Giacomo Altoe set the pace in qualifying for the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, putting the #81DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 on pole in the GTD Pro class.
The Italian capped a dominant weekend, with DragonSpeed topping both practice sessions and now claiming the top spot on the grid.
His co-driver, Albert Costa, set the benchmark in the opening 90-minute practice, guiding the #81 car to the top with a 1:45.032s to lead both GTD Pro and the overall order.
The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo followed closely, Russell Ward quickest of the GTD runners and second overall.
DragonSpeed maintained its grip in the second practice session, with Altoe lowering the pace to a 1:45.011s in the same Ferrari. That time was matched to the thousandth by Sebastian Priaulx in the Ford Multimatic Mustang, leaving the pair inseparable at the head of the timesheets.
In GTD, Onofrio Triarsi took the spotlight, putting the #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari on top of the class with a 1:45.324s effort.
Hawksworth secures GTD pole for Lexus
Heading into qualifying, the action got underway in the GTD class with plenty of warm-up laps, the Mercedes of Ward quickly storming out of the pits at the beginning of the session before returning to the pits at the end of the lap.
Jack Hawskworth in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 set the early benchmark with a 1:45.833s before Patrick Gallagher in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO quickly dispatched him with a 1:45.757s.
The British driver immediately replied to take back the fastest lap with Gallagher slotting in behind. Ward finally joined the fight with just over five minutes to go, setting a fastest lap time of 1:44.998s before Hawksworth went even quicker with a 1:44.860s.
Triarsi placed third in his Ferrari as Hawksworth rolled the dice, pitting with a minute and a half remaining and trusting his time would hold firm.
It worked as the 34-year-old held onto pole position for Vasser Sullivan Racing ahead of Ward and Triarsi, completing the top three.
Altoe fends off Verhagen for GTD Pro pole
Nicky Catsburg in the #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports headed out for the GTD Pro class with an engine change due to a suspected thermostat issue.
The #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo, with Dan Harper at the wheel, vaulted to the top of the times with a 1:45.090s. But his spell in front was short-lived as Altoe fired the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari to a 1:44.847s.
Even that effort didn’t last long, as Neil Verhagen in the #1 BMW quickly responded. The two exchanged blows at the head of the order, Altoe briefly regaining the advantage before Verhagen stamped authority with a 1:44.478s.
Yet the Italian hit back with a 1:44.433s in a tense qualifying affair at VIR, reclaiming the top spot by less than half a tenth as the battle for pole intensified.
The #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Antonio Garcia, occupied third as Altoe and Verhagen both pitted with just over two minutes left of the session.
However, the #48 BMBW of Harper snatched third at the death to make it a 2-3 finish for the German manufacturer. But it was DragonSpeed’s day as Altoe continued the dominance by taking pole position in qualifying.
READ MORE – Costa fastest for DragonSpeed at VIR in IMSA opening practice
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