De Ferran takes Lexington pole
Gil de Ferran took his new team's first pole position in only their third American Le Mans Series event by winning a huge battle in Mid-Ohio qualifying
The Brazilian Acura driver beat Lime Rock winner David Brabham (Highcroft Acura) to the top spot by 0.224 seconds at the end of a frenetic session that had seen provisional pole change hands countless times between the de Ferran, Highcroft and Andretti Green Acuras, and Marco Werner's Audi.
De Ferran's 1:07.969 lap was a few fractions quicker than the best IndyCar time of the day, and was his third pole at Lexington after twice heading the grid at the track during his Champ Car career.
Behind outside front row starter Brabham, Timo Bernhard took third for Penske Porsche alongside AGR's Franck Montagny, who will share his car with the team's Indy Lights driver Raphael Matos this weekend.
LMP1 pole-winner Werner ended up fifth overall after being quickest on several occasions, with Fernandez driver Luis Diaz making it four Acuras in the top six.
The second Audi had to sit out half of the session as a punishment for Dindo Capello's collision with the Bell Aston Martin at Lime Rock last weekend. The Italian took seventh once allowed to join the fray.
Penske Porsche's Sascha Maassen and Dyson Porsche's Chris Dyson had to serve five minute penalties for tangles in morning practice and the Lime Rock race respectively, before taking eighth and ninth. The Dyson team have had to build up an entirely new chassis in the past week after their destructive Lime Rock weekend, and their cars will share the fifth row.
A superb effort from Jaime Melo got GT2 champions Risi Ferrari onto class pole for the first time this year. Initially the top four in class had been covered by a mere 0.125 seconds, and when Melo went off on his out-lap while attempting his second qualifying run, it looked like the Risi car would have to settle for second.
But the Brazilian returned for one last shot at pole and duly beat provisional pole-sitter Dirk Werner (Farnbaches Loles Porsche) by 0.174 seconds.
Flying Lizard Porsche's Wolf Henzler and Tafel Ferrari driver Dominik Farnbacher took third and fourth in class.
In GT1 it was Johnny O'Connell's turn to lead the Corvette duo, as the American beat teammate Olivier Beretta by 0.429 seconds.
Pos Cl Drivers Make Time 1. P2 de Ferran/Pagenaud Acura ARX-01B 1:07.969 2. P2 Brabham/Sharp Acura ARX-01B 1:08.193 3. P2 Dumas/Bernhard Porsche RS Spyder 1:08.238 4. P2 Matos/Montagny Acura ARX-01B 1:08.320 5. P1 Luhr/Werner Audi R10 TDI 1:08.357 6. P2 Fernandez/Diaz Acura ARX-01B 1:08.507 7. P1 Capello/Pirro Audi R10 TDI 1:08.960 8. P2 Maassen/Long Porsche RS Spyder 1:09.614 9. P2 Smith/Dyson Porsche RS Spyder 1:09.912 10. P2 Franchitti/Leitzinger Porsche RS Spyder 1:10.029 11. P1 J.Field/C.Field/Berry Lola B06/10 1:11.053 12. P1 Lewis/Faulkner Lola B06/10 1:11.156 13. P1 McMurry/Willman Creation CA07-002 1:16.316 14. GT1 O'Connell/Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C6R 1:17.900 15. GT1 Beretta/Gavin Chevrolet Corvette C6R 1:18.329 16. GT2 Melo/Salo Ferrari 430 Berlinetta 1:20.025 17. GT2 Werner/Westbrook Porsche 911 RSR 1:20.199 18. GT2 Bergmeister/Henzler Porsche 911 RSR 1:20.226 19. GT2 Mueller/Farnbacher Ferrari 430 Berlinetta 1:20.324 20. GT2 van Overbeek/Pilet Porsche 911 RSR 1:20.703 21. GT2 Brix/Friesacher Ferrari 430 Berlinetta 1:20.844 22. GT2 Law/Neiman Porsche 911 RSR 1:21.072 23. GT2 Sutherland/Milner Panoz Esperante 1:22.133 24. GT2 D.Robertson/A.Robertson/Murry Doran Ford GT-R 1:23.139 25. GT2 F.Pastorelli/N.Pastorelli Porsche 911 RSR 1:23.388 26. GT2 Lazzaro/Pappas Doran Ford GT-R 1:23.729 27. GT2 Figge/Tafel Ferrari F430GT 1:24.047 28. GT2 Feinberg/Hall Dodge Viper 1:24.957 29. GT2 Drayson/Cocker Aston Martin Vantage 30. P2 Devlin/Bonilla Lola B07 46 Mazda
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