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Mid-Ohio Friday Notebook

John Dagys’ Friday notebook from Pirelli World Challenge at Mid-Ohio…

Photo: John Dagys

Photo: John Dagys

***Dyson Racing is expected to field its second Bentley Continental GT3 beginning in the next round at Sonoma Raceway later this month. Longtime Dyson driver Guy Smith, who helped take the car to its maiden win earlier this year in the Blancpain Endurance Series, is expected to drive the car. Smith is here this weekend, fresh off the Total 24 Hours of Spa.

***A handful of cars have been handed Balance of Performance adjustments since the last round at Toronto. The Porsche 911 GT3 R has received a 25-pound minimum weight increase, while the Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R has a 2 mm reduction in it air restrictor. Both cars claimed overall victory at Toronto. The McLaren MP4-12C, which has yet to visit victory lane, gets a 0.1 mbar increase in turbo boost.

***With team owner/driver Tim Pappas in Europe and not arriving at Mid-Ohio until Saturday, Spencer Pumpelly turned laps in Black Swan Racing’s Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in Thursday’s test day. The No. 54 Merc, along with the No. 32 Audi of Bret Curtis did not set a time in today’s official practice session.

***Pirelli World Challenge stakeholders will meet for a Manufacturer’s Council Saturday morning to discuss the future of the championship, including the possibility of holding select endurance races in 2015. A number of other topics are also expected to be on the table.

***World Challenge President/CEO Scott Bove will race in Saturday’s GT/GTS round at the wheel of the No. 55 Capaldi Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302S. Bove, who will be making his first series start since Austin last year, is racing in support of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Fifteen-year-old Austin Cindric, son of Penske Racing’s Tim Cindric, will drive the car in Sunday’s 50-minute sprint.

***As demonstrated with the No. 55 entry, cars are allowed two-driver lineups in all classes of World Challenge on doubleheader weekends, although few teams take advantage of the rule. Michael Cooper and David Roberts shared CRP Racing’s Nissan GT-R in this event last year.

***Watch live streaming coverage of Saturday’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge at WorldChallengeTV.com, beginning at 11:45 a.m. ET. Live timing and scoring will also be available.

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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