IMSA News: Aitken Cadillac wins pole for Petit Le Mans

Jack Aitken, in his first full season with Action Express Racing, delivered a blistering lap of 1 minute, 9.639 seconds in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta course to secure pole for Saturday’s season-concluding Motul Petit Le Mans.

It is Aitken’s first career IMSA pole and fourth for the team, which also secured pole for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Along the way were four additional earned poles for Cadillac Racing. That’s six poles in nine races for the two-car contingent in the second season of GTP competition. Also, a Cadillac will start on the front row for the seventh time.

Related Article: Bourdais Puts No. 01 Cadillac On Pole at Indy

It’s the first Motul Pole Award of Aitken’s career and the team’s fourth as co-driver Pipo Derani won the first three of the year, and Cadillac’s sixth in nine races. Third driver Tom Blomqvist joins in the team’s pursuit of victory on Saturday, as he seeks his third consecutive Motul Petit Le Mans win.

Aitken was the fastest of five cars in the 1:09 bracket in the 11-car field. The top five, including four of the five GTP manufacturers, qualified within 0.356 seconds.

Matt Campbell came up just adrift of Aitken in his No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, 0.070 seconds in arrears. Campbell serves as the third driver in support of championship leaders Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron, who entered the weekend with a 124-point gap on teammates Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet in the sister No. 6 car.

With Tandy qualifying eighth in the car he shares with Jaminet and Kevin Estre, the gap grows to 133 points heading into the race. The No. 7 Porsche can now clinch the title with a ninth-place finish or better.

BMW M Team RLL will roll off third with its No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 qualified by Connor De Phillippi and shared by Nick Yelloly and Maxime Martin.

“Honestly, we felt strong most of the weekend, but I’d say there were some tweaks needed to get it right and the team did an awesome job overnight to make those small, small adjustments to make the car feel awesome,” said Aitken.

“It’s a real pleasure when you have the track to yourself after all the traffic we had in practice and a car that’s working well. I just threw everything at it. We’re not in the championship hunt, so we’re here to get on pole and win the race. Pipo (Derani) told me beforehand to enjoy it and put it in the gravel or put in on pole. We got the right side of that and I’m over the moon.

“This is one of my most favorite tracks and a privilege to get my first pole here. I think we’re in a good spot and quietly confident going into the race. It’s definitely going to be a challenge to keep the tires where you need them to be. I think we’re seeing higher degradation in tire wear than we’re used to with these tires. You know, again, the circuit is so hard and unrelenting in that sense that if you’re not taking care of them, you can fall afoul.

“We’re probably going to have to double-stint a little bit earlier in the race. We’re trying to keep one eye on that. The way you win these races is by having a sharp race car at the end of the race when it’s spread for the cautions at the end. You can’t cater too much for having a conservative car to save the tires early on in the heat of the day.”

“Congratulations to the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R team and driver Jack Aitken on securing pole position in qualifying for the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac. “We are excited to get back on the track and compete for the overall win Saturday.

LMP2

Call him “bookend” Ben. After scoring the Motul Pole Award at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, Ben Keating added his second of the year in the No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA 07 in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) qualifying.

Keating’s time of 1:12.739 (125.709 mph) puts him and co-drivers Ben Hanley and Nico Pino at the head of the 10-car class as the team seeks its second win of the year.

“I barely got the pole at Daytona. I haven’t got a pole since. It’s so competitive among the gentlemen drivers in this field,” Keating said.

“I’ve never driven a P2 car that was as hooked up as this one today. I was able to carry more speed through the corners and put the throttle down more out of them. It’s a lot of fun to drive a good car.”

Keating beat Steven Thomas, his longtime qualifying sparring partner, by 0.234 seconds. Thomas and co-drivers Mikkel Jensen and Hunter McElrea seek back-to-back triumphs in their No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA 07 after winning at Indianapolis last month.

Championship leader Nick Boulle rolls off fourth in his No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA, the car he shares with Tom Dillmann and Jakob Smiechowski. Closest title rivals Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon start sixth in the No. 74 Riley ORECA 07. They began the weekend 98 points behind and with qualifying results, will begin the race 101 back.

Heinrich wins GTD PRO Pole

When you need to finish third or better in the season finale to win the championship, it’s wise to start the race from the pole position.

Wiser still to win the Motul Pole Award in record-breaking style.

Laurin Heinrich put AO Racing’s popular Rexy Porsche on the pole in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class for Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans with a class track record lap of 1 minute, 17.881 seconds (117.409 mph) Friday in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with the bright green dinosaur-themed livery.

The 35 points for the pole were critical to Heinrich’s attempt to win the driver’s championship and the possibility of sweeping the team, manufacturer and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup championships.

“This was important for us,” said Heinrich, who will team with Michael Christensen and Julien Andlauer for the 10-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale. “We knew there were margins, and we knew the (No.) 23 car is quite quick here and would qualify well, but I knew there would be a solution.”

While Heinrich secured the pole in GTD PRO, Scott Andrews did the same in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), giving Lone Star Racing the No. 1 class starting position in record-setting style. However, both drivers’ approaches weren’t as straightforward as they seemed.

Six minutes into the 15-minute qualifying session, a red flag waved after an incident involving Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 and Daniel Serra in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3.

Qualifying resumed with 6 minutes, 48 seconds left in the session, but Thompson and Serra were penalized by deletion of their two fastest laps. Shortly after qualifying resumed, Heinrich and Andrews posted their record-setting laps.

“Our car was set up to do it on Lap 1,” Andrews said of his 1:18.281 lap (116.809 mph) in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. “It kind of hurt us a little bit, but somehow I managed to put it together. Obviously, our car was very, very quick. It’s a mental thing. You just have to be focused.”

Heinrich’s lap was enough to fend off Tommy Milner’s effort of 1:17.993 (117.331 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R he co-drives with Earl Bamber and Nicky Catsburg.

Ross Gunn, Heinrich’s closest competitor in the GTD PRO driver’s standings, was third-fastest at 1:18.041 (117.168 mph) in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo he drives with Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis.

Andrews, who will share the No. 80 Mercedes with Salih Yoluc and Rui Pinto de Andrade, was just a tick faster than Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. Philip Ellis, who teamed with Russell Ward to clinch the GTD manufacturer championship last month at Indianapolis, had the third-fastest lap in class in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Ellis, Ward and Indy Dontje need to finish 14th or better Saturday to claim the driver’s championship for Ellis and Ward and the team championship for Winward.

2024 Petit Le Mans Qualifying Results