Pipo Derani has taken pole position for the Twelve Hours of Sebring in a session that was notable for a late crash for Jimmie Johnson.
Derani was briefly challenged by Ricky Taylor, but the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-VR, which has been dominant all weekend so far, was fastest with a time of 01:45:354. Taylor’s best time in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura was 0.110s slower.
Renger van der Zande was third for Chip Ganassi Racing, ahead of the #55 Mazda RT24-P of Oliver Jarvis as Olivier Pla competed the top five for Meyer Shank Racing.
Jimmie Johnson ended his session in the barriers in the #48 Ally Cadillac DPi-VR. The NASCAR veteran spun on his penultimate flying lap, and in an attempt to start another lap, lost control of the car in the final corner and slammed the car into the wall.
WIN Autosport take maiden IMSA pole in LMP2
Steven Thomas caused a minor upset when he took WIN Autosport’s maiden pole position in IMSA.
Thomas’ best effort of 01:51:025 was enough to put the #11 ORECA 07-Gibson on pole, 0.123s quicker than Ben Keating in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA-07-Gibson.
Dwight Merriman was third for Era Motorsport despite a late spin, while Jim McGuire qualified fourth upon United Autosports’ IMSA return. John Farano rounded out the class for Tower Motorsport.
Lindh beats Askew to LMP3 pole
Rasmus Lindh has taken pole position in the first standalone LMP3 qualifying session in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.
Lindh battled for pole with Forty7 Motorsports’ Oliver Askew, trading the top time back and forth.
In the end, Lindh’s time of 01:56:001 was enough to put the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier JS P320 on pole position after Askew’s final attempt was just 0.065s short of the Swede’s time.
Gar Robinson was third fastest in the #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320, with Jon Bennett fourth for CORE Autosport. Jim Cox completed the top five in the #93 Riley Motorsports Ligier.
Corvette locks out front row in GTLM
After winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Corvette Racing’s strong form shows no form of subsiding as the American manufacturer locking out the front row in GTLM.
Antonio Garcia took pole after a series of quick laps, topping the timesheets with a 01:54:910 in the #3 Corvette C8.R, less than half a tenth clear of Tommy Milner in the #4 car.
Gaps in the top GT class were once again very close, as the best effort for third-placed Connor de Phillippi in the #25 BMW M8 GTE was just 0.152s behind Garcia.
Jesse Krohn was fourth in the #24 BMW M8 GTE, with Cooper MacNeil completing the class in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19.
Pole for Grasser, points for Vasser Sullivan
Tim Zimmermann has put GRT Grasser Racing Team on pole position in GTD, winning out in a tight battle that saw the top time change hands multiple times.
Zimmermann rose to the top inn the second half of the session and improved to a time of 02:00:010 late on to put the #19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo. He beat out Wright Motorsports’ Jan Heylen by just 0.067s, with the #16 Porsche 911 GT3 R lining up second.
One of the other Porsche contenders, Pfaff Motorsports’ Zacharie Robichon, went off track two times following an ABS failire in the #9 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Daniel Morad qualified third in the #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, with the top five completed by the two Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3s: Aaron Telitz in the #12 car ahead of Frankie Montecalvo.
After the bronze and silver rated drivers had set their laps, the pro drivers took over to qualify for points in the first showing for IMSA’s all new qualifying format.
Jack Hawksworth took the spoils for Vasser Sullivan, ahead of Pfaff Motorsports’ Laurens Vanthoor and the polesitting GRT Grasser Lamborghini, in the hands of Franck Perera.
