ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 2, 2005) - Randy Pobst of Gainesville, Ga., blistered the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car field to take the Air Force Reserve Pole Position for Sunday's Round Two race, part of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Pierre Kleinubing will line up second.

Driving the No. 73 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6, Pobst ran a blistering lap of 1:22.983 (78.088 mph), more than a second clear of the field. It is Pobst's 12th-career pole position in the World Challenge series, and it puts him in a great position to win his record fourth-consecutive race on a temporary circuit.

"It's the first time all weekend in the Mazda that I've been on new tires," Pobst said. "What we normally do is practice on our tires from the last race, and I think that's part of the reason why my teammate Dino Crescentini was one of the fastest cars out there. His car actually had a problem very early in the race [at Sebring] so he had fresh tires. I ran my tires at the last race very hard, and the first time I was on new tires here was just now.

"I was very pleased with how my car handles. I've been very comfortable here since I got here. The front-wheel-drive arrangement that the Mazda has is good for a tight circuit like this because it's very controllable.