Filipe Albuquerque from Acura secured 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 Cadillac Racing’s Renger van der Zande, setting the stage for Sunday’s 2h40m race on the iconic four-mile track, known as ‘America’s National Park of Speed,’ featuring a large field of 47 cars.
The elite GTP hybrids return to Elkhart Lake following a hiatus at Mosport last month, where LMP2 took the spotlight.
Driving the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06, Albuquerque set a stunning benchmark at 1m49.559s, while Dane Cameron experienced a challenging moment, veering off into the gravel with the points-leading No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 through the Carousel.
Taylor briefly captured provisional pole with a time of 1m49.235s in the sister No. 40 Acura before Albuquerque reclaimed the top spot with a time of 1m48.968s. He continued to dominate with a blistering 1m48.601s that remained unbeaten.
Van der Zande joined the mix, taking P2 in the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, though he trailed by half a second. With two minutes remaining, Taylor improved to second place with a 1m48.915s, still trailing Albuquerque by three tenths, while van der Zande managed to get within 0.005s of Taylor but settled for third.
“I couldn’t push any harder,” Albuquerque stated. “It’s (teammate) Ricky (Taylor’s) birthday, and I promised him a pole.”
Jordan Taylor improved his time to 1m48.863s on his final attempt, finishing 0.262s behind the pole. Van der Zande will start from third, with Gianmaria Bruni representing the fastest Porsche in Proton’s customer No. 5 963 in fourth position, followed by Pipo Derani in the Action Express-run Cadillac.
Connor De Phillippi in the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8, which was fastest in practice, will begin from the third row in sixth position. Nick Tandy emerged as the quickest of the factory Porsches in his No. 6 PPM 963, ahead of Richard Westbrook’s JDC-Miller MotorSport entry and Cameron’s No. 7 car.
Unfortunately, BMW’s No. 24 car did not participate in qualifying due to Jesse Krohn’s crash into the wall at the Kink during FP2, which necessitated extensive repairs including a new hybrid battery and transmission. Despite efforts from the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team, the complex energy storage system would not respond.
#99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: PJ Hyett, Paul-Loup Chatin
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
Hyett Achieves Fourth Consecutive Pole in LMP2
Nick Boulle, the overall winner at Mosport, initially set the pace for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen, but AO Racing’s PJ Hyett was determined to extend his pole streak, surpassing Boulle’s time of 1m54.516s with a lap of 1m54.492s. Hyett then improved further, clocking a 1m53.818s before clinching pole with a final time of 1m53.738s.
“It feels incredible to secure pole at Road America, especially since my grandfather taught me how to drive just 100 miles away from here,” Hyett remarked.
Ben Keating returned to United Autosports’ No. 2 car after enduring a significant crash at the Carousel during FP2, finishing P2 with a time of 1m54.110s as the session wound down.
Daniel Goldburg took third quickest in the No. 22 United Autosports Oreca with a time of 1m54.129s. Boulle, an early contender for pole, managed a time of 1m54.303s but dropped to fourth by the end of the session.
Luis Perez Companc secured fifth position for AF Corse, despite an off-track incident 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 1-2 in GTD Pro
Nicky Catsburg secured pole in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R with an impressive early lap of 2m02.198s, three tenths faster than Alexander Sims’ initial attempt in the sister No. 3 car from Pratt Miller Motorsports. Sims closed the gap on his second lap, finishing just 0.194s behind to solidify a Corvette 1-2 finish.
“I delivered an awesome lap, and the car felt perfectly tuned. It’s incredible to achieve a 1-2 once more,” Catsburg expressed.
Giacomo Altoe placed a commendable third in Conquest Racing’s Ferrari 296, followed by Jack Hawksworth, who had led in FP2 but faced a major crash during the preceding Pilot Challenge race, in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F.
Interestingly, Hawksworth came to a stop just before the pit lane entrance on his in-lap.
Mike Rockenfeller followed closely in the No. 64 Multimatic Ford Mustang, ahead of Oliver Jarvis in Pfaff Motorsports’ McLaren 720S.
Mikael Grenier set the pace in the pro-am GTD class with Korthoff/Preston Motorsports’ Mercedes-AMG, finishing just over a tenth ahead of Zach Robichon’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.
