Acura disqualified from Indianapolis pole, No.31 Cadillac inherits top spot

The No.31 Cadillac (right) inherited the pole position from the No.60 Acura | Credit: Dominic Loyer

Initially taking pole position at Indianapolis, the No.60 Acura was disqualified, with the No.31 Cadillac was promoted to the top spot. The former's celebrations were short-lived as the car was disqualified for failing to comply with LMDh bodywork tolerances.

The updated results promoted the No.31 Action Express car to pole position with fellow Cadillac entrant, Wayne Taylor Racing's No.40 and No.10 cars starting behind them, in a Cadillac 1-2-3 sweep.

Qualifying heartbreak for Acura

Before the disqualification, the No.60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing car was the car on pole at the hands of Tom Blomqvist, who took Acura's fourth consecutive pole. It was his and co-driver Colin Braun's first pole of the year.

The pole position was all that Acura needed as a springboard to take the lead of the GTP Manufacturers' Championship from Porsche's hands. But with the leading car disqualified, it adds another layer of difficulty for the six-hour race. Meanwhile, the championship-leading Porsche No.6 car would be starting from fourth.

Blomqvist during the pole position ceremony before it was nullified | Credit: Dominic Loyer

Before its eventual disqualification, Blomqvist was quoted how his pole position was proof that Acura has the fastest car in the "Brickyard."

"Fantastic job to the entire team.

"Pole position is always nice to have, and it's very rewarding for the guys who put in the effort to try and give us a fast car. It's proof that we have a fast car, and I'm thankful for that."

The other Acura, the No.93 car, was promoted to fifth following its sister's disqualification. Nick Yelloly, who initially took the car to sixth, felt dismayed at the result as the Briton felt he had given his all.

"Sixth is not where we wanted to be, considering where the other car is.

"I felt like I maximised most of it, I probably had a couple of tenths, but that was it. I need to go back and look at the data to see why that was and share a bit of data with the No.60 Acura and see which direction they went."

Cadillac in a "good place" to take victory at Indianapolis

Jack Aitken was the driver who took the No.31 Action Express Racing car to pole position. Crucially, it was Cadillac's first IMSA pole position of the year and the team's first since the 2024 Petit Le Mans.

Initially starting second, Aitken said: "I’m pretty pleased.

"I think all the Cadillacs showed pretty well. We had an OK practice, but it wasn't entirely smooth. The nature of having so many cars on track here means getting clean laps, which was quite difficult.

"I think we’re in a good place. I'm pleased that we've come out today with a strong car and a clean qualifying session, and I think [we also have] a strong car for tomorrow.

"So, it's positive all-round. It would have been nice to take pole, but it was really tight in front and behind, so I can't complain."

The No.40 V-Series.R car during Friday's practice session | Credit: Dominic Loyer

Louis Delétraz previously took the No.40 Wayne Taylor Racing car to third, a result that left the Swiss driver pleased.

"Best qualification of the year, so very pleased with that.

"Third is a good position to start the race. Good job by all the boys and girls at Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac. I think we have a competitive package for the race [and] maybe [there would be] some mixed conditions tomorrow, which I think we should be competitive in and hopefully go get our first victory, so I’m very excited.

"I think here, with all of the traffic and the track layout, there is likely to be a lot of yellows, which means restart racing and a long and intense race."

The No.10 V-Series.R car in FP2 | Credit: Dominic Loyer

Ricky Taylor in the No.10 car would start the race in third. The American driver said it was a good day for all Cadillac teams and felt that second place was in the cards if he could maximise the tyre a little bit more.

"Strong weekend so far for the No.10.

"Filipe [Albuquerque] and I are very happy with the car. Qualifying was strong, but I think we missed the peak of the tyre a little bit. Maybe we would have had a shot for second.

"Good day for Cadillac with three cars in the top four. I think we’ve got a very strong race car for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can execute and do all the little things right."

Cadillac currently sits fourth at the Manufacturers' Championship behind BMW as it looks for its first IMSA victory of the season.