BRASELTON, Ga. — When you need to finish third or better in the season finale to win the championship, it’s wise to start the race from the pole position.
Wiser still to win the Motul Pole Award in record-breaking style.
Laurin Heinrich put AO Racing’s popular Rexy Porsche on the pole in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class for Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans with a class track record lap of 1 minute, 17.881 seconds (117.409 mph) Friday in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with the bright green dinosaur-themed livery.
The 35 points for the pole were critical to Heinrich’s attempt to win the driver’s championship and the possibility of sweeping the team, manufacturer and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup championships.
“This was important for us,” said Heinrich, who will team with Michael Christensen and Julien Andlauer for the 10-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale. “We knew there were margins, and we knew the (No.) 23 car is quite quick here and would qualify well, but I knew there would be a solution.”
While Heinrich secured the pole in GTD PRO, Scott Andrews did the same in Grand Touring Daytona, giving Lone Star Racing the No. 1 class starting position in record-setting style. However, both drivers’ approaches weren’t as straightforward as they seemed.
Six minutes into the 15-minute qualifying session, a red flag waved after an incident involving Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 and Daniel Serra in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3.
Qualifying resumed with 6 minutes, 48 seconds left in the session, but Thompson and Serra were penalized by deletion of their two fastest laps. Shortly after qualifying resumed, Heinrich and Andrews posted their record-setting laps.
“Our car was set up to do it on Lap 1,” Andrews said of his 1:18.281 lap (116.809 mph) in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. “It kind of hurt us a little bit, but somehow I managed to put it together. Obviously, our car was very, very quick. It’s a mental thing. You just have to be focused.”
Heinrich’s lap was enough to fend off Tommy Milner’s effort of 1:17.993 (117.331 mph) in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R he co-drives with Earl Bamber and Nicky Catsburg.
Ross Gunn, Heinrich’s closest competitor in the GTD PRO driver’s standings, was third-fastest at 1:18.041 (117.168 mph) in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo he drives with Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis.
Andrews, who will share the No. 80 Mercedes with Salih Yoluc and Rui Pinto de Andrade, was just a tick faster than Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. Philip Ellis, who teamed with Russell Ward to clinch the GTD manufacturer championship last month at Indianapolis, had the third-fastest lap in class in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.