Taylor Outduels Pruett For Long Beach Pole

Wayne Taylor Racing pole winning car driven by Ricky Taylor

Chevy Racing

Despite a slippery surface, track records toppled in both the Prototype and GT Le Mans (GTLM) classes in Friday qualifying for Saturday’s Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach.

On top in the Prototype class was Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP, who swapped the top lap several times with Scott Pruett in a nail-biting session that suggests Saturday’s race could be a close one.

Taylor’s best lap was 1 minute, 14.790 seconds (94.729 mph), compared to 1:15.048 (94.404 mph) for Pruett in the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Ford EcoBoost/Riley. A close third was the points-leading No. 5 Mustang Sampling Action Express Racing Corvette DP, with a 1:15.274 (94.120 mph) lap from Christian Fittipaldi. Fourth was Michael Valiante in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP, and fifth was Eric Curran in the second No. 31 Action Express Corvette DP.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Ricky Taylor hasn’t scored a pole since the TUDOR Championship debuted in 2014, “and this one feels really good," he said. “This is only my second time at Long Beach, and it’s such a cool atmosphere.

“As the fuel load burned off during the qualifying session and the car got lighter, it got faster. That fastest lap wasn’t as hair-raising as I expected it would be.

It was a 1-2 qualifying effort for the BMW Team RLL Z4 GTLM cars, as Bill Auberlen laid down a lap of 1 minute, 17.268 seconds (91.691 mph) in the No. 25 car, breaking the previous record to take the pole. He will line up Saturday next to teammate John Edwards in the No. 24 BMW Z4 GTLM, who ran a lap of 1:17.516 (91.398 mph). In fact, the top six GTLM qualifiers bettered the track record.

The tight track is particularly well-suited to the BMWs, and Auberlen – who hails from nearby Redondo Beach, California – dirt-tracked his car around several corners, running right on the edge during his qualifying laps.

“You can feel the energy here," Auberlen said of his home track. “For me, this place is my crown jewel, racing in front of my friends and family." This is the 41st Grand Prix of Long Beach, “and I was here for the first one, watching as a kid," said Auberlen, who is 46.

Arguably the most heroic effort in the GTLM class came with the last-minute lap of 1:17.709 (91.171 mph) in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia by driver Giancarlo Fisichella, which was good enough for third. The final practice for the TUDOR Championship cars came just 15 minutes before qualifying began, and at the end of practice, Fisichella pancaked a tire wall, damaging the driver’s side of the car and tearing off a rear piece of bodywork.

The Risi team worked feverishly to get the car ready for qualifying, and while Fisichella was disappointed that the car didn’t qualify better, he couldn’t be too upset given the condition it was in just before qualifying.

Fourth in GTLM qualifying was Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R – Magnussen was on the pole for the 2014 race, at the last minute beating the lap time of Auberlen, who ended up second. “I was afraid that would happen again this year," Auberlen said, “but instead of the Corvette sneaking up on me, it was my team car."

What will it take to win Saturday’s 100-minute Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase, on the narrow 1.968-mile track? Careful driving, good pit strategy, and staying out of trouble. In other words, as Auberlen said: “Trying not to leave part of your car hanging on a concrete barrier."

The race will be streamed live at IMSA.com, from the green flag at 7:05 p.m. ET Saturday, all the way through the checkered flag and Victory Lane celebrations. FOX Sports 1 will televise the race at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Results
P CP No. CL Drivers Time Speed Lap Diff Laps Car
1 1 10 P J.Taylor/R.Taylor 1:14.790 † 94.729 10 10 Corvette DP
2 2 01 P Hand/Pruett 1:15.048 94.404 8 0.258 9 Ford EcoBoost Riley DP
3 3 5 P Barbosa/Fittipaldi 1:15.274 94.120 8 0.484 11 Corvette DP
4 4 90 P Westbrook/Valiante 1:15.553 93.773 11 0.763 11 Corvette DP
5 5 31 P Curran/Cameron 1:15.915 93.325 10 1.125 11 Corvette DP
6 1 25 GTLM Auberlen/Werner 1:17.268 † 91.691 5 2.478 6 BMW Z4 GTE
7 6 0 P Rojas/Legge 1:17.405 91.529 10 2.615 11 DeltaWing DWC13
8 7 60 P Pew/Negri Jr. 1:17.427 91.503 10 2.637 10 Honda HPD Ligier JS P2
9 2 24 GTLM J.Edwards/Luhr 1:17.516 91.398 2 2.726 6 BMW Z4 GTE
10 3 62 GTLM Kaffer/Fisichella 1:17.709 91.171 6 2.919 7 Ferrari F458 Italia
11 4 3 GTLM Magnussen/Garcia 1:17.739 91.136 3 2.949 7 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
12 5 4 GTLM Gavin/Milner 1:17.756 91.116 3 2.966 7 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
13 6 912 GTLM Lietz/Bergmeister 1:17.932 90.910 10 3.142 11 Porsche 911 RSR
14 7 911 GTLM Pilet/Makowiecki 1:18.185 90.616 5 3.395 11 Porsche 911 RSR
15 8 17 GTLM Sellers/Henzler 1:18.728 89.991 5 3.938 7 Porsche 911 RSR
16 8 70 P Nunez/Bomarito -.— — 0 0 Mazda Prototype
17 9 07 P T.Long/Joel.Miller -.— — 0 0 Mazda Prototype