BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – What looked to be one of the closest Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) qualifying battles in recent IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship memory got turned on its head in the final two minutes of the 15-minute qualifying session at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix.
Less than four tenths of a second initially covered nine of the 10 GTD PRO cars, and then Neil Verhagen uncorked a flyer in the waning moments to double up poles at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit.
The young American won his first WeatherTech Championship pole here last year in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and doubled his pole total with a lap that, when initially set, was 0.447 of a second quicker than second place at 1 minute, 14.382 seconds (119.012 mph).
“Both poles have now come from Mosport (CTMP’s former name) which is kind of funny now,” Verhagen said. “I guess this is kind of my track. The commitment level here is so high. On my first run I’d actually gone off in Turn 3, and it was sketchy. I was bouncing all over the dirt on the outside, just pushing a little bit too much, but was able to get it reined in.
“The Paul Miller Racing boys delivered me an amazing race car today, and I just can’t thank those guys enough. I tried a second time. I tried to see if I could improve it again, but there was no chance. That was everything we had.”
Ultimately the pole margin was less as several other cars got close, but not close enough, to topple the No. 1 BMW. Max Esterson made it a U.S. 1-2 in GTD PRO qualifying as the RLL Team McLaren No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO equaled its season-best start of second on the grid (also achieved at the Rolex 24 At Daytona), just 0.185 of a second in arrears.
The No. 1 car entered the weekend first in GTD PRO points, 60 ahead of the Nos. 3 and 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Coincidentally, the Nos. 3 and 4 Corvettes will start third and fourth for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix after qualifying in matching positions to their car numbers. The No. 3 Corvette in the hands of Alexander Sims was just 0.002 of a second behind the McLaren.
In its first GTD PRO qualifying attempt, Car Blanche slotted its No. 68 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo into fifth with Scott Andrews at the wheel.
