DragonSpeed’s Giacomo Altoe directly benefitted the championship aspirations of teammate Albert Costa Saturday (Aug. 23) by winning the overall pole for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR with a lap at 112.723 mph. It is Altoe’s second GTD Pro pole in a row and third this year. It is the team’s fourth class pole.
“It feels amazing, three pole positions already,” Altoe said afterwards. “The gaps are always so tight that it makes even more awardable, so I’m happy. We found some good stuff in [Practice No. 2] so I think we should be good for the race pace. But you never know. Everybody is so strong that we really have to fight for it. So its a little bit easier starting in front but its a long race, so we’ll see.”
Altoe won the pole by .045 seconds over Paul Miller Racing’s Neil Verhagen. Verhagen’s teammate Dan Harper was third, then Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Antonio Garcia and Nicky Catsburg.
Harper was fastest early on in his BMW before Altoe was able to put himself on top. That lap was overtaken by Verhagen. For the next couple of laps, Altoe and Verhagen exchanged quick laps until Altoe set his best time with four minutes to go.
There were no red flags during the session. However, Vasser Sullivan’s Aaron Telitz did got wide at the roller coaster complex and spun into the grass. He ended up last in class (19th overall), but will start 10th.
In GTD, Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth was the first driver to set a truly representative lap at 111.232 mph. That was quickly usurped by Turner Motorsport’s Patrick Gallagher.
Winward Racing’s Russell Ward was the first driver to get down into the 104-second segment. His time at the top was short-lived as Hawksworth set a lap at 112.264 mph to put himself on pole with five minutes to go. The rest of the field tried to better that lap, but could not do so as Hawksworth claimed the GTD pole.
Hawksworth’s lap, which ended up being fourth overall, was .138 seconds faster than Ward. Triarsi Competizione’s Onofrio Triarsi was one-thousandth of a second slower than Ward in third, then The Heart of Racing’s Casper Stevenson. Conquest Racing’s Manny Franco was fifth.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Qualifying Results
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled to go green at 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. Coverage will air live on USA Network and Peacock starting at 2 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.