Jake Galstad/IMSA
Hyett, AO Racing become first repeat IMSA LMP2 polesitters at CTMP
PJ Hyett and AO Racing took pole for Sunday's Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the second year in a row, this time in dramatic fashion.
Barrier repairs caused by an accident during the preceding Michelin Pilot Challenge race delayed qualifying by 10 minutes, but it was worth the wait.
Hyett was held up slightly by a local yellow at the final turn, but he had time for just one more flying lap. The 2024 LMP2 pole sitter drove "Spike the LMP2 Dragon," the No. 99 ORECA 07-Gibson, to the top spot with a 1m08.888s lap, snatching pole from United Autosports' Dan Goldburg right at the buzzer.
The AO Racing crew becomes the first repeat pole winner in four LMP2 races, following his run at Watkins Glen. Goldburg, the race winner at Watkins Glen and the current LMP2 points leader, will line up second after setting a 1m08.986s.
He was also embroiled in the late drama – the No. 22 United ORECA 07 made contact with the No. 8 Tower Motorsports car of John Farano at Turn 11 and sent Farano spinning around. The Canadian driver was able to avoid bringing out a red flag by getting his car back on track.
Steven Thomas, who suffered an early crash in the first practice session of the weekend, qualified third in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA. Jeremy Clarke had his own issues in qualifying, spinning at Turn 2 and backing the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition car into the tires. With only minor damage and a solid lap already on the board, he'll start fourth in Sunday's race, ahead of the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR, No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports, and No. 2 United Autosports USA cars.
Neil Verhagen and Paul Miller Racing took their first GTD PRO pole of the season – a first for the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. A lap time of 1m15.046s from the American-born, European-trained driver was enough for him to win the pole by nearly 0.3s.
The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Aaron Telitz will occupy the outside of the GT front row, setting a 1m15.309s to take a front row spot away from the No. 3 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The two works Corvette Racing cars will start side-by-side on row two – Garcia in the championship-leading No. 3 in third ahead of the No. 4 of Tommy Milner.
Dan Harper in the No. 48 Paul Miller BMW rounded out the top five, sharing the third row with local favorites Pfaff Motorsports and the No. 9 Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli.
Vasser Sullivan Racing's strong form also netted a GTD pole position for Jack Hawksworth in the No. 12 Lexus, his first of the season individually and the second straight pole in Canada for this car, which won the pole last year in the hands of Frankie Montecalvo. It's also the second pole of the year for the No. 12 Lexus – co-driver Parker Thompson won the pole at Long Beach earlier this year.
Hawksworth set a 1m15.305s to drop the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward out of the top spot by just 0.014s. Hawksworth then gained 0.2s on his next flying lap, securing the top spot with a 1m15.101s. Ward pushed until the final seconds of the GTD session, but would not improve from his 1m15.319s – he'll start second.
Robert Wickens put in a solid effort to qualify third in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette. Using specially-developed hand controls, Wickens set a 1m15.876 to put the Corvette on the second row.
After Casper Stevenson's accident during the middle of practice two Saturday morning, the English driver turned things around and qualified the repaired No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 fourth on the GTD grid.
R.J. O'Connell
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