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Autosport
Autosport
Sport
David Malsher-Lopez

IMSA Watkins Glen: Blomqvist takes pole in Meyer Shank Acura

Albuquerque set the initial benchmark for WTR with a 1m30.029s, which he then lowered to 1m29.744s. His nearest challenger at the halfway point in the session was Earl Bamber aboard the #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, a second behind the Portuguese.

Blomqvist, Kamui Kobayashi (Action Express Cadillac) and Sebastien Bourdais (Ganassi Cadillac) left it until almost halfway through the 15-minute segment to hit the track, but Blomqvist delivered immediately with a 1m29.698s lap to shade Albuquerque by 0.046s.

Blomqvist’s second effort was held up by a meandering LMP2 car, but next time by he delivered a 1m29.580s lap to extend his advantage over Albuquerque by 0.164s.

The Cadillacs were left gasping in comparison, although Bourdais hammered in a 1m30.048s to edge a couple of tenths ahead of team-mate Bamber into third.

Olivier Pla was 0.920s off top spot in the lead AXR Cadillac, but was still half a second clear of Tristan Vautier's JDC Miller MotorSports example in sixth. Kobayashi ran just three unrepresentative times and brought up the rear of the seven-car pack.

In LMP2, PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports team-mates Ben Keating and Steven Thomas were split by 0.001s, the former following up his Le Mans GTE Am class victory by snatching the top spot. Their striving for the perfect lap lifted the pair more than 1.5s clear of High Class Racing’s Dennis Andersen, with Frits van Eerd in fourth for Racing Team Nederland.

Jarett Andretti was the first of the LMP3 drivers to dip under the 1m41 bracket in his family-run Andretti Autosport Ligier, but he was soon displaced by Josh Sarchet in the MLT Motorsports car and Nico Varrone's FastMD Racing Duqueine - the latter then taking the top spot.

Andretti crashed exiting the final corner in his efforts to improve, causing a red flag that cost him his two best times as Jon Bennett was elevated to third in the CORE Ligier.

#25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3: Connor De Phillippi, John Edwards, Augusto Farfus (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

The GTD Pro class was headed by Connor De Phillippi's works BMW M4 of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with a 1m44.755s lap that put him just 0.048s ahead of Ross Gunn’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.

Stevan McAleer in the Team Korthoff Mercedes AMG Mercedes GT3 secured the GTD class pole as the third-fastest GT entry, outpacing GTD Pro entrants Davide Rigon (Risi Competizione Ferrari 488) and Ben Barnicoat (Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F).

Richard Heistand was the second quickest entrant in GTD, his Vasser Sullivan Lexus slotting in ahead of Robby Foley’s Turner Motorsports BMW.

Watkins Glen IMSA Qualifying results

Cla Num Driver Class Chassis Time Gap
1 60 United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
DPi Acura DPi 1'29.580  
2 10 United States Ricky Taylor
Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
DPi Acura DPi 1'29.744 0.164
3 01 Netherlands Renger van der Zande
France Sébastien Bourdais
DPi Cadillac DPi 1'30.048 0.468
4 02 New Zealand Earl Bamber
United Kingdom Alex Lynn
DPi Cadillac DPi 1'30.242 0.662
5 31 France Olivier Pla
Brazil Pipo Derani
United Kingdom Mike Conway
DPi Cadillac DPi 1'30.500 0.920
6 5 France Tristan Vautier
United Kingdom Richard Westbrook
France Loic Duval
DPi Cadillac DPi 1'31.059 1.479
7 52 United States Ben Keating
Denmark Mikkel Jensen
United States Scott Huffaker
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'33.930 4.350
8 11 United States Thomas Steven
United States Josh Pierson
United States Jonathan Bomarito
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'33.931 4.351
9 20 Denmark Dennis Andersen
Denmark Anders Fjordbach
Switzerland Fabio Scherer
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'35.448 5.868
10 29 Netherlands Frits van Eerd
Netherlands Giedo van der Garde
United States Dylan Murry
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'35.778 6.198
11 8 Canada John Farano
Switzerland Louis Deletraz
Portugal Rui Andrade
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'35.838 6.258
12 81 Sweden Henrik Hedman
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
Colombia Sebastian Montoya
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'36.120 6.540
13 18 United States Dwight Merriman
United Kingdom Kyle Tilley
United Kingdom Ryan Dalziel
LMP2 ORECA LMP2 07 1'37.658 8.078
14 40 Nico Varrone
United States Max Hanratty
Canada James Vance
LMP3 Duqueine D08 1'40.028 10.448
15 58 United States Dakota Dickerson
Josh Sarchet
Tyler Maxson
LMP3 Ligier JS P320 1'40.590 11.010
16 54 United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
United States George Kurtz
LMP3 Ligier JS P320 1'41.288 11.708
17 36 United States Jarett Andretti
Josh Burdon
Colombia Gabby Chaves
LMP3 Ligier JS P320 1'41.360 11.780
18 38 Daniel Goldburg
Sweden Rasmus Lindh
Australia Cameron Shields
LMP3 Ligier JS P320 1'41.471 11.891
19 74 United States Gar Robinson
Brazil Felipe Fraga
Netherlands Kay van Berlo
LMP3 Ligier JS P320 1'41.481 11.901
20 7 Canada Anthony Mantella
United Kingdom Matthew Bell
United Kingdom Wayne Boyd
LMP3 Duqueine D08 1'42.296 12.716
21 30 United States Ari Balogh
Canada Garett Grist
Nolan Siegel
LMP3 Ligier JS P320 1'42.392 12.812
22 13 Canada Orey Fidani
Canada Kyle Marcelli
Germany Lars Kern
LMP3 Duqueine D08 1'42.886 13.306
23 6 Ugo De
Danny Formal
United States Dillon Machavern
LMP3 Duqueine D08 1'43.193 13.613
24 25 United States Connor de Phillippi
United States John Edwards
Brazil Augusto Farfus
GTD PRO BMW M4 GT3 1'44.755 15.175
25 23 United Kingdom Ross Gunn
Spain Alex Riberas
GTD PRO Aston Martin Vantage GT3 1'44.803 15.223
26 32 United States Mike Skeen
United Kingdom Stevan McAleer
Germany Dirk Muller
GTD Mercedes AMG GT3 1'45.077 15.497
27 62 Brazil Daniel Serra
Italy Davide Rigon
GTD PRO Ferrari 488 GT3 1'45.169 15.589
28 14 United Kingdom Ben Barnicoat
United States Kyle Kirkwood
GTD PRO Lexus RC F GT3 1'45.215 15.635
29 12 United States Frankie Montecalvo
United States Aaron Telitz
United States Richard Heistand
GTD Lexus RC F GT3 1'45.417 15.837
30 96 United States Robby Foley
United States Bill Auberlen
Michael Dinan
GTD BMW M4 GT3 1'45.426 15.846
31 9 Australia Matt Campbell
France Mathieu Jaminet
GTD PRO Porsche 911 GT3 R 1'45.548 15.968
32 57 United States Russell Ward
Switzerland Philip Ellis
Germany Marvin Dienst
GTD Mercedes AMG GT3 1'45.631 16.051
33 1 United States Bryan Sellers
United States Madison Snow
Sweden Erik Johansson
GTD BMW M4 GT3 1'45.634 16.054
34 42 United States Jaden Conwright
Marco Holzer
United States Don Yount
GTD Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1'45.756 16.176
35 16 United States Ryan Hardwick
Canada Zacharie Robichon
Belgium Jan Heylen
GTD Porsche 911 GT3 R 1'45.762 16.182
36 47 Italy Roberto Lacorte
Italy Giorgio Sernagiotto
Italy Antonio Fuoco
GTD Ferrari 488 GT3 1'45.916 16.336
37 3 Spain Antonio Garcia
United States Jordan Taylor
GTD PRO Corvette C8.R GTD 1'46.259 16.679
38 39 United States Robert Megennis
United States Corey Lewis
United States Jeff Westphal
GTD Lamborghini Huracan GT3 1'46.264 16.684
39 27 Canada Roman De Angelis
Belgium Maxime Martin
United Kingdom Ian James
GTD Aston Martin Vantage GT3 1'46.309 16.729
40 79 United States Cooper MacNeil
Germany Maro Engel
Canada Mikael Grenier
GTD PRO Mercedes AMG GT3 1'46.699 17.119
41 70 United States Brendan Iribe
United Kingdom Ollie Millroy
South Africa Jordan Lee Pepper
GTD McLaren 720S GT3 1'46.821 17.241
42 59 Jon Miller
United States Paul Holton
United States Patrick Gallagher
GTD McLaren 720S GT3 1'46.936 17.356
43 44 United States John Potter
United States Andy Lally
United States Spencer Pumpelly
GTD Aston Martin Vantage GT3 1'47.466 17.886
44 21 France Simon Mann
Argentina Luis Perez Companc
Finland Toni Vilander
GTD Ferrari 488 GT3 1'47.497 17.917
45 48 Germany Mike Rockenfeller
Japan Kamui Kobayashi
United States Jimmie Johnson
DPi Cadillac DPi 2'17.096 47.516
46 33 Portugal Joao Barbosa
Malthe Jakobsen
United States Lance Willsey
LMP3 Ligier JS P320    
47 66 Kyffin Simpson
United States Till Bechtolsheimer
Germany Mario Farnbacher
GTD Acura NSX GT3    
48 99 United States Rob Ferriol
United Kingdom Katherine Legge
United Kingdom Stefan Wilson
GTD Porsche 911 GT3 R    
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