CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s Sean McAlister set a lap at 90.157 mph late Friday afternoon (May 9) in the closing minutes of qualifying. That lap held up to give McAlister the pole for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120.
McAlister won the pole by a mere .009 seconds over Moisey Uretsky, now racing under the banner of Ibiza Farm Motorsports. Note that Uretsky has not switched teams since Sebring. The team itself has rebranded for the second time in less than a year).
Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern will start third, just .016 seconds off pole. Rennsport One’s Luca Mars qualified fourth, while Panam Motorsport’s Caio Chaves was fifth.
Early in the session, Rennsport One’s Luca Mars was fastest in his Porsche. His original quick lap was usurped by Machavern before Mars was able to get him back.
Daytona winner Uretsky put his McLaren Artura GT4 on top a few minutes into the session and seemed like he was going to be able to stay there. He almost did.
In the closing minutes, McAlister was able to beat his time by a mere .005 seconds. Naturally, five-thousandths of a second is not a lot of breathing room, so he kept going. The eventual pole lap was set on his final lap at speed.
In TCR, the session saw Bryan Herta Autosport’ Harry Gottacker and Montreal Motorsport Group’s Louis-Phillippe Montour go back and forth at the top of the charts. However, as the times came down, additional contenders entered the mix.
First, Precision Racing LA’s Celso Neto put his Audi on top. Then, with six minutes to go, BHA’s Mark Wilkins put the No. 33 Hyundai on provisional pole with a lap at 89.277 mph. That lap held up to give Wilkins the pole.
Wilkins’ lap ended up 12th overall in the session. He was .088 seconds faster than Neto. Gottsacker will start third in class, then Montour and Victor Gonzalez Racing Team’s Eric Powell.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 Qualifying Results
The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 is scheduled to go green at 3:45 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Coverage of the race will stream live starting at 3:38 p.m. ET on both the IMSA Official YouTube channel and on Peacock.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
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