Mazda has swept the front row for Sunday’s Continental Monterey Grand Prix, with Tristan Nunez taking the SpeedSource-run prototype to its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole.
Nunez reeled off a series of quick laps in a battle with teammate Tom Long for the top spot in the 15-minute session, with the 20-year-old’s 1:18.143 lap edging out Long by 0.236 seconds.
It marked a historic first pole for the Japanese manufacturer in series competition after dominating the time sheets all weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, running 1-2 in every session.
The Mazdas were nearly in a class of its own in qualifying, with the No. 31 Action Express Racing Corvette DP of Dane Cameron qualifying third but 0.929 seconds behind Nunez’s pole-sitting car.
Nunez will share driving duties of the No. 55 Mazda with Jonathan Bomarito as thee duo seek the manufacturer’s first WeatherTech Championship victory on Sunday.
The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP of Ricky Taylor will roll off from fourth on the grid, with Christian Fittipaldi’s No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP completing the top-five.
Daniel Serra stole Ford’s thunder to claim the GT Le Mans class pole for Scuderia Corsa.
The Brazilian reeled off a 1:22.867 lap with less than two minutes on the clock to bump the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe from the top spot.
It marked the first pole for Serra and the Ferrari 488 GTE in GTLM competition, as the Giacomo Mattioli-led squad seeks its first class win on Sunday.
Briscoe had to settle for second, just 0.079 seconds slower than Serra, ahead of the sister No. 66 Ford, qualified by Dirk Mueller in third.
The No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Tommy Milner was fourth, with Toni Vilander completing the top-five in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari.
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports has claimed Prototype Challenge pole for Sunday’s Continental Monterey Grand Prix, following a heated qualifying session that went in favor of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rookie Robert Alon.
Alon took the No. 52 Oreca FLM09 to a best lap of 1:21.146, edging out the No. 38 Performance Tech entry of James French by 0.139 seconds.
The 15-minute session saw four of the spec prototypes battle for pole, with Alon, French, Alex Popow and Matt McMurry all trading the top spot.
It marked the first pole of the season for the Bobby Oergel-led PR1 squad, with Alon sharing driving duties with Tom Kimber-Smith in tomorrow’s two-hour PC/GTD race.
The No. 8 Starworks Motorsport entry of Popow will roll off third in class, with McMurry in fourth in the No. 20 BAR1 entry.
Alex Riberas scored his first career pole in GT Daytona, taking his No. 23 The Heart of Racing/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R to the top spot in the highly competitive class.
Riberas’ 1:25.775 lap edged out the Sebring class-winning No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 of Christina Nielsen by 0.722 seconds, in a career best qualifying effort for the Dane.
The Silver-rated Spaniard, recently announced for a full-season campaign with the AJR squad, will share driving duties tomorrow with Mario Farnbacher.
Patrick Lindsey qualified the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche in third, despite a spin late in the session, with Cedric Sbirrazzuoli fourth in the No. 27 Dream Racing Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
The No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of Brandon Davis completed the top-five.
Six different manufacturers were represented in the top-seven in class.
The P/GTLM portion of the Continental Monterey Grand Prix airs LIVE at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, with the PC/GTD race airing LIVE at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FS2.
