#60 Acura in pole courtesy of Tom Blomqvist

IMSA

Oct 11

Acura Meyer Shank Racing got their two Acura ARX-06 in the top 3 of qualifying with pole set by Tom Blomqvist. Jack Aitken was second with #31 Cadillac Whelen.

Blomqvist qualified Acura ARX-06 #60 in pole.

Tom Blomqvist took the pole position today in GTP qualifying session driving the #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 setting a new GTP qualifying lap record at Michelin Raceway with a 1:09.628.

The pole position gives Acura vital points in the IMSA manufacturers' championship, shrinking the gap to just two points ahead of tomorrow's 10-hour season-ending Petit Le Mans race from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Blomqvist and teammates Colin Braun and Scott Dixon are in the thick of the fight for the Michelin Endurance Cup as well, sitting just three points behind in that championship-within-a-championship which awards points in the five longest races of the season.

Blomqvist and Braun are looking for their second Petit Le Mans win as a pairing, and Acura MSR's third Petit win in four seasons following triumphs in 2022 and 2023. Dixon himself is a two-time winner at Petit Le Mans, including last year

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Michelin Raceway. #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06

Tom Blomqvist (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 1st: "Turning up for qualifying, we weren't too sure where we were going to stack up to be honest. We struggled a little bit in practice, but the team worked super hard overnight to see if there were some things that we could try and improve on in the car, and the Acura really came alive. Our car is typically pretty good when the weight comes out of it and you put new tires on and have a fresh track. Really happy for everyone at Acura MSR and HRC. They work really, really hard. We took a bit of a gamble it seemed to pay off." Source: Acura

Aitken second with #31 Cadillac Whelen

Jack Aitken in the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R qualified second with a 1:09.827.

Aitken teamed with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti to dominate the six-hour event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to deliver Cadillac’s 32nd victory since joining IMSA’s prototype class in 2017.

Aiming for Cadillac’s sixth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Championship is a subplot to the day-night season finale. Cadillac is five points out of first, with points awarded at the four-, eight- and 10-hour marks.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Michelin Raceway. #31 Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “Feels like we've been P2 a lot this year in qualies. It's frustratingly close, but obviously a good place to start tomorrow. Nice to be up front and potentially out of any trouble further down in the pack. It would have been nice to stick it on pole. We did a good job, the car felt pretty hooked up. We would have loved to snatch the pole, but the points are tomorrow." Source: Cadillac Racing

Yelloly third with Acura ARX-06 #93

Nick Yelloly qualifyied third with the #93 ARX-06 (1:09.908).

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Michelin Raceway. #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06

Nick Yelloly (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 3rd: "First and third for Acura in qualifying, which is great. We missed two of the practice sessions yesterday, so to put the #93 third on the grid with no laps and no qualifying simulations, I was pretty happy with that. Long race tomorrow, but we're starting at the sharp end which is what we both needed on both side of the garage. It's a few more points for Acura in the manufacturers' championship, so I'm very happy with the effort from all the guys and gals at MSR and HRC. Let's get them tomorrow." Source: Acura

#7 Porsche 963 fourth

The #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 qualified fourth, courtesy of 2024 GTP Champion Felipe Nasr with a 1:10.241. Current GTP championship leader Matt Campbell in the #6 sister was sixth.

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “Road Atlanta is a fantastic challenge from start to finish and an absolute blast for us drivers. I’m happy with my qualifying lap. Fourth place gives us a solid starting position for the race, especially since we should have a fast and consistent car over the full distance. The dense traffic on Saturday might be tricky – more than 50 cars sharing just over four kilometres of track means we’ll need to navigate carefully. Ultimately, when the race reaches nightfall and the stakes are highest, we expect to be right there.”

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): “Sixth place isn’t what I’d hoped for in qualifying. But the race lasts ten hours, so a single lap doesn’t decide anything. Everything is still possible, particularly as our Porsche 963 should be stronger over the full distance than on one flying lap. Tomorrow will be an extremely important day for us!” Source: Porsche

Aston Martin THOR Team in top 5

Ross Gunn drove the #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie with a 1.11.356, which was the fifth fastest lap of the qualifying session.

Disappointment for BMW

The two BMW M Team RLL Hybrid V8s qualified ninth and tenth, which is bad for the #24 of Dries Vanthoor who desperately needed pole qualifying points to reduce the deficit with leading Porsche in the Teams and Drivers Championships.