Giovinazzi claims pole position for the Lone Star Le Mans in what was a tense qualifying session at the Circuit of the Americas. In LMGT3, where Austin plays the role of the slowest track on the calendar, it was Eudardo Barrichello who claimed pole position in the #23 Aston Martin.
Ferrari Takes Pole After Dramatic 0.000s Showdown at COTA
The Hypercar qualifying session got off to a strong start, with both Genesis cars setting a series of early benchmark laps. However, it was Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari who ultimately topped the session, posting a 1:52.020. Viktor Martins put the #36 Alpine second, splitting the two factory Ferraris, while Antonio Giovinazzi secured third in the #51 Ferrari.
Both Genesis and Alpine successfully put both of their cars through to Hyperpole, while neither Aston Martin nor Peugeot managed to progress either of their entries beyond the opening qualifying session.
For much of the session, it looked as though pole position would go to the #38 Cadillac with Jack Aitken behind the wheel. However, with just one minute remaining, Antonio Giovinazzi set the benchmark time of 1:52.445 in the #51 Ferrari.
Aitken immediately responded, matching Giovinazzi’s time to the thousandth of a second. The timing screens showed a gap of 0.000 seconds between the two drivers, but pole ultimately went to Ferrari, with Giovinazzi taking the top spot by virtue of setting the lap first.
Barrichello fastest in LMGT3
Stefano Gattuso in the Ford #88 went fastest in the first part of Qualifying, with Martin Berry in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes 0.38 seconds behind. The #58 McLaren, with Alexander West behind the wheel, closed out the top three fastest.
Both Corvettes, including the #33 that is currently at the lead of the standings, haven’t made it into Hyperpole. The American manufacturer was the only one that failed to get at least one car into Hyperpole.
“This weekend, we knew before we started it was going to be difficult. Getting any points in the race will be good. Qualifying isn’t too important,” said Jonny Edgar, driver of the #33 Corvette.
“We haven’t been in the top-10 all year, and it’s obviously gone pretty well in the races so far. We’re all hoping to have a clean race tomorrow. We all expected it to be difficult, but if we have no mistakes and no penalties, there’s still a chance to get some points.”
In Hyperpole, where the silver-rated drivers took the wheel, it was a battle between the Heart of Racing Aston Martins for most of the session, with Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello in the #23 just about setting pole with a 0.18s lead over teammate Zacharie Robichon in the #27. It’s an Aston Martin pole position for the third consecutive time this season.
As Dudu Barrichello missed the São Paulo race due to a clash with IMSA, his pole position at the Lone Star Le Mans makes him the third different Aston Martin driver to set pole position this season. Kobe Pauwels set the pole position in São Paulo; Mattia Drudi in the #27 set pole in Le Mans.
Discussion about this post