Chevrolet Grand Prix: AO racing and Corvette pole

IMSA

Jul 14

📷 © Courtesy of IMSA. the #99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07

PJ Hyett tops LMP2 class in a twice interrupted by red flags qualifying session at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Alexander Sims in the #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R secure pole position in GTD PRO class and Frankie Montecalvo were the fastest GTD class.

They’ll start on pole of their respective class the Chevrolet Grand Prix.

Hyett in pole with AO Racing in LMP2

PJ Hyett won the Motul Pole Award in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class in 1:9.582 sec. with the #99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07. Daniel Goldburg in the #22 United Autosports USA ORECA was 0.090 sec. short from pole. Both’ll be co-driven by Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura GTP full season drivers Louis Deletraz with Hyett and Felipe Albuquerque with Goldburg.

📷 © Courtesy of IMSA. Hyett with Motul pole award.

“Step one was getting on pole because it’s hard to pass people here – that’s what we’ve found,” Hyett said. “But also, to get around the GT traffic is really difficult in a way that you don’t lose a lot of time. Sometimes you just get unlucky depending on where you catch them. I think that’s going to be the big ticket. If you’ve got the speed, great, but you’ve got to get around the GTs to keep the speed up.” “It’s always a team effort,” Hyett said. “They give me these unbelievable cars to drive in qualifying and the race. I’m able to go out here and push as hard as I can, and the car responds in really positive ways and gives me the lap time. It’s incredible.” Source: IMSA

Acura and Cadillac regular GTP drivers

Two additional regular GTP drivers to Acura GTP drivers Louis Deletraz and Felipe Albuquerque will also join two LMP2 teams for the Chevrolet Grand Prix: Renger van der Zande, Filipe Albuquerque,

Whelen Cadillac Racing, Pipo Derani joins Richard Mille AF Corse to share the #88 ORECA with Luis Perez Companc (11th in qualifying).
Van der Zande will trust his #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R to pair with team owner (and 2022 IMSA LMP2 champion) John Farano (8th in qualifying) in the #8 Tower Motorsports ORECA.

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3 in pole

Alexander Sims in the #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R secure pole position for the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class in 1:14.373 seconds with a comfortable margin of 0.267 sec. over Hawksworth in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

📷 © Courtesy of IMSA. #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R

“The Corvette came alive for qualifying and was feeling really, really nice,” enthused Sims, who shares the #3 Corvette with Antonio Garcia. “Moments like that — low fuel, new tires with a beautiful Corvette working well around an incredible circuit that I absolutely love – that was a real blast. That was really good fun.” “We’ve been learning, we’ve been improving through the season and I have huge confidence in the Pratt Miller guys,” said Sims. “With Antonio, I know the car is in safe hands and he’s super-fast. Hopefully we can continue this good pace.

📷 © Courtesy of IMSA. Alexander Sims with #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R

“Starting on pole is obviously the ideal situation, but the huge challenge still is the race,” he added. “It requires perfect execution to beat the rest of the field, who are always operating at a really high level.” Source: IMSA

Lexus RC F GT3 pole in GTD

📷 © Courtesy of IMSA. #12 Lexus RC F GT3

For the second time in the last three years, Frankie Montecalvo was the fastest GTD class qualifier with a lap of 1:15.060 sec. in the #12 Lexus RC F GT3.

📷 © Courtesy of IMSA. Montecalvo with Motul pole award.

“This is my favorite track,” Montecalvo acknowledged. “I’ve loved it ever since the first time I got here. Everything flows, everything connects, and you really have to put each corner here together. It’s really just an awesome circuit to be able to drive, and this track suits the Lexus perfectly. It really loves the high-speed circuits.” Source: IMSA