Tandy, Bergmeister Go 1-2 In GT Le Mans Qualifying

Subtitle:Porsche Sweeps Oak Tree Grand Prix Front Row

Two races after becoming the first repeat pole winner in the history of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, Nick Tandy became the first three-time pole winner in qualifying for Sunday’s Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIRginia International Raceway.

The Oak Tree Grand Prix at VIR starts at 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1.

Tandy clocked a track-record lap of 1:42.532 (114.813 mph) to capture the pole and give the Porsche North America team a sweep of the front row for Round 10 of the TUDOR Championship. Tandy will co-drive the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR with Patrick Pilet. Joerg Bergmeister qualified second with a lap of 1:42.629 (114.704 mph) in the team’s No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR he shares with Earl Bamber.

Both Tandy and Bamber will be going for their second overall victory of the 2015 season on Sunday. As teammates in June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the duo took the overall victory in the Porsche 919 Hybrid LM P1 machine alongside Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg.

Pierre Kaffer – who was fastest in both of Friday’s practice sessions – qualified third in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia with a lap of 1:43.122 (114.156 mph). Kaffer and co-driver Giancarlo Fisichella are the defending winners of the event, with Fisichella capturing the 2014 race on a last-lap pass.

NOTES:

- Saturday’s qualifying session marked the second time that Porsche North America swept the front row. The team also qualified 1-2 at Sebring International Raceway in March.

- The top six GTLM qualifiers broke Pierre Kaffer’s year-old track record, with seventh-fastest qualifier Oliver Gavin equaling the mark of 1:43.797 (113.414 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.

QUOTES:

Nick Tandy, Driver – No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR

“Clearly we’re on a good run, but honestly, I think a lot of today came down to track temperature. That sounds stupid, but we’ve learned this weekend it makes a huge difference. When you look at the practice this morning we were really fighting with the cars, but in the light of the afternoon when the track is a lot hotter, we were right above the competition. We knew the times would be a lot slower, we have that experience, we learned that from other motorsports. For a points situation, it’s a perfect result, but it’s Saturday and if tomorrow the conditions are a bit different, it could be a different story. 

(On the team sweeping the front row): “For sure, starting on the front row makes the start of the race much more simple, because we can dictate how we’ll start the race more or less. You’ll have a lot less combat with your teammate trying to get past you. If the 912 is quicker than us, they will be ahead, simply the same with the other cars. But it’s the polar opposite of where we were at Road America where we were starting from the back. So statistically we should be in better shape than at Road America.

(On going for the overall victory): “It means a lot when you take the checkered flag. We race in multi-class racing, and you take the checkered flag, but to be the one where the checkered flag falls, it’s an occasion. Whoever takes the win in GTLM will take the checkered flag, it might not mean a lot to some, but to the people involved, it’s something very important.”

Sunday’s on-track activity opens with a 20-minute warm-up session beginning at 8:35 a.m. ET.