Acura lock-out front row for IMSA Petit Le Mans as Whelen Cadillac put one hand on the title
Acura Meyer Shank Racing locked out the front row for IMSA's final round of the championship, the Petit Le Mans. Meanwhile, PJ Hyett puts the No.99 AO Racing squad on pole in LMP2, with Neil Verhagen securing pole position in GTD Pro for Paul Miller Racing BMW.
Jack Aitken put the GTP championship-leading No.31 Whelen Cadillac squad onto the second row of the grid, with the team starting from fourth place. The Whelen Cadillac squad have put one hand on the GTP title, with the No.31 Cadillac only needing to start the race in order to become champions.
It was a slow-burning session for Aitken and the Whelen Cadillac team, with the British driver setting multiple installation laps around the Road Atlanta circuit. After a few laps, Aitken pushed the Whelen Cadillac at full pace, initially setting a relatively competitive lap of 1:10.965.
However, Laurin Heinrich responded to Aitken's lap quickly, setting the pace with a 1:10.656 behind the wheel of the No.7 Porsche Penske. Heinrich then improved upon his own lap and set a 1:10.521 as Aitken came into the pit lane to fit a set of new tyres in an effort to continue his push for pole position.
As the two championship rivals duelled over track position for the race, it quickly became clear that Acura were the quickest out on track, with Tom Blomqvist immediately smashing the previous fastest time as the No.60 Acura set a 1:10.309, then improving gradually by over half a second to secure pole position in the GTP class with a 1:09.703.
Blomqvist was joined on the front row by the sister No.93 Acura, driven by Nick Yelloly, as the British driver set a 1:09.925, just a couple of tenths from pole position. Sheldon van der Linde completed the podium places by putting the No.25 WRT BMW into third place, setting a 1:10.082.
Despite his best efforts, Aitken could only manage fourth. However, the points scored in Qualifying ensured that the No.31 Whelen Cadillac squad now only need to start the race on Saturday in order to become champions.
Laurens Vanthoor led the Porsche's with a 1:10.208 lap time, strong enough for fifth on the grid for the race. However, Vanthoor was one of two cars to split the championship contenders, as Louis Deletraz put the No.40 Wayne Taylor Cadillac into sixth position, ahead of Heinrich in the No.7 Porsche which ended up in seventh, with a fastest lap of 1:10.325.
In LMP2, PJ Hyett set the pace from the outset, putting the No.99 AO Racing team into first initially with a 1:13.580, which he then improved to a 1:12.944 - the only driver in LMP2 to break into the 1:12.000's.
The LMP2 championship leaders ended up in second place after Jeremy Clarke set a strong lap time of 1:13.167 for the No.43 Inter Europol Competition squad. Clarke was evidently feeling the pressure out on track, with a heavy lock-up going into the final chicane in the opening few laps of Qualifying.
Meanwhile, the main LMP2 title contenders, No.04 Crowdstrike by APR squad, ended up in fifth place after a solid but disappointing lap time of 1:13.970 set by George Kurtz. The main title contenders will subsequently start the Petit Le Mans race from behind the other three contenders for the LMP2 title.
The No.52 Bryan Herta Motorsport squad ended up third with Misha Goikhberg setting a 1:13.352, beating out Daniel Goldburg in the No.22 United Autosports car. The championship contenders all subsequently ended up qualifying inside the Top 5 in what will likely be chaotic race for the LMP2 class, who will be quicker than the GTD's but slower than the GTP's, meaning that they will have to navigate slow traffic whilst also having to make way for faster cars.
In the GTD Pro class, Neil Verhagen charged to pole position, setting the pace in the opening minutes of the session with a 1:18.451, and then improving to a 1:18.194, which secured pole position for Verhagen and the No.1 Paul Miller Racing BMW squad.
Mattia Drudi put the No.68 Car Blanche Aston Martin team into second place, splitting the championship contenders with a strong lap time of 1:18.338, narrowly beating the No.4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg who set a 1:18.355. Meanwhile, Christopher Mies put the No.65 Ford squad into 11th in class, with the title contenders starting well behind the BMW and Corvette.
Andrea Caldarelli put the No.9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini into 8th in class, with the Lamborghini squad also facing a difficult task in order to win the championship on Saturday. Crucially for Nicky Catsburg in third, the Dutchman may receive some help from the sister No.4 Corvette, with Alexander Sims putting the No.4 up into fourth place.
With multiple championship battles, the conclusion to the IMSA championship is set for a thrilling ending, with the Petit Le Mans grid now all set. The final IMSA race of the year begins at 12:10pm local time.
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