For once, the GTLM pole sitter gets to lead the entire field to green as Antonio Garcia claims pole position in the GT-only Northeast Grand Prix on Saturday. Garcia’s 49.754 pole lap stands as a new GTLM record at Lime Rock Park.
“It felt really good,” Garcia said after his run, claiming Corvette Racing’s third pole since the Rolex 24 at Daytona. However, Garcia acknowledges this pace does not promise performance for today’s race. “This afternoon is going to be completely different. This is the fun part of it, not taking care of the tires.”
One major benefit of winning pole in GTLM for the Northeast Grand Prix is starting as the overall pole sitter. Without the Prototype class ahead of them, the GTLMs are free to lead the way at the start without traffic.
“For the first time we don’t have cars ahead of us,” Garcia said. “Definitely the best starting position, so we have to see how it plays out here.”
All in all, the top three qualifiers all ran below the 50:00 mark – the first time this benchmark has ever been reached in GTLM. While he starts P3 behind Laurens Vanthoor, Dirk Mueller was the first to make this feat with an early run of 49.945.
As the Corvette Racing, Porsche GT, and Ford Chip Ganassi Racing teams each held a representative in the top three, their counterparts fell down the field somewhat. Tommy Milner posted a respectable 50.048 for P4, ahead of points leader Richard Westbrook in P5.
Patrick Pilet, despite running the fastest laps of Friday’s practice sessions, came up last in the class. His P8 run will see him start behind the pair of BMW Team RLL entries. The slow run comes as a surprise due to his early quick pace and ability to bring his Porsche over the kerbs more aggressively than other drivers.
The Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park takes place this Saturday afternoon at 3:10 p.m. ET. Antonio Garcia will lead the field to the green with the overall pole position.
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