MSR Bite Back With Pole At CTMP
Tom Blomqvist and Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian teammate Oliver Jarvis are tired of losing out to “the other Acura.”
Blomqvist and Jarvis have engaged their #60 Acura ARX-05 DPi in a compelling Daytona Prototype international (DPi) battle with the #10 Konica Minolta Racing Acura and drivers Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque for honours in the top class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The #60 won the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and is riding a streak of four consecutive second-place finishes. Meanwhile, the #10 swept to victory in three of the last four races to seize a 17-point advantage over the #60 following its most recent triumph in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen a week ago.
Blomqvist reduced that deficit to 14 points Saturday by earning the Motul Pole Award for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with the fastest lap in WeatherTech Championship history. Blomqvist hustled the #60 Acura around the iconic 2.459-mile, 10-corner road course in 1 minute, 4.394 seconds for an average speed of 137.472 mph. The fastest previous lap, ironically, was set by Blomqvist’s current teammate Jarvis in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway (136.792 mph).
“When you’re in the car, it feels fast. This track is insane,” said Blomqvist. “The high speed and bumpy nature of this track has made it really, really difficult for us out there, especially the super-fast corners out there like Turns 1 and 2.
“I wasn’t confident we could get the job done over the #10, to be honest,” he continued. “It was more a case of just putting common sense out the window and just going for it, because that was a proper wild ride. I had a few moments I thought I wasn’t going to make it back to the pits. Thankfully, I did, and thankful for the pole position. But we have some work to do overnight to give ourselves a car we can feel comfortable with tomorrow.”
Taylor set the early pace in the #10 Acura, turning two laps that beat the existing CTMP lap record of 1:05.452 established by Colin Braun in 2019. Taylor ultimately logged a 1:04.462 lap (137.327 mph) to secure the outside front-row starting spot and second-fastest qualifying lap in series history.
Tristan Vautier qualified a season-best third in the #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R (1:04.895/136.411 mph), with Alex Lynn fourth in the #02 Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R (1:05.082/136.019 mph). All six DPi entries eventually qualified under the existing track record.
Blomqvist admitted that he and Jarvis were frustrated after pacing practice and qualifying at Watkins Glen, only to lose the race to Albuquerque in traffic in the final 20 minutes. They hope to use that frustration as fuel to propel them into the final three DPi races of the 2022 campaign.
“Last weekend still hurts, and we’ve used a bit of that anger to kind of spur us on this weekend,” Blomqvist said. “We need to do the best job we can do and hopefully that brings us the win tomorrow.
“Obviously, we’ve done the job here, putting the car on pole, which should make my life a bit easier, hopefully,” he added. “Track position is going to be key around here again. Traffic is not that easy.”
Robinson Awarded LMP3 Pole Following Infraction
Gar Robinson logged the second-best lap during Le Mans Prototype 3 qualifying but earned the Motul Pole Award in the #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 after Jarett Andretti’s time was disallowed for the #36 Andretti Autosport Ligier using a non-compliant suspension component.
Robinson’s best lap was 1:13.174 (120.977 mph) to bring the reigning LMP3 champion his second pole position of the season. Robinson won the LMP3 class at the Sahlen’s Six Hours last weekend with Felipe Fraga and Kay van Berlo to move into third place in the class standings. Robinson will drive with Scott Andrews on Sunday.
“This isn’t really how you want to win pole, but it’s always exciting to start these races from the front,” Robinson said. “It’s going to be a long race and traffic management will be crucial tomorrow. Keeping it clean and giving Scott the best car I can will be my main objective throughout the race.”
With the #36 Andretti Ligier moved to the rear of the six-car LMP3 field for the infraction, the #30 Jr III Racing Ligier advanced to the second spot. Ari Balogh posted a qualifying lap of 1:13.185 (119.926 mph) in the #30 he shares with Garett Grist.
Pfaff Pole On Home Ground In GTD PRO
Mathieu Jaminet recorded a lap of 1 minute, 15.468 seconds (117.300 mph) Saturday to secure the Motul Pole Award for the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team based less than an hour away from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in suburban Toronto.
“That’s the best present I can give to the boys,” Jaminet said of the Pfaff crew. “They’ve been working hard the last two days to make it happen and improve the car. Even after (practice), we weren’t really sure what we had. But they put together a really good setup to make it better.”
Jaminet will start 13th overall in Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race. He’ll co-drive the fan-favorite Porsche with Matt Campbell after Jaminet’s pole-winning effort added another 35 points to their class-leading total.
It’s the first time the WeatherTech Championship has raced at CTMP since 2019 and the first Jaminet and Campbell time will race at the track, so they used videos of past performances to acquaint themselves with the 10-turn, 2.459-mile layout.
“This was pretty much it for our preparation,” said Jaminet, who was able to test recently at CTMP. “We also watched the last IMSA race there on TV. We’ll see tomorrow. We’ve already seen in practice (that) traffic is difficult with the (prototypes). Let’s see how it plays out, for sure we’ll have to be careful in traffic.”
Alex Riberas posted the second-fastest lap in GTD PRO – 1:15.890 (116.647 mph) – in the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 he co-drives with Ross Gunn. John Edwards moved up to third late in the 15-minute session with a lap of 1:15.899 (116.633 mph) in the #25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 he shares with Connor De Phillippi.
Montecalvo In GTD Pole Run For Lexus
Frankie Montecalvo has a long-term love affair with Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. No wonder. He’s finished on the podium in each of his three previous IMSA races at the track, though he has yet to stand on the top step.
Montecalvo put himself and co-driver Aaron Telitz in prime position to get that elusive CTMP win by rolling to the Motul Pole Award in GT Daytona (GTD) qualifying. Driving the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, Montecalvo sped around the 2.459-mile circuit in 1:15.633 (117.044 mph), enough to earn the top starting spot in class while also being second fastest among all GT cars.
“This is a track that I really love,” Montecalvo said after collecting his third career pole position. “It was my first podium in pro racing. To come here and put the car up front with the team is great.”
Montecalvo finished third in the Prototype Challenge class in his CTMP debut in 2010 and followed it the next year with a second-place result in the same class. He didn’t return to the track until 2019, when he and Townsend Bell placed third in GTD in a Vasser Sullivan Lexus. CTMP clearly suits his style.
“I just love the high-speed corners and it’s just really flowing,” Montecalvo said. “Everything is timing here – (you’re) very light on the brakes and just trying to carry as much speed as possible.
“It’s just a fast, flowing track. A lot of risk but when you get the corner right, it’s a lot of reward. It’s probably my favorite North American track.”
On Sunday, he’ll seek his first win at the track, first win with co-driver Aaron Telitz and second WeatherTech Championship career victory.
“We have a phenomenal car and a great team behind us,” Montecalvo said. “We’ve just been a little unlucky at some of the events. Hopefully, we’ll have some luck on our side. We have the pace.”
Roman De Angelis qualified second in GTD with a lap of 1:15.975 (116.517 mph) in the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Madison Snow took third in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 (1:16.004/116.472 mph).
Sunday’s GTD race counts toward the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup and not for the overall season championship. Snow, Sellers and the #1 BMW lead the Sprint Cup standings, now by 138 points over Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley and the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW. Montecalvo and the #12 Lexus are in third, 183 points from the lead.
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