BRASELTON, Ga. — Meyer Shank Racing by Curb-Agajanian’s Tom Blomqvist won the pole Friday afternoon (Oct. 10) for the 28th Annual Motul Petit Le Mans with a lap at 131.326 mph. It is his second Petit Le Mans pole after claiming it in 2022.
“It’s a small track, so you never really get a clean lap all weekend [in practice],” Blomqvist said after the session. “We were two seconds faster than we have been all weekend. It’s one of those laps that rewards a little bit of bravery and commitment. I just really enjoy driving it.”
Blomqvist won the pole by .199 seconds over Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken. Blomqvist’s teammate Nick Yelloly will start third, then Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Felipe Nasr. The Heart of Racing’s Ross Gunn will start fifth in the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Once representative times began to be set, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Matt Campbell was quickest. He started in the 74-second bracket, then improved to the 73-second bracket, then the 71s.
All of that was wiped away when Blomqvist set a blistering lap at 130.894 mph, the fastest lap of the week at that point, halfway through the session. Campbell and teammate Felipe Nasr tried to counter it, but could not do so.
Aitken, who won the pole last year, was able to get the closest. The fastest driver in practice Thursday was able to get his Cadillac down into the 69-second bracket.
Blomqvist then dug down and found some more time to set the eventual pole lap. The rest of the class tried their darndest, but they could not beat the No. 60 Acura.
LMP2 was a back-and-forth affair. Drivers such as Tobias Lutke and Chris Cumming were fastest early on. However, when it came time to put up the quick times, the usual suspects were there.
AO Racing’s PJ Hyett was able to put himself on top of the chart with United Autosport’s Dan Goldburg close behind. With a little more than five minutes to go, TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas turned a lap at 124.991 mph to take provisional pole.
Shortly afterwards, CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz went off and nosed into the tires in turn 5 to draw a red flag. Kurtz was ultimately able to extricate himself from the wall and drive back to the pits, but he lost his two best laps.
The green came back out with three minutes to go, but no one was able to usurp Thomas, who took the class pole. He ended up .240 seconds ahead of Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke. Hyett will start third, then Goldburg and United Autosports’ Nick Boulle.
In GTD, Cetilar Racing’s Lorenzo Patrese put his blue and green Ferrari at the front the class early on to give the pack something to shoot at. The pace was not particularly surprising since he was quickest in class during Practice No. 2 on Thursday.
With five minutes to go, Patrese chose to pit and give the rest of the class a chance to beat him. Ultimately, his lap at 116.758 mph held up to win the class pole.
Patrese ended up .289 seconds ahead of Triarsi Competizione’s Riccardo Agostini. Van der Steur Racing’s Valentin Hasse-Clot was third in his Aston Martin, then AF Crose’s Lilou Wadoux and Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis.
None of the GTD Pro teams could match Patrese’s pace. For much of the session, Vasser Sullivan’s Aaron Telitz was quickest.
However, in the closing stages, Paul Miller Racing’s Dan Harper set a lap at 116.450 mph to put himself on top. That held up to win the GTD Pro pole, but it was still .207 seconds slower than Patrese.
Telitz was .167 seconds back in second, followed by Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg and DragonSpeed’s Albert Costa. AO Racing’s Laurin Heinrich will start fifth in class.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul Petit Le Mans Qualifying Results
The Motul Petit Le Mans is scheduled to go green at 12:10 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Coverage will begin at Noon ET on NBC and Peacock. NBC coverage will air until 3 p.m. ET. Peacock will take you the rest of the way to the finish.
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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