Under clear skies and air temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius, the qualifying conditions seemed almost perfect for the teams and drivers at Laguna Seca. However, the newly resurfaced asphalt on the plateau above the coastal city of Monterey saw track temperatures reach as high as 54 degrees Celsius, placing significant stress on the tyres. As a result, any lap time improvements proved difficult towards the end of the 15-minute session.
Third Place for Felipe Nasr
Teammate Felipe Nasr pushed to the limit early in the close battle for the best starting positions. The Brazilian set the fastest time on his third flying lap. In a renewed attempt to improve, the No. 7 Porsche 963 began to slide noticeably on the demanding roller-coaster Laguna Seca course, with the Michelin tyres no longer offering peak grip. Nasr concluded the session with third place. From this position, he and his British teammate Nick Tandy have gone on to win all of the season’s races so far.
‟The top four cars are less than two-tenths of a second apart, which just goes to show how competitive the IMSA field is right now,” states Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. ‟Matt and Felipe did a fantastic job in qualifying. With slightly different conditions, we might have had a shot at pole, but we were just 0.005 seconds short. Still, the team has been performing at a consistently high level all season, and we’re aiming to carry that momentum into the race. We aim to be back on the top step of the podium.”
The No. 85 Porsche 963 fielded by American customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports will start the first 2-hour 40-minute race of the season from tenth on the grid. Italian driver Gianmaria Bruni and Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm will share driving duties in the customer prototype.
GT classes: ‟Roxy” starts from second row, Wright’s 911 GT3 R on P11
In the GTD Pro class, Klaus Bachler planted AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R on P4. The former Porsche Junior from Austria will share the pink-liveried 911 dubbed ‟Roxy” with Laurin Heinrich. The German is the defending champion of the GTD Pro category. The American customer outfit is giving the fan favourite ‟Rexy” a break after two victories at Sebring and Long Beach and is relying on its identical ca. 416 kW (565 PS) twin ‟sister”.
In the GTD class, Adam Adelson qualified the Wright Motorsports’ No. 120 car in eleventh place. The American, who recently became owner of the long-standing Porsche customer team from the US state of Ohio, will share the 911 GT3 R with fellow American Elliott Skeer.
The ‟Monterey SportsCar Championship” broadcast via a free livestream
The 2:40-hour race gets the green light on Sunday, 11 May, at 12:10 pm local time (9:10 pm CEST). The website imsa.tv broadcasts round four of the season in a free live stream outside the US and Canada. The website scoring.imsa.com offers live timing.
Drivers’ post-qualifying quotes
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): ‟Second place and just five-thousandths of a second behind the leading BMW. Our Porsche 963 definitely had the pace for pole. Unfortunately, I got held up several times by other cars. Not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world either. We’re on the front row, and that’s what really matters on a track where overtaking is so tricky.”
Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): ‟It was an exciting qualifying session with incredibly close gaps between the top cars. Once again, the team did a stellar job. Starting second and third on the grid puts us in a strong position for the race. We worked hard in practice to find the perfect setup for race day, and I’m confident we have a solid package. We’re definitely aiming to bring home our next win.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #85): ‟We made the most of what was possible. At the start of the weekend, our setup was far off the mark. But we made solid progress during practice, and we’ve closed the gap to the frontrunners. Now I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the race.”
Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): ‟Our qualifying was good. Of course, we would’ve preferred to take pole – but everyone wants that, and we need to stay realistic. Honestly, after the two practice sessions, we saw good potential in the car, but we didn’t expect to be fighting right at the front. The gaps were really tight, and we weren’t far off. I’m confident anything is possible in the race. We want to give ‘Roxy’ her first win.”
Adam Adelson (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): ‟On what were probably my two fastest laps, I was held up by other cars, which was extremely unfortunate. We’ve made steady progress with the car throughout practice, and it’s definitely moving in the right direction. Now we just need to make a few minor adjustments before the race. I’m confident that the Wright Motorsports team will put everything in place for us to bring home a strong result.”
Qualifying results
GTP class:
1. Eng/D. Vanthoor (AUT/BEL), BMW #24, 1:12.854 minutes
2. Campbell/Jaminet (AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, 1:12.859 minutes
3. Nasr/Tandy (BRA/GBR), Porsche 963 #7, 1:12.932 minutes
10. Bruni/Van der Helm (ITA/NLD), Porsche 963 #85, 1:13.651 minutes
GTD Pro class:
1. Costa/Altoe (ESP/ITA), Ferrari #81, 1:20.608 minutes
2. Hesse/Harper (DEU/GBR), BMW #48, 1:20.644 minutes
3. Garcia/Sims (ESP/GBR), Corvette #3, 1:20.673 minutes
4. Bachler/Heinrich (AUT/DEU), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, 1:20.765 minutes
GTD class:
1. Lucas/Koch (USA/USA), Mercedes-AMG #32, 1:20.810 minutes
2. Wickens/Udell (CDN/USA), Corvette #36, 1:20.819 minutes
3. Turner/Stevenson (GBR/GBR), Aston Martin #27, 1:20.933 minutes
11. Adelson/Skeer (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, 1:21.918 minutes
Full results and championship standings https://results.imsa.com.