WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s Renger van der Zande turned a lap at 133.686 mph Saturday afternoon (June 21) to win the pole for Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen. It is the No. 93’s second straight pole as teammate Nick Yelloly won the pole at Detroit.
The lap is a GTP track record at Watkins Glen International, but not an overall record. It is also van der Zande’s first pole since 2018.
“I was very impressed [with the lap]. I wasn’t expecting a [1:31],” van der Zande said during the post-qualifying press conference. “I was going from a [1:37] and expecting a [1:33] or something like that. When I saw the [1:31], I thought ‘ok, that’s a pretty good lap.'”
Teams are running Michelin’s hard tire compound this weekend. Despite that, there is enough tire wear that the tires came in almost immediately during the session. The fast laps came early in the session.
Van der Zande won the pole by .287 seconds over Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken. Van der Zande’s teammate Colin Braun will start third, followed by Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Ricky Taylor and Louis Deletraz.
The session saw teams slowly get themselves into position. After everyone changed tires, it was the BMWs that were quickest early on. They were two of the first three cars on track.
Later on, Deletraz put himself on top with a little more than six minutes to go. That was quickly topped by Braun, who turned in the first lap of the weekend in the 92-second bracket.
Van der Zande then went almost a full second faster than Braun to put his Acura on provisional pole with five minutes to go. From there, the rest of the class tried their best to beat him.
Aitken, who was fastest in practice on Friday, was the best suited to top van der Zande. He tried his darndest, but he could not prevent van der Zande from claiming the overall pole.
There were some surprises. For instance, the Porsches weren’t particularly fast. Mathieu Jaminet qualified eighth. Felipe Nasr will start 10th.
LMP2 saw United Autosports’ Dan Goldburg top the charts early in the session. However, he was usurped by Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke.
The duo swapped quick times back and forth. Then, with eight minutes to go, AO Racing’s PJ Hyett went to the top.
Spike, wearing American flag-themed wings this weekend, eventually improved to a lap at 127.662 mph. The rest of the class took their shots at Hyett’s time. TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas was the closest to Hyett, but a loose moment entering turn 8 was the end of his pole chances.
GTD Pro was topped by Pfaff Motorsports’ Andrea Caldarelli with a lap at 117.023 mph in his Lamborghini. That lap was .142 seconds faster than Paul Miller Racing’s Dan Harper.
Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg was third in his Corvette, then the Ferrari of DragonSpeed’s Albert Costa. Vasser Sullivan’s Aaron Telitz was fifth.
In GTD, The Heart of Racing’s Zacharie Robichon was the first driver to set a competitive time in the session. Eventually, he improved to a lap at 116.807 mph. That was good enough to win the class pole.
Robichon’s lap was .211 seconds faster than DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell. Team Korthoff Competition’s Daniel Morad will start third in class, then Winward Racing’s Russell Ward. Vasser Sullivan’s Parker Thompson was fifth.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen Qualifying Results
The Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen will begin at 12:10 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. Coverage will begin on NBC at Noon ET. Coverage will be exclusive to Peacock starting at 3 p.m. ET.
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.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.