Smith, Wilkins Secure Miller Round 15 GT, GTS Poles

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TOOELE, Utah – Guy Smith, of Beverley, U.K., followed up leading practice with the Motul pole position for Round 15’s Pirelli World Challenge Nissan Championship Finale brought to you by Motul at Miller Motorsports Park.Smith’s GT pole is his second in a row in his No. 88 Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Bentley Continental GT3, but first achieved in a standard qualifying session. He also started from pole in Round 14 at Sonoma by virtue of setting fastest race lap in Round 13.

Smith set a new track record of 1:48.524 around the 3.048-mile outer course. The top 12 GT/GT-A drivers beat the previous track record (1:50.834 by Patrick Long, 2012). 

“It’s great for Bentley as we’ve been building this year,” Smith said. “We’re just feeling our way bit by bit, learning about Pirelli World Challenge. We know the car is so good in Europe and adapting well to American circuits.

“Sonoma was frustrating because we didn’t get the results. We’ll see if we nail the start, the proof is in the pudding.”

Mike Skeen, of Charlotte, N.C., in the No. 2 Hawk Performance Audi R8 Ultra just missed a crucial pole position. But he will start second after a best time of 1:48.942. He trails Johnny O'Connell by 42 points heading into Friday's race.

Smith’s teammate, Butch Leitzinger, of State College, Pa., in the No. 08 Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Bentley Continental GT3, starts third with a best time of 1:48.956. 

Robert Thorne, of Littleton, Col., starts fourth in the No. 6 K-PAX Racing McLaren 12C GT3 with Ryan Dalziel, of Winter Park, Fla., fifth in the No. 31 EFFORT Racing Porsche GT3 R.

Points leader O’Connell, of Flowery Branch, Ga., in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V.R, rolls off eighth.

Fastest in GT-A is points leader Michael Mills, of Angleton, Texas, in the No. 41 EFFORT Racing Porsche GT3 R. Mills starts 12th overall after a best time of 1:50.418.

GTS points leader Mark Wilkins, of Toronto, captured his third Motul pole position of the year in the No. 38 PutOnTheBrakes.org Kia Optima with a best time of 1:57.679.

“This circuit suits our Kia Optima well and it helps a lot for Kia in the Manufacturer’s Championship,” he said. “We’re actually just treating it like another race and finishing is so important.” 

Jack Baldwin, of Marietta, Ga., was second in the No. 73 RESET-MD Porsche Cayman S, at 1:57.855. Baldwin is just under 200 points in arrears of GTS points leader Wilkins and will need to close to within 152 in Round 15 to remain mathematically eligible for the championship going into Saturday’s Round 16 finale.

Wilkins’ teammate, Nic Jonsson, of Buford, Ga., lines up third in the No. 36 DonorsChoose.org Kia Optima with a best time of 1:58.049. Jonsson seeks to help Wilkins’ in Kia’s pursuit of the Manufacturer’s Championship in GTS.

TRG-AMR put two of its three cars in the top-five. Nick Esayian, of San Diego, Calif., starts a season-best fourth in the No. 34 Natural Cures Aston Martin GT4 with teammate Drew Regitz, of Denver, Col., fifth in the No. 02 TRG-AMR North America Aston Martin GT4. Regitz has his second top-five start of the year (career-best second in Round 9 at Toronto). 

Round 15 starts with live streaming beginning at 4:40 p.m. MT and local time (6:40 p.m. ET) on world-challengetv.com.