Grand Prix of Endurance Qualifying : Kalagian Is ‘Critical’ After Crash; Paul Jr. Wins Pole

RIVERSIDE — Qualifying for the eighth annual Los Angeles Times/Ford Grand Prix of Endurance got off to a record--but injury-marred--start Friday at Riverside Raceway as the countdown to Sunday’s six-hour race continued.

Before the official qualifying began, a fiery crash sent South Carolina driver John Kalagian to Riverside Community Hospital with a broken back.

Kalagian, 38, of Folly Beach, S.C., who had competed in 39 IMSA GTP events, was in his final practice session when he was injured.

Officials said the veteran driver’s car spun at Turn 4, climbed the bank, hit the wall, flipped over and caught fire. The officials were able to get Kalagian out before the machine was consumed by flames.

Hospital officials said that Kalagian was in “critical condition and in intensive care with severe cervical injuries.”

The crash delayed the start of qualifying, because the doctor had to accompany Kalagian to the hospital. After the doctor returned and the drivers did get under way, they went on a record-breaking spree that put John Paul Jr. of West Palm Beach on the pole position with a record lap of 1 minute 30.113 seconds (129.051 m.p.h.) in his turbocharged Buick Hawk.

The hot lap by Paul erased his own Riverside record of of 1:32.254 set last year.

Paul’s performance was not a surprise, but several other runs were as the top four starting spots were decided in Friday’s time trials. The remainder of the field will be determined in time trials this afternoon.

The biggest surprise was the showing of the Nissan GTP turbo that Indy car veteran Geoff Brabham of Noblesville, Ind., put in the front row alongside Paul with a lap time of 1:30.680 (129.025 m.p.h.).

The other two cars that locked up second-row starting positions were the Ford Mustang Probe driven by Klaus Ludwig (1:31.101) and the Porsche 962 of Al Holbert (1:31.772). So all four drivers were under Paul’s previous record.

“It was really an easy run,” Paul said of his record lap. “I never extended myself, never took a chance and just tried to be smooth and hoped to get in a clean lap. I had one going but got held up by a slower car, and I just hoped I could get another before my tires went away. Fortunately, I did.

“The Buick engine was fantastic, and I feel now the car has the potential not only to go fast but to win races.”

If Paul was pleased, Brabham, who finished third in the recent Long Beach Grand Prix Indy car race, was downright ecstatic.

“It’s nice to know that I can get into a totally different type of racing car and be competitive,” said the 34-year-old son of three-time Formula One champion Sir Jack Brabham.

“The car ran well this morning, but it just didn’t feel it had the right balance. We made some changes, but heavy traffic made it difficult to find out how fast I really could go, so I was surprised in some ways we did so well.

“It is great to lock up a starting position so that now we can concentrate on getting ready for Sunday.”