Filipe Albuquerque of Acura secured the pole position for this weekend’s IMSA SportsCar Championship event at Road America.
In a competitive 15-minute GTP qualifying session, Albuquerque outpaced his teammate Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande from Cadillac Racing, setting the stage for Sunday’s 2h40m race on the renowned four-mile track, often referred to as ‘America’s National Park of Speed,’ featuring a diverse 47-car field.
The GTP hybrids return to action at Elkhart Lake after a break at Mosport last month, where LMP2 was the lead category.
Albuquerque established the initial benchmark with a time of 1m49.559s in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06; however, Dane Cameron experienced a challenging moment as he ventured through the gravel in the leading No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 at the Carousel.
Taylor temporarily clinched the provisional pole with a 1m49.235s in the No. 40 Acura, only for Albuquerque to reclaim first place with a 1m48.968s, ultimately solidifying his pole with an unmatchable 1m48.601s.
Van der Zande entered the fray, grabbing P2 in the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, though he was still half a second off the pace. Taylor then reclaimed second with a 1m48.915s, still three-tenths behind Albuquerque, while van der Zande edged closer, finishing just 0.005s behind Taylor.
In a final push, Taylor improved to a 1m48.863s, 0.262s shy of the pole time.
“I couldn’t go any faster,” remarked Albuquerque. “It’s (teammate) Ricky (Taylor’s) birthday, and I promised him a pole.”
Van der Zande will start third, with Gianmaria Bruni being the quickest Porsche driver in Proton’s customer No. 5 963, securing fourth place ahead of Pipo Derani’s Action Express-run Cadillac.
Connor De Phillippi’s No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8, which set the fastest practice time, will start from the third row in sixth. Nick Tandy came out as the fastest factory Porsche driver in his No. 6 PPM 963, surpassing Richard Westbrook’s JDC-Miller MotorSport entry and Cameron’s No. 7 car.
Meanwhile, BMW’s No. 24 vehicle did not participate in qualifying after Jesse Krohn crashed into the wall at the Kink during FP2 this morning, necessitating extensive repairs that included a new hybrid battery and transmission. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team struggled to get the car operational, facing issues with the complex energy storage system.
#99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: PJ Hyett, Paul-Loup Chatin
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Hyett Achieves Fourth Straight Pole in LMP2
Nick Boulle, who won at Mosport, set an early pace for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen, but AO Racing’s PJ Hyett was determined to extend his impressive run of poles, besting Boulle’s time of 1m54.516s with a lap of 1m54.492s. Hyett then improved to 1m53.818s on his next lap before laying down a final time of 1m53.738s.
“Securing pole at Road America feels incredible, especially since my grandfather taught me to drive just 100 miles from here,” said Hyett.
Ben Keating made a strong comeback in United Autosports’ No. 2 car after a severe crash at the Carousel during FP2, grabbing P2 as the session drew to a close with a time of 1m54.110s.
Daniel Goldburg secured third in the No. 22 United Autosports Oreca with a time of 1m54.129s, while Boulle, an early pole contender, slipped to fourth with a 1m54.303s.
Luis Perez Companc rounded out the top five for AF Corse, despite going off at Turn 12.
#4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
Corvette Racing Dominates with a 1-2 Finish in GTD Pro
In the GTD Pro category, Nicky Catsburg claimed pole in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, clocking an early lap at 2m02.198s, which was three tenths quicker than Alexander Sims’ initial attempt in the No. 3 sister Pratt Miller Motorsports vehicle.
Sims closed the gap to 0.194s on his second lap, ensuring a Corvette 1-2 finish in qualifying.
“It was an incredible lap, and the car felt perfectly tuned. It’s fantastic to see a 1-2 finish again,” expressed Catsburg.
Giacomo Altoe impressed with the third-fastest time in Conquest Racing’s Ferrari 296, followed by Jack Hawksworth, who had previously set the pace in FP2 but suffered a significant crash in the Pilot Challenge race leading up to qualifying, finishing in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F.
In a peculiar turn, Hawksworth halted just before the pitlane entry on his in-lap.
Mike Rockenfeller followed in the No. 64 Multimatic Ford Mustang and Oliver Jarvis took his place in Pfaff Motorsports’ McLaren 720S.
Mikael Grenier topped the pro-am GTD class in Korthoff/Preston Motorsports’ Mercedes-AMG, just over a tenth ahead of Zach Robichon’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.
