SEBRING, Fla. — Oscar Tunjo will lead the field to the green flag for the inaugural IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge at Sebring International Raceway after securing the pole in the No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsports USA Inc. Duqueine D08.
Tunjo was dominant in qualifying, posting a fast lap of 1:58.274 (113.837 mph) around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course.
Shortly after the start of the session, light rain began to fall intermittently around the track, but some wet patches from an earlier afternoon shower proved to be more challenging.
“It was a tricky session,” Tunjo said. “We had some rain before, so it was going to be a tricky track. Happy to start (the weekend) in a good way. For us, it’s a challenging weekend because it’s the first time for (Gebhardt) here in Sebring – as a team, and also for me as a driver.
“There was a little bit of still wet patches on track, mainly in some hard braking areas inside the last corner. The last corner is always a really challenging corner, but still, it was good to do a good job.”
Tunjo, who was the fastest qualifier for both of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races in the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, never relinquished his spot at the top of the charts during Saturday’s 15-minute qualifying session. His lap was 1.539 seconds quicker than Lincoln Day’s lap of 1:59.813 (112.374 mph) in the No. 95 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325. Brian Thienes was the top qualifier among Bronze-rated drivers and will roll off third with a qualifying lap of 2:02.112 (110.259 mph) in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier.
With two drivers per car required for the Airbnb Endurance Challenge events, sharing seat time with Tunjo will be 2025 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 (P3) champion Valentino Catalano.
“Last year I drove with Valentino in Europe, so we are quite used to driving together,” Tunjo said. “Obviously, he’s the reigning champion of the VP SportsCar Challenge, so it’s nice to have him back on board and also with us.
“It will be a challenging race, but yeah, the first one of the endurance. Good to start the season in the endurance (challenge) with the pole, and yeah, we’ll see where we can manage to do tomorrow.”
