VIR IMSA: Vanthoor beats Magnussen to pole by 0.078s
Porsche’s Laurens Vanthoor will start the GT-only round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Virginia International Raceway from pole position after topping qualifying by 0.078s ahead of Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen.
#912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR, GTLM: Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor
Scott R LePage / Motorsport Images
The track was dry with damp patches for the start of the GTLM session, with all cars on slick tires.
Ford’s Joey Hand was in the top spot before Vanthoor grabbed it back with 1m40.630s. Magnussen grabbed second with a last-gasp flyer, just missing out on pole by 0.078s while Vanthoor had already bailed out into the pits, with Ryan Briscoe’s Ford GT an identical margin back in third.
“The first couple of laps you’re figuring out where the track is dry and when to use the tires, so it’s a little bit like poker,” said Vanthoor. “They told me I was safe [in P1], I said, ‘Are you sure? I’ve got another tenth in me’, but they made the call to pit.”
Hand slipped to fourth, ahead of Oliver Gavin in the second Corvette. In the second Porsche, Nick Tandy went off and hit the tires at Oak Hill Bend. He will start down in sixth, ahead of the BMW M8 GTEs of John Edwards and Connor de Phillippi.
#9 PFAFF Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, GTD: Scott Hargrove, Zacharie Robichon
Photo by: Scott R LePage / LAT Images
GT Daytona qualifying began in much more slippery conditions, with the majority of teams opting for slicks. The #14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Richard Heistand went off on its out lap, proving how treacherous the track surface was for those on slicks.
With the conditions improving throughout, position changes came thick and fast throughout the session. Just before the clock ticked down to zero, Zacharie Robichon was at the top of the times in his Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
As the checkered flag flew, Frankie Montecalvo then grabbed the top spot in #12 AVS Lexus – but Robichon took class pole back with his final flying lap, a 1m45.826s, as he was the last of the frontrunners on track and took full benefit of the evolving track.
“Credit to the team for making the right call, so we got an extra lap on everyone else,” said the Canadian. “It was exciting, the car was moving around a lot. Just like driving back home on the ice!”
His fastest time was 0.324s quicker than Montecalvo, with the sister Lexus of Heistand qualifying third after its early off.
Trent Hindman and Alice Powell, making her series debut, were fourth and fifth fastest respectively in their Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3s.
Session results:
Cla | Num | Driver | Class | Chassis | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 912 |
Earl Bamber
Laurens Vanthoor |
GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 1'40.630 | |
2 | 3 |
Jan Magnussen
Antonio Garcia |
GTLM | Corvette C7.R | 1'40.708 | 0.078 |
3 | 67 |
Ryan Briscoe
Richard Westbrook |
GTLM | Ford GT | 1'40.786 | 0.156 |
4 | 66 |
Joey Hand
Dirk Muller |
GTLM | Ford GT | 1'40.956 | 0.326 |
5 | 4 |
Oliver Gavin
Tommy Milner |
GTLM | Corvette C7.R | 1'41.578 | 0.948 |
6 | 911 |
Patrick Pilet
Nick Tandy |
GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 1'41.615 | 0.985 |
7 | 24 |
Jesse Krohn
John Edwards |
GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 1'41.703 | 1.073 |
8 | 25 |
Tom Blomqvist
Connor de Phillippi |
GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 1'41.772 | 1.142 |
9 | 9 |
Scott Hargrove
Zacharie Robichon |
GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'45.826 | 5.196 |
10 | 12 |
Frankie Montecalvo
Townsend Bell |
GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 1'46.150 | 5.520 |
11 | 14 |
Richard Heistand
Jack Hawksworth |
GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 1'46.524 | 5.894 |
12 | 86 |
Mario Farnbacher
Trent Hindman |
GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 1'46.697 | 6.067 |
13 | 57 |
Katherine Legge
Alice Powell |
GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 1'48.159 | 7.529 |
14 | 96 |
Bill Auberlen
Robby Foley |
GTD | BMW M6 GT3 | 1'48.398 | 7.768 |
15 | 33 |
Ben Keating
Jeroen Bleekemolen |
GTD | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 1'48.476 | 7.846 |
16 | 44 |
John Potter
Andy Lally |
GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'48.567 | 7.937 |
17 | 48 |
Bryan Sellers
Corey Lewis |
GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'51.132 | 10.502 |
18 | 63 |
Cooper MacNeil
Toni Vilander |
GTD | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 1'53.823 | 13.193 |
19 | 76 |
Paul Holton
Matt Plumb |
GTD | McLaren 720S GT3 | 1'54.213 | 13.583 |
20 | 74 |
Gar Robinson
Lawson Aschenbach |
GTD | Mercedes-AMG | 1'56.054 | 15.424 |
21 | 73 |
Patrick Lindsey
Patrick Long |
GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'56.158 | 15.528 |
View full results |
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