No. 46 Aston Martin Will Start at Front as Matt Plumb Chases GS Championship
By Jeff Olson
BRASELTON, Ga. – Paul Holton wanted to do a favor for his teammate. He succeeded.
Holton, who’s trying to help co-driver Matt Plumb win the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge driver’s championship, took a big step in that direction Thursday by winning the Motul Pole Award for Friday’s Fox Factory 120, the series’ season finale.
Holton recorded a lap of 1 minute, 26.472 seconds (105.744 mph) in the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4, giving him the No. 1 starting position overall and in the Grand Sport (GS) class. Plumb and Holton need to finish sixth or better for Plumb to claim the driver’s title and the No. 46 to capture the team championship.
“The crew gave us an incredible car,” Holton said. “We tested here. We rolled back off the trailer and the car has just been on rails. It’s easy to drive. This is absolutely fantastic.”
Sam Paley landed the second starting position with a lap of 1:26.489 (105.724 mph) in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 he co-drives with Jenson Altzman. Rory van der Steur will start third in the No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 he co-drives with Valentin Hasse Clot.
In the Touring Car (TCR) class, Hyundais fielded by Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian swept the top three positions with a Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai in fourth. Leading the way was Bryson Morris, who set a class track record of 1:26.962 (105.149 mph) in the No. 77 BHA Hyundai Elantra N TCR he co-drives with Taylor Hagler.
Adding to the manufacturer’s effort were Robert Wickens (second in the No. 33 BHA Hyundai that he co-drives with Harry Gottsacker), Mason Filippi (third in the No. 98 BHA he co-drives with Mark Wilkins), and Morgan Burkhard (fourth in the No. 99 VGRT Hyundai he co-drives with Tyler Gonzalez).
“Figuring out Turn 1 was really the biggest point of gain,” said Morris, whose lap held up for fifth-fastest overall in the 32-car field. “It’s just the confidence on entry was where I was gaining time for the last few laps.”
Live coverage of the two-hour race begins Friday at 12:40 p.m. ET. It can be seen live on Peacock in the U.S., with international streaming available on imsa.tv and YouTube.com/IMSAOfficial.