#01: Cadillac Racing, Cadillac V-Series.R, GTP: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais
Sebastien Bourdais secured the top spot in qualifying with the Cadillac #01, clocking an impressive lap time of 1:12.445.
The Cadillac #31 Whelen, driven by Pipo Derani, was not far behind and joined the Cadillac #01 on the front row of the grid, just a tenth of a second behind. The Cadillac #31 Whelen faced early difficulties this weekend as Jack Aitken had a major crash in FP1 at turn 4, resulting in a red flag.
Phillipp Eng, behind the wheel of the BMW #24, continued to show strong performance since FP2, starting in the final podium position and just a few tenths of a second behind the two Cadillacs. BMW initially struggled at the start of the season during the 24 Hours of Daytona, but with a series of positive performances, this weekend at Laguna Seca could change the overall perception of the German manufacturer. The sister car #25 completed the top five in the GTP class, finishing just 0.055 seconds behind the #24.
The Porsche #6, driven by Mathieu Jaminet, secured the fourth position on the grid. Although not always the fastest this weekend, the Porsche #6 remained in contention for a podium spot with consistent pace, which the team hopes to build on during the race.
The entire GTP class saw lap records being broken, with the whole field separated by less than a second in qualifying. The balanced pace among the GTP cars leaves little room for errors and sets the stage for a potentially thrilling 2-hour and 40-minute race.
In GTD Pro, the Corvette #4, driven by Nicky Catsburg, became the first GT car to break the 1:20.000 barrier, with a lap time of 1:19.727. This exceptional performance put Catsburg half a second ahead of the Corvette #3, which will join him on the front row. The Corvettes maintained a strong pace throughout the practice sessions.
The McLaren #9, driven by Marvin Kirchh fer, secured the third position on the grid, still half a second behind the pole position. Jack Hawksworth’s Lexus #14 finished seven tenths of a second behind the pole, starting from fourth position in tomorrow’s IMSA sprint race. Seb Priaulx’s Porsche #77 completed the top five in GTD Pro. Some GTD drivers struggled with the new circuit resurfacing, as the increased grip levels caught them by surprise.
The Aston Martin #27 went off track at turn 4, ending the session in eleventh place and with a significant amount of work to do to climb up the GTD field.
IMSA Racing action will continue at 8:10 pm UK time on Sunday.
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