After disappointing results in Cleveland, Andreas Wirth only managed to encounter more trouble in Toronto as the Champ Car Atlantic Series began the second half of their season. source: Gail Shankland With a mere nine-point lead going into the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto Atlantic Race, Wirth knew that success was imperative this weekend if he was to hold onto the Championship points-lead that he's maintained since the season opener in Long Beach. Things seemed to be looking up for Andreas after the Cleveland double-header, as provisional qualifying in Toronto went relatively well, resulting in a third place provisional effort. Wirth reports, "The car was very good when we first went out on older tires and I was able to post the quickest time in the first half of the session. We lost a bit of balance when we put a new set of Yokohamas on, but I was for sure on a fast lap when the red flag came out. It's disappointing because I had a good car today; it was definitely better than third. I had wanted to try some changes, but I don't know if they were right - I didn't get too much time in the car before the red. We'll just have to see tomorrow. All of our cars were quick today, so I think we'll have a good day tomorrow in Final Qualifying!" After frustration in provisional qualifying, Wirth experienced more disappointment as Friday's red flag impacted his final qualifying. Since the provisional session was shortened, Andreas and the team didn't have the track time necessary to work with changes they had made on the car. Wirth had this to say of the final session, "The car really wasn't there today, and the track was greasier than we were expecting. I don't know if it was the drifters before us or what, but I could have gone off! There were a lot of cars out there and traffic was a problem, but I knew I had to push; it was just do or die. It was a decent result for us but I'm a bit disappointed. We were only 2/100ths of a second off the front row, and a starting position can mean a lot on a street circuit like Toronto. I should be on the clean line for the standing start tomorrow, and hopefully I can move up. Starting from P3 might be better than P2 anyway; I'll be on the inside just looking to get around these guys - I'm confident for tomorrow. It's all about points and I just have to do the best I can. The least I'll be happy with is a podium, but just as long as it's not a DNF."
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