Helio Castroneves was very happy to take pole position for the Weathertech 240 at Daytona, stating it was a team achievement to end on top in the first IMSA qualifying session since January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The Brazilian led the way for Acura Team Penske with a 01:34:390 in the #7 Acura ARX-05 and was visibly happy after the session, celebrating behind the wheel of his car.
“I feel great,” said Castroneves, “It’s teamwork, not only Team Penske but Acura, a team pole.
Even when we stay away, waiting for this pandemic for like four months, we were able to put it together. It’s great.”
Castroneves outqualified Mazda’s Oliver Jarvis by a margin of just three-hundredths of a second. It was Castroneves’ fourth pole position since joining Team Penske’s DPi outfit in 2018.
Castroneves’ team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya qualified in fourth, with the top six cars separated by less than a second. The triple Indy 500 winner says the narrow margins during qualifying underlines how competive the DPi field is.
“[The competition] is so close, those numbers, it translates to how equal everyone is out there.”
“It’s going to be very competitive. Remember, it’s a two-and-a-half-hour race. We’re going to have to save the tires in this heat and if the rain comes in, it’s another condition.
“It’ll be, for sure, interesting, but right now we’ll enjoy this moment which has been great.”
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