Gianmaria Bruni gives Porsche milestone 450th pole

Published Jul. 21, 2017 7:03 p.m. ET

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (AP) Italy's Gianmaria Bruni gave Porsche its 450th pole position in major North American sports car competition, topping qualifying Friday for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix on Saturday at Lime Rock Park.

Porsche extended its lead over Chevrolet to 100 poles.

Bruni turned a lap in 50.404 seconds at 105.277 mph in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR to take the top starting spot in the 2-hour, 40-minute race. Bruni, a former Ferrari factory driver, joined the team before the Six Hours of The Glen and is heading into his third race as co-driver with Laurens Vanthoor.

Richard Westbrook qualified second in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT with lap of 50.540 seconds at 104.994 mph. He co-drives with Australia's Ryan Briscoe.

In GT Daytona (GTD) qualifying, Madison Snow earned the class pole in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini with a lap of 52.508 seconds at 101.058 mph.