IMSA Road America: Acura sweeps front row, Corvette locks out GTD Pro

Acura’s Filipe Albuquerque took pole position for this weekend’s IMSA SportsCar Championship round at Road America.

Albuquerque beat his team-mate Jordan Taylor and Cadillac Racing’s Renger van der Zande in the 15-minute GTP qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s 2h40m race around the four-mile track that’s the self-proclaimed ‘America’s National Park of Speed’ and features a 47-car entry.

The premier class GTP hybrids are back in action at Elkhart Lake after taking a break at Mosport last month, where LMP2 was the top category.

Albuquerque set the benchmark at 1m49.559s in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06, as Dane Cameron took a wild trip through the gravel in the points-leading No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 at the Carousel.

Taylor beat the provisional pole time with 1m49.235s in the sister No. 40 Acura, before Albuquerque retook P1 with 1m48.968s, and his pole bid continued with a 1m48.601s that couldn’t be beaten.

Van der Zande entered the conversation by grabbing P2 in the Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R despite being half a second off the pace. But Taylor retook second with 1m48.915s with two minutes to go, still three tenths down on Albuquerque, while van der Zande got within 0.005s of Taylor but stayed third.

Taylor then improved to 1m48.863s on his final effort, 0.262s down on the pole time.

“I could not go faster,” said Albuquerque. “It’s (team-mate) Ricky (Taylor’s) birthday and I promised him a pole.”

Van der Zande will start third, with the rapid Gianmaria Bruni the fastest Porsche driver in Proton’s customer No. 5 963 in fourth, ahead of the Action Express-run Cadillac of Pipo Derani.

Connor De Phillippi’s No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8, which set the pace in practice, will start from the third row in sixth. Nick Tandy was the quickest of the factory Porsches in his No. 6 PPM 963, beating Richard Westbrook’s JDC-Miller MotorSport example and Cameron’s No. 7 car.

BMW’s No. 24 car didn’t take part in qualifying after Jesse Krohn hit the wall at the Kink in FP2 this morning, requiring a serious repair job that included a new hybrid battery and transmission. But as the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team attempted to get the car going, the complex energy storage system refused to comply.

#99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: PJ Hyett, Paul-Loup Chatin (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

Hyett scores fourth consecutive pole in LMP2

Overall Mosport winner Nick Boulle set the early pace for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen, but AO Racing’s PJ Hyett was keen on extending his recent run of poles by pipping his 1m54.516s by 0.024s with a 1m54.492s. Hyett improved to 1m53.818s on his next tour before slamming in 1m53.738s on his last lap.

“To get pole at Road America is such an amazing feeling, my grandfather taught me to drive just 100 miles from here,” said Hyett.

Ben Keating was back out in United Autosports’ No. 2 car after he suffered a brutal crash at the Carousel in FP2 this morning. He grabbed P2 as the clock ticked down with 1m54.110s.

Daniel Goldburg was third quickest in the No. 22 United Autosports Oreca with 1m54.129s. Early pole challenger Boulle worked down to 1m54.303s but slipped to fourth.

Luis Perez Companc was fifth for AF Corse despite an 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 1-2 in GTD Pro

In GTD Pro, Nicky Catsburg took pole position in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R with an early lap of 2m02.198s, which was three tenths quicker than Alexander Sims’ first try in the No. 3 sister Pratt Miller Motorsports-run car.

Sims got within 0.194s on his second push lap to ensure the Corvette 1-2.

“It was an awesome lap and the car was really dialled in, super-cool to have a 1-2 again,” said Catsburg.

Giacomo Altoe was an impressive third fastest in Conquest Racing’s Ferrari 296, ahead of Jack Hawksworth – who had set the pace in FP2 but suffered a big wreck in the Pilot Challenge race that preceded qualifying – in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F.

Oddly, Hawksworth stopped just ahead of the pitlane entry on his in-lap.

Mike Rockenfeller was next up in the No. 64 Multimatic Ford Mustang from Oliver Jarvis in Pfaff Motorsports’ McLaren 720S.

Mikael Grenier was fastest in the pro-am GTD class in Korthoff/Preston Motorsports’ Mercedes-AMG, just over a tenth clear of Zach Robichon’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information
Cla	Drivers	#	Chassis	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	R. Taylor F. Albuquerque Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti	10	Acura ARX-06	7	1'48.601		134.187
2	J. Taylor L. Deletraz Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti	40	Acura ARX-06	7	+0.262 1'48.863	0.262	133.864
3	R. van der Zande S. Bourdais Cadillac Racing	01	Cadillac V-Series.R	7	+0.319 1'48.920	0.057	133.794
4	G. Bruni B. Viscaal Proton Competition	5	Porsche 963	8	+0.791 1'49.392	0.472	133.216
5	P. Derani J. Aitken Whelen Cadillac Racing	31	Cadillac V-Series.R	6	+0.807 1'49.408	0.016	133.197
6	C. de Phillippi N. Yelloly BMW M Team RLL	25	BMW M Hybrid V8	8	+0.844 1'49.445	0.037	133.152
7	N. Tandy M. Jaminet Porsche Penske Motorsport	6	Porsche 963	8	+0.864 1'49.465	0.020	133.127
8	T. van der Helm R. Westbrook JDC/Miller Motorsports	85	Porsche 963	8	+1.144 1'49.745	0.280	132.788
9	D. Cameron F. Nasr Porsche Penske Motorsport	7	Porsche 963	8	+1.375 1'49.976	0.231	132.509
10	P. Hyett P. Chatin AO Racing	99	ORECA 07	8	+5.137 1'53.738	3.762	128.126
11	B. Keating B. Hanley United Autosports USA	2	ORECA 07	8	+5.509 1'54.110	0.372	127.708
12	D. Goldburg P. di Resta United Autosports USA	22	ORECA 07	9	+5.528 1'54.129	0.019	127.687
13	N. Boulle T. Dillmann Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports	52	ORECA 07	8	+5.702 1'54.303	0.174	127.493
14	L. Perez Companc N. Nielsen Richard Mille AF Corse	88	ORECA 07	8	+5.716 1'54.317	0.014	127.477
15	T. Steven M. Jensen TDS Racing	11	ORECA 07	9	+6.087 1'54.688	0.371	127.065
16	D. Andersen S. Lucas MDK by High Class Racing	20	ORECA 07	9	+6.858 1'55.459	0.771	126.216
17	J. Barbosa T. Kasemets Sean Creech Motorsport	33	Ligier JS P217	7	+7.061 1'55.662	0.203	125.995
18	G. Robinson F. Fraga Riley	74	ORECA 07	6	+7.721 1'56.322	0.660	125.280
19	J. Farano C. Eastwood Tower Motorsports	8	ORECA 07	9	+9.454 1'58.055	1.733	123.441
20	G. Kraut S. Andrews JDC/Miller Motorsports	79	ORECA 07	9	+9.732 1'58.333	0.278	123.151
21	S. Wiltshire R. Dalziel Era Motorsport	18	ORECA 07	9	+9.935 1'58.536	0.203	122.940
22	T. Milner N. Catsburg Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	4	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	7	+13.597 2'02.198	3.662	119.256
23	A. Garcia A. Sims Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	3	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	7	+13.791 2'02.392	0.194	119.067
24	D. Serra G. Altoè Conquest Racing	35	Ferrari 296 GT3	8	+14.128 2'02.729	0.337	118.740
25	J. Hawksworth B. Barnicoat Vasser Sullivan	14	Lexus RC F GT3	6	+14.311 2'02.912	0.183	118.563
26	H. Tincknell M. Rockenfeller Ford Multimatic Motorsports	64	Ford Mustang GT3	6	+14.312 2'02.913	0.001	118.562
27	M. Kirchhofer O. Jarvis Pfaff Motorsports	9	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	7	+14.422 2'03.023	0.110	118.456
28	B. Sellers M. Snow Paul Miller Racing	1	BMW M4 GT3	6	+14.762 2'03.363	0.340	118.129
29	R. Gunn A. Riberas Heart Of Racing Team	23	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	7	+14.783 2'03.384	0.021	118.109
30	J. Hand D. Muller Ford Multimatic Motorsports	65	Ford Mustang GT3	6	+14.842 2'03.443	0.059	118.053
31	L. Heinrich J. Andlauer AO Racing	77	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	7	+14.987 2'03.588	0.145	117.914
32	M. Grenier K. Koch Korthoff/Preston Motorsports	32	Mercedes AMG GT3	6	+15.033 2'03.634	0.046	117.870
33	R. De Angelis Z. Robichon Heart Of Racing Team	27	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	7	+15.163 2'03.764	0.130	117.747
34	O. Triarsi A. Rovera Triarsi Competizione	023	Ferrari 296 GT3	6	+15.240 2'03.841	0.077	117.673
35	R. Foley P. Gallagher Turner Motorsport	96	BMW M4 GT3	6	+15.380 2'03.981	0.140	117.541
36	R. Ward P. Ellis Winward Racing	57	Mercedes AMG GT3	8	+15.549 2'04.150	0.169	117.381
37	S. Mitchell D. Formal Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti	45	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	7	+15.675 2'04.276	0.126	117.262
38	G. Levorato C. Lewis Proton Competition	55	Ford Mustang GT3	7	+15.702 2'04.303	0.027	117.236
39	M. Franco A. Costa Conquest Racing	34	Ferrari 296 GT3	7	+15.703 2'04.304	0.001	117.235
40	F. Montecalvo P. Thompson Vasser Sullivan	12	Lexus RC F GT3	6	+15.768 2'04.369	0.065	117.174
41	B. Iribe F. Schandorff Inception Racing	70	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	8	+15.928 2'04.529	0.160	117.023
42	M. Goikhberg L. Spinelli Forte Racing	78	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	8	+16.276 2'04.877	0.348	116.697
43	A. Adelson E. Skeer Wright Motorsports	120	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	7	+16.593 2'05.194	0.317	116.402
44	S. Monk S. McAleer Gradient Racing	66	Acura NSX GT3	8	+17.119 2'05.720	0.526	115.915
45	K. Li A. Fjordbach MDK Motorsports	86	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	7	+17.908 2'06.509	0.789	115.192
46	O. Fidani M. Bell AWA	13	Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD	8	+18.739 2'07.340	0.831	114.440
47	J. Krohn P. Eng BMW M Team RLL	24	BMW M Hybrid V8	0
View full results