Petit Le Mans: Cadillac, Ferrari, Lamborghini scoop poles
Felipe Nasr turned on the magic to take pole for Action Express Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale at Road Atlanta, while Risi Competizione’s Ferrari and the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini headed their classes.
Nasr’s Cadillac DPi-V.R lapped the 2.54-mile course in 68.457sec which Ricky Taylor tried but failed to beat by 0.141sec in the #7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05. Taylor did, however, move onto the front row by beating the second AXR Cadillac of Filipe Albuquerque by just 0.031sec.
Dane Cameron was fourth in the championship-leading second Acura, only just ahead of Timo Bernhard in the faster of the two Mazda RT24-Ps.
Simon Trummer (JDC Miller Motorsports), Renger van der Zande (Wayne Taylor Racing), Spencer Pigot (Juncos Racing) and Misha Goikhberg (JDC-Miller) completed the Top 10, all in Cadillacs.
Kyle Masson edged Matt McMurry in the LMP2 battle for honors between Performance Tech Motorsports and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.
Ferrari factory driver James Calado gave Risi Competizione the GT Le Mans pole position it threatened from the moment it took to the track yesterday, the Ferrari 488 lapping in 1min15.639sec.
Perhaps most surprising was the fact that Calado’s nearest competitor was Antonio Garcia, a mere 0.063sec slower in the Corvette C7.R that will make its swansong tomorrow after six glorious years in the GTLM category.
Philipp Eng did a great job in the #24 BMW M8 to beat both Porsche 911 RSRs, both Ford GTs, the second Corvette and his own BMW teammate and newest IndyCar megastar Colton Herta.
Ricky Feller did an excellent job in the Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS to set a new GT Daytona track record – only to see his times deleted because his team touched the car during a red flag period.
That session stoppage was caused by Robby Foley parking his Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 in the Turn 10 gravel at the end of his out lap.
Therefore Corey Lewis scored his second consecutive pole position for Paul Miller Racing – and initially appeared to be leading a Lamborghini as series debutant Shinya Michimi slotted in second just 0.008sec behind.
However, Michimi too had his times deleted, elevating Ben Keating to second in the Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG-GT3 ahead of Jeff Westphal in the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3.
Justin Marks edged Meyer Shank Racing Acura teammate Christina Nielsen to snatch fourth by one-tenth of a second.
Zacharie Robichon’s Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was sixth ahead of the AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC Fs.
The raceday warm-up begins at 9.30am local (Eastern) time, with the 22nd Motul Petit Le Mans taking the green flag at 12.05pm.
UPDATE: Corvette's #3 entry was moved to the back of the GTLM field as the car was "found to be out of compliance in post-qualifying inspection" according to a team statement.
It promotes the #24 BMW to second in class ahead of the points-leading #912 Porsche.
Session results:
| Cla | Num | Driver | Class | Chassis | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 |  Felipe Nasr  Eric Curran Pipo Derani | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'08.457 | |
| 2 | 7 | Ricky Taylor Helio Castroneves Graham Rahal | DPi | Acura DPi | 1'08.598 | 0.141 |
| 3 | 5 |  Joao Barbosa  Mike Conway Filipe Albuquerque | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'08.629 | 0.172 |
| 4 | 6 | Dane Cameron  Juan Pablo Montoya  Simon Pagenaud | DPi | Acura DPi | 1'08.802 | 0.345 |
| 5 | 77 | Oliver Jarvis Tristan Nunez  Timo Bernhard | DPi | Mazda DPi | 1'08.847 | 0.390 |
| 6 | 55 | Jonathan Bomarito Harry Tincknell Olivier Pla | DPi | Mazda DPi | 1'09.204 | 0.747 |
| 7 | 84 |  Simon Trummer  Stephen Simpson Chris Miller | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.243 | 0.786 |
| 8 | 10 |  Renger van der Zande Jordan Taylor Matthieu Vaxiviere | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.253 | 0.796 |
| 9 | 50 | Will Owen  Rene Binder Spencer Pigot | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.507 | 1.050 |
| 10 | 85 |  Mikhail Goikhberg Tristan Vautier Juan Piedrahita | DPi | Cadillac DPi | 1'09.673 | 1.216 |
| 11 | 38 | Cameron Cassels Kyle Masson Andrew Evans | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 | 1'10.722 | 2.265 |
| 12 | 52 | Matt McMurry Gabriel Aubry Dalton Kellett | LMP2 | ORECA LMP2 | 1'10.853 | 2.396 |
| 13 | 54 | Jon Bennett Colin Braun Romain Dumas | DPi | Nissan DPi | 1'11.511 | 3.054 |
| 14 | 62 | James Calado  Alessandro Pier Guidi Daniel Serra | GTLM | Ferrari 488 GTE | 1'15.639 | 7.182 |
| 15 | 3 |  Jan Magnussen  Antonio Garcia Mike Rockenfeller | GTLM | Corvette C7.R | 1'15.702 | 7.245 |
| 16 | 24 |  Jesse Krohn John Edwards Philipp Eng | GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 1'15.784 | 7.327 |
| 17 | 912 |  Earl Bamber  Laurens Vanthoor Mathieu Jaminet | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 1'15.842 | 7.385 |
| 18 | 66 | Joey Hand Dirk Muller Sébastien Bourdais | GTLM | Ford GT | 1'15.856 | 7.399 |
| 19 | 67 |  Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Scott Dixon | GTLM | Ford GT | 1'15.967 | 7.510 |
| 20 | 911 | Patrick Pilet Nick Tandy Frédéric Makowiecki | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | 1'16.037 | 7.580 |
| 21 | 4 | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Marcel Fassler | GTLM | Corvette C7.R | 1'16.048 | 7.591 |
| 22 | 25 | Tom Blomqvist Connor de Phillippi Colton Herta | GTLM | BMW M8 GTE | 1'16.327 | 7.870 |
| 23 | 48 | Bryan Sellers Corey Lewis Marco Seefried | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'19.530 | 11.073 |
| 24 | 33 | Ben Keating Jeroen Bleekemolen Felipe Fraga | GTD | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 1'19.665 | 11.208 |
| 25 | 63 | Cooper MacNeil Toni Vilander Jeff Westphal | GTD | Ferrari 488 GT3 | 1'19.721 | 11.264 |
| 26 | 86 | Mario Farnbacher Trent Hindman Justin Marks | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 1'19.820 | 11.363 |
| 27 | 57 | Katherine Legge Ana Beatriz Christina Nielsen | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | 1'19.952 | 11.495 |
| 28 | 9 | Scott Hargrove Zacharie Robichon Lars Kern | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'20.200 | 11.743 |
| 29 | 14 | Richard Heistand Jack Hawksworth Parker Chase | GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 1'20.260 | 11.803 |
| 30 | 12 | Frankie Montecalvo Townsend Bell Aaron Telitz | GTD | Lexus RC F GT3 | 1'20.323 | 11.866 |
| 31 | 44 | John Potter Andy Lally Spencer Pumpelly | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | 1'21.234 | 12.777 |
| 32 | 29 | Christopher Mies Richard Feller Daniel Morad | GTD | Audi R8 LMS GT3 | ||
| 33 | 47 | Brandon Gdovic Don Yount  Shinya Michimi | GTD | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | ||
| 34 | 96 | Bill Auberlen Robby Foley Dillon Machavern | GTD | BMW M6 GT3 | ||
| View full results | ||||||
Previous article
Petit Le Mans: Sensational Nasr puts AXR top again in FP4
Next article
Petit Le Mans: AXR Cadillacs dominate after two hours
About this article
| Series | IMSA |
| Event | Road Atlanta |
| Author | David Malsher-Lopez |
24 Hours of Daytona Video Recap
24 Hours of Daytona: Fourth Place for Ferrari
Watch the entire Rolex 24 in just over a minute
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
Nine things to watch at the 2021 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
After a 100-minute sprint race to whet the appetite, the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship gets underway properly this weekend. With plenty of significant changes during the winter, here are the key points you need to keep an eye on
Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars
Having gone over seven years without a race win through spells with McLaren, Renault and Haas, Kevin Magnussen's departure from Formula 1 for IMSA with big-hitters Chip Ganassi Racing could give him what he craves most - a chance of success
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…
The 12 greatest Sebring 12 Hours ranked
The 2020 edition of the Florida sportscar classic is finally taking place this weekend, eight months after its traditional date in March. That meant there was plenty of time for Motorsport.com to pour over its previous 67 races and select the best.
Tony Kanaan’s top 10 races – in his own words
The 2004 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan probably hasn’t yet driven his final IndyCar race, but we still asked him for the 10 most significant races of his career. He explained his choices to David Malsher-Lopez.
Why the GTE ruleset looks to have run its course
The GTE ruleset has served sportscar racing in both Europe and the United States well over the past decade. But now there are clear signs that the end of its life is in sight as manufacturer support continues to fade.
