Jack Aitken storms to Watkins Glen IMSA pole for Cadillac

Jack Aitken sent a message to the rest of the paddock after storming to pole for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

With less than 10 minutes left in qualifying, Aitken pushed Whelen Cadillac’s #31 Cadillac V-Series.R put down a massive flyer of 1m31.284s lap that was untouchable around the 3.4-mile, 11-turn natural terrain road course—later confirmed as a new GTP track record.

Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist made a late-gasp for the top spot, but in the end fell 0.197s short to slot second. Louis Deletraz put the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac in third, 0.203s behind.

The session was postponed for extensive track repairs after a piece of curbing broke during the Pilot Challenge race. 

Following a 2h40m delay, qualifying started but featured an incident in GTD that brought out the red flag due to a crash and led to the class to start on team points.

Jack Aitken said after the session he was happy with his result: “It turned out to be quite a long day waiting for the delayed session. But the car felt good. The track feels good and feels quick.

“Honestly, I’m really happy with the lap that I got together. I knew it would be close and there were a couple of guys within a few tenths. It’s very easy to over drive around here and it really invites you to keep pushing more and more so just trying to be controlled. It was nice and clean, and we have the best starting spot for tomorrow.”

GTP

Aitken hit a 1m32.026s with just under 10 minutes left, and then went even quicker with a 1m31.284s the following lap to increase his stranglehold of the top spot. 

Despite rivals throwing out their best shots, it wasn’t enough to best the Briton. Aitken praised the team’s momentum since Detroit for their current pace.

“Cadillac Whelen has been awesome for the last few races and we want to keep it going.
 “(The win at Detroit) was really special. There were so many friends and family around with us. It was the local race for the brand.

“Seeing the joy in pitlane afterward was really cool for some really distinguished guests and everyone was jumping and cheering and hollering. They’re racers like the rest of us. Glad to get that win in the pocket and it gave us great momentum.”

Blomqvist rolled out a 1m31.481s flyer with around two minutes remaining, which elevated him to second. Deletraz hung on to third with a lap of 1m31.487s in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac.

Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Renger van der Zande was fourth, with Laurin Heinrich qualifying fifth in the #5 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports.

LMP2

#43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07: Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg, Jeremy Clarke

Photo by: IMSA

Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke put down the fastest lap with less than three minutes to go, propelling his #43 ORECA LMP2 07 to a run of 1m35.124s. This marked his second pole of the season, and first since the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

PJ Hyett was knocked from the top spot late by Clarke, and tried to respond late but hit a 1m35.216s lap in the #99 for AO Racing. However, due to causing a red flag at the end of second practice lost his fastest qualifying lap. It didn’t matter, though, as Hyett’s next-best lap of 1m35.268s allowed him to retain second. 

United Autosport USA’s Daniel Goldberg was third, 0.394s behind Clarke. George Kurtz (Crowdstrike Racing by APR) and Misha Goikhberg (Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen) wrapped up fourth and fifth, respectively. 

GTD Pro

#14 Vasser Sullivan Racing w/Dreyer & Reinbold Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, James Calado

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

Jack Hawksworth, driving the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 for Vasser Sullivan Racing, partnered with Dreyer & Reinbold out of respect for the late Dennis Reinbold, went to the top with less than five minutes to go with a lap of 1m43.827s. He went even faster the following lap with a run at 1m43.701s. 

This marks the third pole of the season for Hawkworth, with his previous two coming at Sebring International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Additionally, it marks Hawksworth 17th career pole, breaking the record previously set by Ben Keating. 

AO Racing’s #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Harry King made a late push for the class pole, but ended up falling 0.213s off the mark set by Hawksworth. Neil Verhagen (Paul Miller Racing) ended up third at 0.388s behind in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 Evo. 

Ford Racing’s Chistopher Mies was fourth, ahead of Triarsi Competizione’s James Calado in fifth. 

GTD

Vasser Sullivan Racing’s Frankie Montecalvo went P1 with nine minutes to go with a 1m44.906s lap, but moments later the red flag was brought out when the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward lost control through the bus stop and hit head-on with the tire barrier at the exit of Turn 5. 

The incident did not allow the class to reach the minimum green flag time, wiping clean the results and setting it “by other means.” The lineup was ultimately set by team points, putting Heart of Racing Team’s Zacharie Robicon starting first in the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO. 

Watch: The Rolex 24 at Daytona: Precision, Perfection, and The Road To Victory (IMSA Endurance Racing)

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