Louis Deletraz has taken pole for the IMSA Sportscar Championship’s race at Laguna Seca, the Monterey Sportscar Championship, with a 1:13.221 in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac.
The Swiss driver was almost 3 tenths quicker than fellow Cadillac driver Jack Aitken, in the #31 Action Express-run car. Third was Nick Yelloly in the #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, almost half a second adrift of Deletraz.
Cadillac were fastest for much of the session, with the first representative lap being set by Filipe Albuquerque, in the #10 WTR Cadillac. However, this was soon beaten by Aitken, with the Briton’s lap then demoted to second by Deletraz, who set an initial 1:13.592.
He was top for the rest of the session and was able to improve down to his eventual pole lap of 1:21.221. Aitken was also able to improve but couldn’t get close to Deletraz. Yelloly similarly couldn’t get close, and pitted before the session was over, his job done.
Fourth was Dries Vanthoor in the #24 BMW, while Tom Blomqvist, in the sister Acura, the #60 car, was fifth.
The two factory Porsches, in their special retro Apple Computer multi-coloured livery, could only manage eighth and ninth, with Frenchmen Kevin Estre and Julien Andlauer at the wheel. They were beaten by Ross Gunn in the #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie, who qualified sixth.
Hawksworth claims GTD Pro pole
Jack Hawksworth claimed pole for Lexus and the Vasser Sullivan team, driving the #14 SealMaster-sponsored car, with a 1:21.228.
However, the Briton was a relative late addition to the top of the time sheets. Initially Neil Verhagen, in the #1 Paul Miller BMW, was quickest, setting a 1:21.307. However, mid-way through the session his time was deleted as he’d exceeded track limits. This put Max Esterson, in the #59 RLL McLaren, on provisional pole.
Sandy Mitchell then went quickest, in the #9 Pfaff Lamborghini, but this was quickly beaten by Hawksworth, setting an initial time of 1:21.605. He then improved twice, eventually setting his pole lap, a 1:21.228 – the only GTD Pro driver faster than the GTDs.
Second fastest in GTD Pro was Verhagen, who was unable to set a time as quick as his lap which exceeded track limits earlier. However, his 1:21.485 was fast enough for second, albeit two and a half tenths off Hawksworth.
Third was Christopher Mies in the #65 Ford Mustang, with a 1:21.572. Fourth was Harry King in the #77 AO Racing Porsche, ‘Rexy’, while fifth was Antonio Garcia in the #3 Pratt Miller Corvette.
Patrese on pole for Conquest Ferrari in GTD
In GTD, Lorenzo Patrese – son of former F1 driver Riccardo – took pole in the #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari, with a 1:21.441.
The bronze-rated Italian was quickest throughout the session, initially setting a 1:22.516 as his first representative lap to go quickest. Dudu Barrichello – himself a son of another F1 driver, Rubens Barrichello – was just over 3 tenths slower at this point.
Patreese kept improving, down to a 1:21.940 and then half a second quicker to his eventual pole lap, 1:21.441, to take his second IMSA pole position.
Barrichello got his time down to within 3 tenths, with a 1:21.707, but he couldn’t find the extra he needed to beat Patrese.
In between them slotted Danny Formal in the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini, with a 1:21.463. With Patrese pitting early, Formal tried to go for another lap to take pole but he couldn’t find the extra time he needed.
In fourth was Russell Ward in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes, while fifth went to former Indycar driver Benjamin Pedersen in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.
Discussion about this post