Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

McNish beats own record to land pole

Allan McNish seems in a determined mood. In final qualifying at the Sears Point Raceway, the Scot placed his Audi R8 on pole, with an average speed of 112.44mph - almost two miles and hour faster than his record time he'd set during the first session

He'll be joined on the front row with his Audi team-mate Emanuele Pirro. David Brabhamn in the Panoz LmP-1 will start from third.

"The circuit is faster, approximately eight tenths of a second, because of the grip that has gone down in the last 24 hours," said McNish. "I wanted to be the first car out for qualifying because I wanted to be sure the track was clear (of debris). From the championship view, I needed to be in the first row. It's good that BMW is not right behind us."

Karl Wendlinger maintained his dominance of the GTS class this weekend, heading that group and starting 12th with an average lap speed of 98.846mph in his Dodge Viper.

Dirk Muller leads the GT class after setting a speed of 94.789mph in the Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The race, round three of the ALMS, kicks off at 20:00BST Sunday evening.

Grand Prix of Sonoma Qualifying Times
1. Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy, Audi R8, 112.440mph
2. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Frank Biela, Monaco, Audi R8, 111.687.
3. David Brabham, England; Jan Magnussen, Denmark, Panoz LMP-1, 111.163
4. Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga.; Hiroki Katoh, Japan, Panoz LMP-1, 110.302.
5. Mimmo Schiattarella, Monaco; Didier de Radigues, Monaco, Lola B2K, 109.870
6. J.J. Lehto, Finland; Jorg Muller, Monaco, BMW V12 LMR, 109.057.
7. Stefan Johansson, Indianapolis; Guy Smith, England, Reynard 2KQ, 108.531.
8. Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Jean-Marc Gounon, France, BMW V12 LMR, 107.892.
9. Jon Field, Dublin, Ohio; Rick Sutherland, San Jose, Calif., Lola B2K, 106.208.
10. Mark Simo, Carlsbad, Calif.; Jim Matthews, Indianapolis, Reynard 2KQ, 105.400.
11. Dorsey Schroeder, Little Torch Key, Fla.; James Weaver, England, Lola B2K, 105.230.
12. Karl Wendlinger, Austria; Olivier Beretta, Monaco, Dodge Viper, 98.846.
13. David Donohue, Malvern, Pa.; Tommy Archer, Duluth, Minn., Dodge Viper,98.011.
14. Zak Brown, Indianapolis; Vic Rice, San Rafael, Calif., Porsche 911 turbo, 94.807.
15. Lucas Luhr, Monaco; Dirk Muller, Monaco, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 94.789.
16. Hans Stuck, Austria; Boris Said, Carlsbad, Calif., BMW M3, 94.753.
17. Brian Cunningham, Danville, Ky.; Niclas Jonsson, Aliso Viejo, Calif., BMW M3, 94.717.
18. Sascha Maassen, Germany; Bob Wollek, France, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 94.550.
19. Randy Pobst, Melbourne, Fla.; Bruno Lambert, Belgium, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 94.145.
20. Johannes van Overbeek, Danville, Calif.; Peter Cunningham, West Bend, Wis., BMW M3, 94.015.
21. Mike Fitzgerald, Atlanta; Bob Nagel, Clearwater, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3 R, 92.917.
22. David Murry, Atlanta; Johnny Mowlem, England, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 92.871.
23. Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla.; Cort Wagner, Santa Monica, Calif.,Porsche 911 GT3 R, 92.834.
24. Tony Burgess, Canada; Stefano Buttiero, Italy, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 90.226.
25. Kevin Buckler, Sonoma, Calif.; Rick Knoop, Portola Valley, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3R, 91.996.
26. Doc Bundy, Gainesville, Ga.; Rohan Skea, Australia; Grady Willingham, Birmingham Ala., Porsche 911 GT3 R, 91.672.
27. Jennifer Tumminelli, Tiburon, Calif.; Steve Ariana, Dublin, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3 R, 90.673.
28. Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Michael Petersen, Las Vegas, Nev.; Dale White, Las Vegas, Nev., Porsche 911 GT3 R, 89.871.
29. Kye Wankum, Canada; Greg Doff, Canada, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 89.782.

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Bailey takes last-minute pole at Zolder FIA GTs
Next article Lister steals unexpected FIA GT win

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe