Glickenhaus storms to Nurburgring 24 Hours pole

American racer Jeff Westphal scored a shock pole position in a Glickenhaus SCG003C at the Nurburgring ahead of the 45th annual Nurburgring 24 Hours, with an 8m15.427s tour of the full 16.1-mile circuit in the Top-30 qualifying session.

Racing in the American-owned, Italian-manufactured SCG003C with Traum Motorsport, Westphal's lap put the first non-German car on Pole for the German endurance classic since 2011, when Hankook Team Farnbacher managed the best time in a Ferrari 458 GT2.

The SCG003C has been designed to GT3 specification, but cannot be FIA homologated due to the very limited production numbers of its road-going counterpart thus far. This weekend will mark the car's third appearance in the race, which this year features over 150 cars, from factory-supported GT3 efforts, right down to touring cars and classics.

"I feel great, the team has worked so hard, we're fighting the best in the world so for us to achieve this is amazing for the guys," said Westphal, who in the past has raced in Grand-Am and is an IMSA GTD class winner, after the session. "It's amazing for the crew who have worked so hard.

"Lap 1 for me was pretty good, with a couple of spots I could perfect – I had a little too much understeer but on the second lap I was hanging on out on the loop. If you'd have asked me this morning if I would do an 8m15s I don't know I would have said yes.

"We're a small manufacturer – it's David vs Goliath, it's been a long road. I think so much of this race is a flat-out sprint but you need to take care. I think we have a good shot at it, I'd love for the car to be reliable, push on into the darkness, come out in the morning so we can see where we're at.

"It's a huge honor to be in front of this field, it's quality."

Glickenhaus owner Jim Glickenhaus presented the Glickenhaus Trophy to Westphal, which bears his own name, and is awarded to the race's polesitter.

"This is an incredible achievement," Glickenhaus said. "I love this event, it's like Woodstock, Burning Man and Le Mans 1966 all in one."

It headlined an American 1-2 in the session, with Californian Connor Di Phillippi steering the No. 29 Audi Sport Team Land Audi R8 LMS to second, with a 8:16.102 on his first flying lap to put the car atop the screens for the majority of the session. The German Land outfit will be familiar with American sports car fans, the team racing an R8 LMS GT3 in the GTD class of the Rolex 24 Hours earlier this year.

The Nurburgring 24 Hours got underway at 3:30 p.m. local time in Germany.