Pipo Derani took pole for the 12 Hours of Sebring, with the Brazilian former winner of the event quickest onboard the #31 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R.
It was a slow start to the session for the GTPs, with multiple cars in the class choosing to scrub a set of tyres in for the race before fitting the qualifying tyres proper to the car.
Phil Hanson set the first representative lap and the first lap faster than the LMP2s, who had qualified previous to the GTPs going out on track. Hanson, in the #85 JDC Miller Porsche 963, set a 1:51.441, but the ultimate pace was due to be below the 1:50 mark based on practice.
However, the session was temporarily halted by a large crash for Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche 963. The Frenchman rode over one of Sebring’s infamous bumps at turn 1, causing the car to skip over the track surface and land on the kerb and the grass bordering the track. He then span into the barriers on drivers’ right, hitting the barrier hard with the front of the car, before coming to a rest with half the car back on the track, with heavy damage to the front of the car.
When the Porsche had been recovered and the barriers made safe, the clock, which had expired under the red flag, was reset with four minutes left.
This made the rest of the GTP session a frantic one, with all the drivers vying for space in an attempt to go fastest.
In the end, Derani crossed the finish line with mere seconds remaining on the clock, as did Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s Louis Deletraz and Porsche’s Felipe Nasr. This meant all three could go for another lap, while everyone else had to make the lap they were on count.
As it happened, Derani didn’t need another lap — his 1:48.152 was quick enough to take pole at the first attempt. Before this, though, Ricky Taylor in the #10 WTRAndretti Acura ARx-06 had set a faster lap but this was very quickly deleted, as the team had done more work on the car during the red flag than was legally allowed.
Second was Sebastien Bourdais in the other Cadillac, run by Chip Ganassi Racing, the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R, 0.147 off Derani.
Deletraz, in the sister #40 WTRAndretti, came round to set another lap and slotted in third, with a 1:48.593 good enough for third. Philipp Eng’s 1:48.829 was quick enough for fourth, while Felipe Nasr was fifth fastest with his second attempt, over a second off Derani.
In LMP2, PJ Hyett qualified on pole in the #99 AO Racing Oreca 07-Gibson, setting a 1:52.142 to set the quickest lap of the class.
At the start of the session, it was none other than Ben Keating who was quickest first out of the gate once all 13 drivers had got the tyres warmed up and were setting representative laps. The American, in the #2 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson, set a 1:52.673 to top the timesheets with 10 minutes remaining.
However, shortly after, Keating made a rare mistake, seeming to lock the car’s rear wheels at the turn 2/3 complex. This caused him to lose the rear end of the car, drifting into the corner. It’s a testament to his skill, though, that he managed to keep the Oreca on track and facing the right way.
Crowdstrike by APR’s George Kurtz, in the #04 Oreca 07-Gibson, went second fastest, well over a second slower than Keating. But, Hyett was on a faster lap, and dully crossed the line to go just over three tenths faster than Keating.
The following lap he duly improved further, to a 1:52.441, which was quick enough to take pole.
Keating’s United Autosports teammate, Dan Goldburg, on board the #22 Oreca 07-Gibson, then came through to go quicker than Keating. However, Goldberg was 0.701 slower than Hyett.
Keating sat third at the end of the session, having failed to go quicker than his initial 1:52.673. Nick Boulle took third, in the #52 Inter Europol Oreca 07-Gibson, while Gar Robinson was fifth quickest in the #74 Riley Oreca 07-Gibson.
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