The championship duel between Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian and Wayne Taylor Racing is fierce. A mere 19 points separated the two entering the race. Tom Blomqvist managed to cut that margin to 14 points by winning the pole for the Motul Petit Le Mans Friday (Sept. 30) with a lap at 133.382 mph.
“The boys and girls at [Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian] gave a fantastic car today. So I have to thank them,” Blomqvist told Frontstretch afterwards. “I knew that if I had the car underneath me, I could get the job done. Hugely thankful, but it’s only one part of the job done.”
During the DPi/LMP2 session, Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor laid down the gauntlet early. Blomqvist and Action Express Racing’s Pipo Derani answered the challenge.
Taylor was the first driver to drop into the 68-second bracket. Blomqvist was able to answer that lap almost immediately. That only made Taylor even more determined. The results of that determination could have ruined the entire weekend.
Exiting the Esses, Taylor lost control of his Acura ARX-05 just as he was going to get on the brakes for turn 5. The Acura swapped ends and went for a scary ride through the gravel trap. Taylor ended up sliding to a stop on the other side of the trap on pavement. He was able to continue, but his tires were shot, so he drove the car back to the pits. The incident did not cause a red flag, so he did not lose his best laps.
Despite this incident, Blomqvist pushed on, unaware of the incident. He bettered his time twice more before hitting his pole time. The lap is not a track record as Dane Cameron qualified quicker in 2020.
Blomqvist’s lap was .233 seconds faster than Chip Ganassi Racing’s Earl Bamber. Taylor’s quickest lap before his spin put him third on the grid. However, he may have to drop to the rear of the class after his spin if the tires are damaged. JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Tristan Vautier will start fourth, then Sebastien Bourdais in the second Ganassi Cadillac.
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ Steven Thomas won the pole in LMP2 with a lap at 127.108 mph, good for eighth overall. Thomas’ lap was a mere .082 seconds faster than High Class Racing’s Dennis Andersen. Ben Keating will start third in the second PR1 entry, repaired after a crash on Thursday. Tower Motorsport’s John Farano will start fourth, while DragonSpeed’s Henrik Hedman was fifth.
The only red flag of qualifying flew during the LMP3…
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