The #6 Penske Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet, Nick Tandy starts from P1 at Watkins Glen. Image: IMSA
The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 will start the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen from pole position after the GTP qualifying session was rained out Saturday afternoon.
GTP teams’ championship points standings determined the starting line-up.
Word that the qualifying session was cancelled due to rain and standing water came from IMSA Race Control just as the GTP teams were changing over to wet tyres.
The #60 Myer Shank Acura ARX-06 continued to show the pace it had displayed in Free Practice 1 the previous day. Colin Braun recorded a fast lap time of 1:32.311 in Free Practice 2 earlier in the day.
The #31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R will start alongside the Porsche.
Warwick, Queensland native Matt Campbell, in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, will roll off in the sixth position.
The LMP2 and LMP3 qualifying sessions were cancelled as well after heavy rains and incidents brought out a red flag.
The incidents involved Ari Balogh in the #30 JR III Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan, Ben Keating in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson, and Anthony Mantella in the #17 AWA Duqueine D08 Nissan.
The #11 TDS Racing Oreca will start on the pole in LMP2, and the #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier will start on the pole in LMP3.
The #78 Forte Racing by US RaceTronics Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 piloted by Loris Spinelli, fastest in the morning session, recorded a 1:44.430 to earn the pole in GTD AM and set a GTD lap record in the process.
The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 will start on the pole in GTD PRO
Word came late in the day that Michelin and IMSA will allow GTP teams to use a second, softer tire compound due to track conditions.
“Due to temperatures not consistent with recent 6 Hours of Watkins Glen events, Michelin will add two sets of SHT tires to the GTP event allocation,” IMSA and Michelin said. “This change allows GTP teams to have options for the variable conditions.”
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen gets underway at 01:30 AEST Monday June 26.