PWC: Skeen, Aschenbach secure Mid-Ohio Round 11 GT, GTS poles

Mike Skeen, of Charlotte, N.C. and Lawson Aschenbach, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., have captured the GT and GTS pole positions for Saturday’s Round 11 of the Pirelli World Challenge season, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge Presented by StopTech. Additionally, Albert von Thurn und Taxis, of Regensburg, Germany, was the fastest qualifying GT-A driver.

Skeen drove to his eighth career pole and third this season, with a late flier of 1:20.725 in the No. 2 Hawk Performance Audi R8 Ultra. The time eclipses the previous track record of 1:21.840, set last season by Alex Figge. 
“I think it was the car coming in,” Skeen said. “We cooled it down about 10-12minutes into the session. Were overheating the rears. Let them balance out. I put everything I had into it and made it work. I thought we only had a third or fourth place car. It helps us immensely in the points to get a gap to the Cadillac.”

Second and leading a K-PAX Racing 2-3 was the returning Figge, of Denver, Col., in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 12C GT3. Figge won both Mid-Ohio races last year and seeks to add to that streak off a qualifying time of 1:20.884.

“There are very few team owners would go out and purchase a new McLaren to continue the season,” Figge said. “Thank you to Jim Haughey doesn’t even begin to say it. I’m so grateful to be here and be at the pointy end. Mike made a great lap; I had a good lap but made a mistake on my own. You can lose pole that way.”

Third and posting his best start of the season was Robert Thorne, of Littleton, Col., in the No. 6 K-PAX Racing McLaren 12C GT3, at 1:20.900. Thorne previously qualified fourth on three separate occasions.

Ryan Dalziel, of Winter Park, Fla., lines up fourth in the No. 31 EFFORT Racing Porsche GT3 R with Butch Leitzinger, of State College, Pa., in the No. 08 Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Bentley Continental GT3 rounding out the top-five.

Points leader Johnny O’Connell, of Flowery Branch, Ga., starts seventh in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V.R.
Von Thurn und Taxis, in the No. 24 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo FL2, posts his first GT-A fastest qualifying of the season with a time of 1:22.194 good enough for 11th overall. The top three in the GT-A points standings entering the weekend – Henrik Hedman, Dan Knox and Michael Mills – roll off 14th, 17th and 12th, respectively.

In GTS, Aschenbach, in the No. 1 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro, broke his poor run of luck at least temporarily with a new track record of 1:27.557 for his first pole of the season, and 10th of his career. It’s also Chevrolet’s first this season. Aschenbach won one of the two Mid-Ohio races a year ago and seeks his second win of 2014 this weekend.

“We knew coming in this track would be good for us,” Aschenbach said. “Would we have the straight line speed? I have to thank the series in sorting things out. The race will be tougher than qualifying but fortunately we have a great Team Chevy Camaro. Points don’t matter for us at this stage; it’s all about wins."

Andy Lee, of Colorado Springs, Col., in the No. 20 Crown Seven/BestIT Chevrolet Camaro, has his best start of the season in second with a time of 1:28.172.

Third was Nic Jonsson, of Buford, Ga., in the No. 36 DonorsChoose.org Kia Optima. Alec Udell, of The Woodlands, Texas in the No. 17 Watson Racing/MDG Ford Mustang Boss 302S and Jack Baldwin, of Marietta, Ga., in the No. 73 RESET-MD Porsche Cayman S round out the top five.

GTS points leader Mark Wilkins, of Toronto, in the No. 38 PutOnTheBrakes.org Kia Optima lines up seventh with GTS second in points, Dean Martin, of Westland, Mich., in the No. 50 Picture Cars East/Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302S, just ahead of him in sixth.

The 50-minute Round 11 will go green from a standing start at 11:50 a.m. ET; live streaming begins on www.world-challengetv.com at 11:45 a.m.