DragonSpeed Ferrari grabs IMSA GT Challenge pole at VIR

Giacomo Altoe had to fight for it, but the Italian driver was able to fight off the best challenges from Neil Verhagen and put the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 on pole for Sunday's Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.

It was Altoe's third pole of the season aboard the DragonSpeed Ferrari, which has won four poles in 2025, the most of any GTD PRO car. Altoe and championship contending co-driver Albert Costa led every IMSA WeatherTech session at VIR.

For most of the 15-minute GTD PRO qualifying session, it was Altoe and the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Verhagen trading blows for provisional pole. Altoe set a 1m44.847s on his first flying lap, only to be surpassed by a 1m44.620s from Verhagen. Both drivers found improvements, but in the end, Altoe won out with a 1m44.433s, enough to beat the BMW of Verhagen, just a few weeks removed from his maiden IMSA victory, by just 0.045s.

Thanks to a late improvement from the No. 48 Paul Miller BMW of Dan Harper, the two GTD PRO M4s will start second and third in Sunday's sprint race, right ahead of the two Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvettes.

Antonio Garcia was fourth quickest in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and after undergoing an engine change after the second practice session, the No. 4 Corvette was fifth-quickest in the hands of Nicky Catsburg.

Seb Priaulx went sixth in the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3, and Klaus Bachler was seventh in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

"When I speak about the championship fight, for me it’s a team championship–because this is our goal. So I’m focusing on that," Altoe said after securing the top spot in qualifying.

"It feels amazing – three pole positions already. The gaps are always so tight that it makes it even more rewarding, so I’m happy. We found some good stuff in FP2, so I think we should be good for the race pace. But you never know. Everybody is so strong that we really have to fight for it. It's a little bit easier starting in front, but it's a long race, so we’ll see."

Aaron Telitz's spin at turn 14 was the only drama in the session, but he was able to get the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 back on course without causing a red flag. He will start tenth and last in the GTD PRO class, however.

On the other side of the spectrum, Jack Hawksworth took his second GTD pole position of the year – and the third for the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus – after out-dueling championship rival Russell Ward throughout their respective qualifying session.

Hawksworth set the early benchmark with a 1m45.023s. Ward was the first driver to dip below the 1m45s mark as he posted a 1m44.998s, but right behind him on the road, Hawksworth came through and improved to a 1m44.860s to secure the top spot in class.

Ward's best time was just one millisecond quicker than the best from Onofrio Triarsi, who was third-fastest in the No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, coming off a Road America victory.

The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 was fourth in the hands of title contender Casper Stevenson.

Behind them, Manny Franco was fifth in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari, and Patrick Gallagher was sixth in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW; only 0.6s covered the spread from the pole time, down to the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini and the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette.

Hawksworth said after his run, "I’m happy with the pole. We know we’re a little bit up against it pace wise this weekend, but here we are on the front row and we’re just gonna keep digging, keep giving it to ‘em, and see what happens. We got hard done by Road America and there was nothing we could do, it's just what it was.

"By starting on the front row, it makes it helps a little bit with how we rotate each other through the race here. But we’re in the best position to start from, and this team gives us a great car and we’re gonna keep fighting."

The 2h40m GT sprint race at VIR starts Sunday at 2:10 p.m. ET, airing in the United States on USA and Peacock, and in over 230 other countries on the official IMSA YouTube channel and IMSA.TV.

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