone was moving around. We’ll just see what happens during qualifying.
 
“This track is just crazy. In order to be fast here, you have to risk everything. It’s that way, especially in turn five with concrete walls on both sides. But, I was able to win the last time I was here, so anything can happen.”
 
In the No. 16 Projections Research/PPG MX-5, John Dean slowed slightly during the session, but still turned a lap time of 1:40.067 (91.378 mph).
 
Patrick Gallagher, in his No. 28 MedBuild/Henry Schein/ModSpace MX-5, cracked the top five with a fast lap of 1:40.071 (91.375 mph).
 
In the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge, Drake Kemper of Toluca Lake, California, moved up one position to take over the top of the time charts in class. His lap of 1:41.399 (90.178 mph) was just less than a one-second improvement over his best lap during practice one in the No. 99 Royal Rugby SBMX-5.
 
“At this point, the tires are very worn,” Kemper said. “We’ve been on the same set for three test sessions and two practices. The track is also heating up and getting rubbered down with several different compounds that don’t necessarily agree with ours.
 
“I spent most of the session bedding some brake pads and rotors. Once I got finished with that, I was able to jump into the wake of one of the Cup cars and turn a good lap. I think getting a legal tow around this track will be important for turning fast laps in qualifying.”
 
Following Kemper’s improvement, Robby Foley, of Randolph, New Jersey, slotted into second place with a time of 1:41.950 (89.691 mph). Ben Albano, of Greenwich, Connecticut, completed the top three at the controls of the No. 61 Project Yellow Light SBMX-5, with a lap of 1:42.096 (89.562 mph).
 
The SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires is on track for qualifying at 4:45 p.m. (EDT), today. Round 11 is slated to start Oct. 2, at 5:30 p.m. (EDT), with Round 12 scheduled for Oct. 3, at 8:00 a.m. (EDT).
 
Adam Sinclair