IMSA: Blomqvist Scores Petit Le Mans pole for Acura
Setting a blistering pace around the challenging Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta road course, Tom Blomqvist claimed the pole for Saturday’s IMSA season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans sports car race in his Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05.
Acura’s sixth pole of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship also solidified the Manufacturers’ Championship for Acura, which will become official with the drop of the green flag starting tomorrow’s 10-hour endurance contest.
Blomqvist’s pole lap of 1:08.555 was just a tenth of a second off the current track record; and sets the stage for a battle with fellow Acura racers Wayne Taylor Racing for the 2022 IMSA drivers’ and teams’ championships. The team with the better finish tomorrow will claim both championships in IMSA’s premier Daytona Prototype International (DPi) division.
Steven Thomas set pole in LMP2, setting a fastest lap of 1:11.939 in the No. 11 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca o7 Gibson on his flying lap to take pole.
He beat out High Class Racing’s Dennis Andersen by just 0.082 seconds, while Ben Keating rounded out the top three in the No. 52 Oreca.
In LMP3, Kay van Berlo beat Malthe Jakobsen in a battle for class pole position as the two drivers traded the top time back and forth at the head of the field.
Jack Hawksworth charged to GTD Pro position in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, while Madison Snow set the fastest GTD time for Paul Miller Racing.
Quote
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05) pole qualifier, his third pole of 2022 and sixth pole for Acura: “We really needed to out-qualify the #10 [Wayne Taylor Racing Acura] to keep the pressure on them. Tomorrow is going to be fierce. It’s ten hours of ‘fighting in close quarters’. I have to be thankful to the boys and girls at MSR for giving me such a great car today. It was fabulous, I really enjoyed every lap of qualifying. It was mega to be able to push the car to the absolute limit. This race is extremely difficult. It’s a short lap, and we’ve got 43 cars out there, so the traffic never lets up. Then going into the night [for the final hours of a race that ends at 10 p.m. EDT] makes everything even more difficult. But this is where champions are made, so hopefully we will come out on the right side of that battle.”
Where to Watch Saturday’s Petit Le Mans
Live network television coverage from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta begins at 12 p.m. ET Saturday for three hours on NBC. Coverage then returns from 7 p.m. ET to the finish on USA Network. Live streaming flag-to-flag race coverage will be available on NBC Peacock.
Starting Lineup
|
Pos |
Pic |
No. |
Class |
Drivers |
Team |
Car |
Time |
Behind |
|
1 |
1 |
60 |
DPi |
O. Jarvis / T. Blomqvist H. Castroneves |
Meyer Shank Racing W/Curb-Agajanian |
Acura DPi |
1:08.555 |
+0.000s |
|
2 |
2 |
02 |
DPi |
E. Bamber / A. Lynn R. Hunter-Reay |
Cadillac Racing |
Cadillac DPi |
1:08.788 |
+0.233 |
|
3 |
3 |
10 |
DPi |
R. Taylor / F. Albuquerque B. Hartley |
Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 |
Acura DPi |
1:08.802 |
+0.247 |
|
4 |
4 |
5 |
DPi |
T. Vautier / R. Westbrook L. Duval |
JDC Miller MotorSports |
Cadillac DPi |
1:08.853 |
+0.298 |
|
5 |
5 |
01 |
DPi |
|
Cadillac Racing |
Cadillac DPi |
1:08.905 |
+0.350 |
|
6 |
6 |
48 |
DPi |
M. Rockenfeller / K. Kobayashi J. Johnson |
Ally Cadillac |
Cadillac DPi |
1:08.984 |
+0.429 |
|
7 |
7 |
31 |
DPi |
O. Pla / P. Derani / M. Conway |
Whelen Engineering Racing |
Cadillac DPi |
1:09.075 |
+0.520 |
|
8 |
1 |
11 |
LMP2 |
|
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports |
ORECA LMP2 07 |
1:11.939 |
+3.384 |
|
9 |
2 |
20 |
LMP2 |
D. Andersen / A. Fjordbach F. Scherer |
High Class Racing |
ORECA LMP2 07 |
1:12.021 |
+3.466 |
|
10 |
3 |
52 |
LMP2 |
B. Keating / M. Jensen S. Huffaker |
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports |
ORECA LMP2 07 |
1:12.328 |
+3.773 |
|
11 |
4 |
8 |
LMP2 |
J. Farano / L. Deletraz R. Pinto de Andrade |
Tower Motorsport |
ORECA LMP2 07 |
1:12.360 |
+3.805 |
|
12 |
5 |
81 |
LMP2 |
H. Hedman / J. Montoya S. Montoya |
DragonSpeed USA |
ORECA LMP2 07 |
1:13.570 |
+5.015 |
|
13 |
6 |
18 |
LMP2 |
D. Merriman / R. Dalziel C. Rasmussen |
Era Motorsport |
ORECA LMP2 07 |
1:13.896 |
+5.341 |
|
14 |
1 |
74 |
LMP3 |
G. Robinson / F. Fraga K. van Berlo |
Riley Motorsports |
Ligier JS P320 |
1:15.517 |
+6.962 |
|
15 |
2 |
33 |
LMP3 |
J. Barbosa / M. Jakobsen N. Pino |
Sean Creech Motorsport |
Ligier JS P320 |
1:15.625 |
+7.070 |
|
16 |
3 |
36 |
LMP3 |
J. Andretti / G. Chaves J. Burdon |
Andretti Autosport |
Ligier JS P320 |
1:17.030 |
+8.475 |
|
17 |
4 |
13 |
LMP3 |
O. Fidani / M. Bell / L. Kern |
AWA |
Duqueine D08 |
1:17.809 |
+9.254 |
|
18 |
5 |
54 |
LMP3 |
J. Bennett / C. Braun / G. Kurtz |
CORE Autosport |
Ligier JS P320 |
1:17.813 |
+9.258 |
|
19 |
6 |
30 |
LMP3 |
A. Balogh / G. Grist / N. Siegel |
Jr III Racing |
Ligier JS P320 |
1:18.417 |
+9.862 |
|
20 |
7 |
38 |
LMP3 |
D. Goldburg / C. Shields T. Maxson |
Performance Tech Motorsports |
Ligier JS P320 |
1:18.693 |
+10.138 |
|
21 |
1 |
14 |
GTDPRO |
|
VasserSullivan |
Lexus RC F GT3 |
1:18.835 |
+10.280 |
|
22 |
2 |
23 |
GTDPRO |
R. Gunn / A. Riberas T. Gamble |
Heart of Racing Team |
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 |
1:19.043 |
+10.488 |
|
23 |
1 |
1 |
GTD |
B. Sellers / M. Snow E. Johansson |
Paul Miller Racing |
BMW M4 GT3 |
1:19.118 |
+10.563 |
|
24 |
3 |
25 |
GTDPRO |
C. De Phillippi / J. Edwards J. Krohn |
BMW M Team RLL |
BMW M4 GT3 |
1:19.279 |
+10.724 |
|
25 |
4 |
62 |
GTDPRO |
D. Serra / D. Rigon / J. Calado |
Risi Competizione |
Ferrari 488 GT3 |
1:19.352 |
+10.797 |
|
26 |
8 |
76 |
LMP3 |
A. Mantella / K. Marcelli J. Sarchet |
AWA |
Duqueine D08 |
1:19.357 |
+10.802 |
|
27 |
5 |
3 |
GTDPRO |
A. Garcia / J. Taylor N. Catsburg |
Corvette Racing |
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD |
1:19.444 |
+10.889 |
|
28 |
2 |
39 |
GTD |
R. Megennis / C. Lewis J. Westphal |
CarBahn with Peregrine Racing |
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
1:19.506 |
+10.951 |
|
29 |
3 |
42 |
GTD |
J. Conwright / M. Holzer D. Yount |
NTE/SSR |
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
1:19.522 |
+10.967 |
|
30 |
4 |
27 |
GTD |
R. De Angelis / M. Martin I. James |
Heart of Racing Team |
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 |
1:19.546 |
+10.991 |
|
31 |
5 |
12 |
GTD |
F. Montecalvo / A. Telitz R. Heistand |
VasserSullivan |
Lexus RC F GT3 |
1:19.560 |
+11.005 |
|
32 |
6 |
79 |
GTDPRO |
M. Buhk / M. Grenier / M. Goetz |
WeatherTech Racing |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
1:19.620 |
+11.065 |
|
33 |
6 |
32 |
GTD |
M. Skeen / S. McAleer D. Mueller |
Team Korthoff Motorsports |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
1:19.823 |
+11.268 |
|
34 |
7 |
9 |
GTDPRO |
M. Campbell / M. Jaminet F. Nasr |
Pfaff Motorsports |
Porsche 911 GT3R |
1:19.942 |
+11.387 |
|
35 |
7 |
57 |
GTD |
R. Ward / P. Ellis / M. Dienst |
Winward Racing |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
1:19.977 |
+11.422 |
|
36 |
8 |
21 |
GTD |
|
AF CORSE |
Ferrari 488 GT3 |
1:20.022 |
+11.467 |
|
37 |
9 |
16 |
GTD |
R. Hardwick / Z. Robichon J. Heylen |
Wright Motorsports |
Porsche 911 GT3R |
1:20.025 |
+11.470 |
|
38 |
10 |
47 |
GTD |
R. Lacorte / G. Sernagiotto U. De Pauw |
Cetilar Racing |
Ferrari 488 GT3 |
1:20.041 |
+11.486 |
|
39 |
11 |
70 |
GTD |
B. Iribe / J. Pepper / S. Priaulx |
inception racing |
McLaren 720S GT3 |
1:20.390 |
+11.835 |
|
40 |
12 |
44 |
GTD |
J. Potter / A. Lally / S. Pumpelly |
Magnus Racing |
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 |
1:21.431 |
+12.876 |
|
41 |
13 |
99 |
GTD |
R. Ferriol / K. Legge / N. Boulle |
Team Hardpoint |
Porsche 911 GT3R |
1:21.470 |
+12.915 |
|
42 |
14 |
66 |
GTD |
K. Simpson / T. Bechtolsheimer M. Farnbacher |
Gradient Racing |
Acura NSX GT3 |
+12.864 |
|
|
43 |
15 |
96 |
GTD |
R. Foley / B. Auberlen M. Dinan |
Turner Motorsport |
BMW M4 GT3 |