IMSA Mid-Ohio: Bourdais resumes pole hot-streak in Ganassi Cadillac
Sebastien Bourdais took his third pole position from the past four IMSA SportsCar Championship meetings at Mid-Ohio, the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac driver beating Filipe Albuquerque to the top spot.
The track was dry as qualifying began, but rain was falling to make conditions extra sketchy.
Bourdais started the ball rolling with a 1m11.979s lap, but this was soon bettered by Albuquerque’s Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05. The Portuguese produced a 1m11.481s, then 1m10.751s and finally 1m10.661s.
But Bourdais wouldn’t be denied, the Frenchman unleashing a 1m10.439s to usurp Albuquerque by 0.222s and snare pole in the Cadillac DPi-V.R he'll share with Renger van der Zande.
Oliver Jarvis took third in the Meyer Shank Racing Acura, producing a final lap of 1m10.791s. Alex Lynn will start fourth in the second CGR car ahead of the remaining Cadillac drivers, Tristan Nunez (Action Express) and Tristan Vautier (JDC-Miller).
Patrick Kelly took LMP2 pole for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports on 1m14.340s, ahead of the sister team car of Steven Thomas, who escaped a wild early spin.
Jarrett Andretti took LMP3 pole for Andretti Autosports, ahead of Josh Sarchet (MLT Motorsports) and Dan Goldburg (Performance Tech).
#1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3: Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
Snow takes GTD pole for BMW
In GTD, where there is no Pro class this weekend, the track was damp at the start but dried out quickly.
Paul Miller Racing’s Madison Snow led the way when it mattered on 1m20.525s, two tenths clear of Stevan McAleer (Korthoff Mercedes), Roman De Angelis (Heart of Racing Aston Martin) and early pacesetter Robby Foley (Turner BMW).
Russell Ward (Winward Mercedes) will start fifth, ahead of Vasser Sullivan Lexus pair Frankie Montecalvo and Richard Heistand, the latter escaping the gravel after an early spin.
The new prototype that Porsche hopes will become its latest legend
IMSA Mid-Ohio: WTR heads Acura 1-2, BMW claims GTD spoils
Wehrlein hails "perfect" Porsche strategy, efficiency en route to Diriyah FE win
Pascal Wehrlein reckoned that Porsche's Diriyah E-Prix strategy and efficiency worked "perfectly" en route to claiming his second Formula E victory.
Diriyah E-Prix: Wehrlein holds off Dennis to charge to victory
Pascal Wehrlein made up eight places in the Diriyah E-Prix to take victory, holding off a late assault from Jake Dennis to take his second Formula E win.
GT3 Corvette Z06 unveiled for customer teams in 2024
Chevrolet has revealed the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R a year before it makes its competition debut at the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: Cadillacs lead BMW in fourth practice
In the GTP teams’ penultimate practice ahead of the Daytona 24 Hours, Alexander Sims put Action Express Racing Cadillac on top from Ganassi, while Nick Yelloly lifted his BMW to third.
The big question concerning IMSA's new LMDh cars on their debut
The new LMDh era finally begins in earnest this weekend with the IMSA SportsCar Championship curtain-raiser at Daytona. The prospect of multiple marques going all guns blazing for victory over 24 hours is a salivating one for fans of sportscar racing, but what are the chances of the new hybrid machines (known as GTP cars Stateside) proving reliable enough to win on debut?
Inside BMW's long-awaited prototype racing return
Much like German OEM rival Porsche, BMW's absence from sportscar racing’s top flight will be ended this weekend when a pair of M Hybrid V8 prototypes make their debut in the Daytona 24 Hours. A programme focused on the IMSA SportsCar Championship for now will expand to the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans next year, in a sign of both its ambition and pragmatism
How Porsche and Penske are gearing up for sportscar racing's bold new era
Porsche and Penske have teamed up to tackle the world's biggest sportscar races in 2023 with the new 963 LMDh car. Autosport was on hand at the recent Daytona test to hear from key players in the partnership as it prepares for dual campaigns across the IMSA SportsCar Championship and World Endurance Championship
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
The long road to convergence for sportscar racing's new golden age
The organisers of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship worked together to devise the popular new LMDh rule set. But to turn it from an idea into reality, some serious compromises were involved - both from the prospective LMDh entrants and those with existing Le Mans Hypercar projects...
How Porsche's Le Mans legend changed the game
The 956 set the bar at the dawn of Group C 40 years ago, and that mark only rose higher through the 1980s, both in the world championship and in the US. It and its successor, the longer-wheelbase 962, were voted as Autosport's greatest sportscar in 2020 - here's why
Why BMW shouldn't be overlooked on its return to prototypes
OPINION: While the focus has been on the exciting prospect of Ferrari vs Porsche at the Le Mans 24 Hours next year, BMW’s factory return to endurance racing should not be ignored. It won't be at the French classic next year as it focuses efforts on the IMSA SportsCar Championship, but could be a dark horse in 2024 when it returns to La Sarthe with the crack WRT squad
The British pair at the heart of Lexus's IMSA push
Have you heard the one about two northerners driving for a Japanese manufacturer in America’s top sportscar series? Time to sit down and talk with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat about racing across the pond… and your accent being mistaken for Australian
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.