Written by Owen Bradley
Jack Aitken put the No.31 Cadillac on pole position for the IMSA Petit Le Mans, after a blistering lap time, setting a 1:09.639s. Aitken narrowly pipped the No.7 Porsche squad, who lead the championship going into the final race this weekend, with the sister No.6 Porsche and the No.01 and No.31 Cadillac's also in contention.
The championship-leading No.7 Porsche, driven by Matt Campbell, would only be +0.070s off the fastest time, the Porsche squad setting 10 laps throughout the qualifying session in the desperate attempt to get to the front of the grid and avoid any crashes for the 10-hour long Endurance race on Saturday.
A further couple of tenths behind, would be the No.25 BMW of Connor De Phillippi. BMW come into the final race of the season with some serious momentum behind them, the German manufacturer taking a historic 1-2 finish at Indianapolis last time out. With the BMW's out of championship contention, they could pose as a serious threat and a risk to those who are fighting for the championship.
Maxime Martin returns for the first time since Sebring to join the No.25 BMW squad, Martin revealed his preparation plans for the IMSA finale in an exclusive interview with DIVEBOMB earlier this season: https://www.dive-bomb.com/article/maxime-martin-interview
Just a few hundredths of a second behind, the No.01 Cadillac in the new pink colour scheme, lines up in fourth place after a strong lap from Sebastien Bourdais. Meanwhile, Filipe Albuquerque drove the No.10 Acura to fifth place, all five cars inside the 1:09.000's with the rest of the field slightly further adrift.
Jordan Taylor would put the No.40 Acura in seventh, setting an identical lap time to Phil Hanson in the No.85 Porsche, which went ahead in sixth, as the Porsche set this lap time first, with developing track conditions.
The No.6 Porsche driven by Nick Tandy, only managed to set a 1:10.212s meaning the main championship threat to the current championship leaders, will now start from well outside the Top 5, right in the pack and subsequently at risk of potential crashes.
Philipp Eng in the No.24 BMW would struggle to replicate the success of the sister BMW machine, only managing a lap time in the low 1:10.000's after their last performance which earned them a strong podium finish. The BMW's could both be a potential threat throughout the race, therefore the No.24 squad will be required to drive through the field, if they hope to capitalise on their current momentum.
Alessio Picariello would put the No.5 Porsche in 10th place, as the No.63 Lamborghini rounded out the full grid in GTP, albeit over half a second from most of the other teams.
Ben Keating would put the No.2 United Autosports on pole in LMP2, setting a lap time just a couple of seconds off the GTP cars, with a 1:12.739s. The No.2 would be a couple of tenths ahead of the No.11 TDS racing team driven by Steven Thomas. PJ Hyett would deliver the No.99 AO Racing team a strong lap to put them in third place, as the championship leading No.52 Inter Europol team starts just behind.
The main championship contenders in LMP2, the No.74 Riley team driven by Gar Robinson in Qualifying, would only manage to qualify another couple of places behind the No.52 Inter Europol. With the championship on the line, fans can expect some drama throughout both GTP and LMP2.
Finally, in the GTD Pro class, the No.77 Porsche, nicknamed "Rexy" with a green dinosaur livery by AO Racing, would qualify on pole, the championship leaders in the GTD Pro class seeking to capitalise on their qualifying performance and seize their championship victory. The main championship threat coming to the Porsche team, will be the No.23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, who start from third place.
The IMSA Petit Le Mans, a 10-Hour Endurance race to decide the IMSA Championship, begins tomorrow at 17:10 UK Time, with all three championships on the line.
Tune into DIVEBOMB Motorsport for LIVE Updates and Coverage of the IMSA Petit Le Mans, on our website and social media.
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