IMSA News: Penske Porsches lockout front row in Detroit
Nick Tandy led a front-row sweep for Porsche Penske Motorsport ahead of Saturday’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic.
Tandy’s best lap of 1:05.390 in the No. 6 Porsche 963, edged out teammate Dane Cameron by 0.124 seconds.
“Mega! We’ve taken the first two grid spots as a team and finally achieved another pole position with our number 6 car. We won the Laguna Seca race recently, now we’re on P1 in Detroit – things look good for us! The weekend is going well so far: great weather, heaps of fans and top track conditions. The teamwork is absolutely flawless and it makes me confident that we can fight for victory tomorrow.”
In bright sunshine and 25-degree Celsius temperatures, a nail-biting hunt for top times unfolded on the narrow and extremely bumpy street course in Detroit. The first 13 minutes of the 15-minute session saw lap times tumble – before the qualifying came to an abrupt halt, when the race director red-flagged the session after a Cadillac spun on the track
Both times came in the closing moments of the 15-minute session, just seconds before Derani’s No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R made slight contact with the wall and spun.
“We’re thrilled with such a great result. Starting from the front grid row is particularly important on such a narrow street course,” stated Urs Kuratle, Director Porsche Factory Motorsport LMDh. “Our drivers and the whole team did an absolutely flawless job. That said, we should acknowledge that we were a little lucky with the red flag. Both of our cars had just appeared at the top of the timesheets. Things might have looked a little different had the red flag come out at a different time. Still, we’re heading into the race feeling optimistic.” A decent grid position on such a tight and bumpy circuit is the key to success. With very little chance to overtake and a race duration of just 100 minutes, strategic options are limited.
“We wrapped up the qualifying with the first two grid positions – it doesn’t get better than that. It’s been a great day for our team,” said Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “We’ve made huge strides in improving our setup for such city circuits – we witnessed this today. Nick and Dane were very strong in qualifying and pushed each other to the limit. We’re excited for tomorrow’s race!”
Corvettes Out Front in GTD Pro
Antonio Garcia put the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on pole in GTD Pro, in a front-row lockout for the factory-supported team on home soil.
Garcia’s 1:09.092 lap time edged out teammate Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette by 0.336 seconds.
Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic Qualifying Results
