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The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires took to the track for two practice sessions at Watkins Glen Intern ational on Thursday. Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) was the fastest driver of the day, while IndyCar veteran James Hinchcliffe (No. 3 JTR Motorsports Engineering), who is a guest driver for this event, showed excellent pace with the sixth-fastest lap of the day.
Wagner’s quick lap was a 2m08.629s. He was followed on the timing sheets by Robert Noaker (No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing) and reigning champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering). All three times were set in the afternoon session.
Qualifying for Rounds Seven and Eight at Watkins Glen will take place Friday at 8:00am ET.
“If you’re fast enough and get into the lead pack and have good momentum, then qualifying isn’t as important,” Wagner said. “But if something happens and the leaders break away, you can’t work your way forward too much here. It’s pretty draft dependent. You either get one really big draft that you can race in or these broken up, two and three car packs that get isolated. I guess the best strategy is to just qualify as best as you can, hope it’s near the front and you don’t have to worry about working your way forward.”
There was lots of interest in the performance of Hinchcliffe, who makes his MX-5 Cup debut this weekend. The longtime fan of the series is taking part in the event as a guest driver and is not eligible for points. He came away from practice with the sixth-fastest time of the day.