Jeff Altenburg's morning time held up to top all practice in SPEED Touring Car. (Weber Image)

Driving the No. 72 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsports Mazda 6, Altenburg turned a fastest time of 1:36.942 (83.109 mph), just 0.046-second faster than the similar No. 73 car of Pobst.

"The car is really good,” Altenburg, who won at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2003 and 2004, said following the morning session. "We couldn't be happier. The StopTech brakes are awesome, as always. We’ve been working really hard and the cars are handling the best they ever have.”

Curran, of E. Hampton, Mass., was third quick on the day, and fastest in the afternoon session run under warmer temperatures, in his No. 43 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Racing Acura RSX, with a time of 1:37.018 (83.044 mph).

Curran’s teammates, driving Acura TSXs, Peter Cunningham, of Grafton, Wis., and Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., completed the top five on the day. Kleinubing holds an 11-point advantage over Pobst for the 2006 Drivers’ Championship entering the weekend.

Qualifying for Sunday’s season finale will be Saturday morning at 9:25 a.m. (Pacific). Live session notes and Timing & Scoring Presented by SRT are available through the SCCA Pit Board at http://www.world-challenge.com/events/index.php?base=14&story=Monterey%20Sports%20Car%20Championship.

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