PMR Driver Doubles Up while Barrichello Adds Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin’s Third Pole of the Day
By Tony DiZinno
Starting Grid
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – What looked to be one of the closest Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) qualifying battles in recent IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship memory got turned on its head in the final two minutes of the 15-minute qualifying session at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix.
Less than four tenths of a second initially covered nine of the 10 GTD PRO cars, and then Neil Verhagen uncorked a flyer in the waning moments to double up poles at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit.
The young American won his first WeatherTech Championship pole here last year in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and doubled his pole total with a lap that, when initially set, was 0.447 of a second quicker than second place at 1 minute, 14.382 seconds (119.012 mph).
“Both poles have now come from Mosport (CTMP’s former name) which is kind of funny now,” Verhagen said. “I guess this is kind of my track. The commitment level here is so high. On my first run I’d actually gone off in Turn 3, and it was sketchy. I was bouncing all over the dirt on the outside, just pushing a little bit too much, but was able to get it reined in.
“The Paul Miller Racing boys delivered me an amazing race car today, and I just can’t thank those guys enough. I tried a second time. I tried to see if I could improve it again, but there was no chance. That was everything we had.”
Ultimately the pole margin was less as several other cars got close, but not close enough, to topple the No. 1 BMW. Max Esterson made it a U.S. 1-2 in GTD PRO qualifying as the RLL Team McLaren No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO equaled its season-best start of second on the grid (also achieved at the Rolex 24 At Daytona), just 0.185 of a second in arrears.
The No. 1 car entered the weekend first in GTD PRO points, 60 ahead of the Nos. 3 and 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Coincidentally, the Nos. 3 and 4 Corvettes will start third and fourth for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix after qualifying in matching positions to their car numbers. The No. 3 Corvette in the hands of Alexander Sims was just 0.002 of a second behind the McLaren.
In its first GTD PRO qualifying attempt, Car Blanche slotted its No. 68 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo into fifth with Scott Andrews at the wheel.
GTD: Heart of Racing Team Completes a Saturday Pole Triple
With three different drivers, in three different specifications of Aston Martin Vantage cars, in three different series, on two different continents, Heart of Racing Team was first on the qualifying timesheets.
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello completed Heart of Racing Team’s pole-winning triple play on Saturday in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD). It’s his second Motul Pole Award of the season (Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring) and the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo’s third (Zacharie Robichon, Rolex 24 At Daytona) this season. Additionally, the No. 27 car started first at Watkins Glen based on championship points as the GTD qualifying session did not meet the guaranteed minimum green flag time.
Barrichello, the GTD championship leader, set his best lap of 1 minute, 15.130 seconds (117.827 mph) on his third of five total laps. Even more impressive was that he did it so quickly, as a five-minute hold at the start of the session was assessed for the team not performing a pre-qualifying torque sensor offset test.
“It was a bit scary, to be honest, that the tire wouldn’t get ready,” Barrichello laughed. “As soon as I hit the pit limiter button, I just pushed as fast as I could and I don’t know, it seemed to be pretty good. And the car was very good. The track is very enjoyable as well, a high commitment track which I really like.”
Barrichello followed Hannah Greenemeier, who won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) pole to start Saturday’s activity, and Kobe Pauwels, who won the FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 class pole at Sao Paulo, Brazil.
It’s a multi-continent weekend for the Heart of Racing Team outfit, where coincidentally, Pauwels is filling in for Brazilian driver Barrichello in the similar Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 Evo at the FIA WEC Sao Paulo race. Greenemeier won her pole in the team’s GT4-specification Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo.
Meanwhile at CTMP, Roman De Angelis – who’s Barrichello’s roommate – is filling in for Tom Gamble in the No. 27 car as Gamble is racing an Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie in Sao Paulo.
“I’m happy to do it in Canada,” Barrichello added. “It is my first time at the track and it’s Roman’s home track as well, so super proud to do it. We’ve been talking about it the whole year because we knew we’re gonna share the car and we’re roommates. So, you know, we just are enjoying ourselves out there and he’s helped me a lot. So, happy days. I haven’t won a race, so I can’t wait to win one. I’ll be trying my best tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure Roman will as well, so we’ll see.”
Mason Filippi followed his win in Saturday’s aforementioned Michelin Pilot Challenge race in a Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR with an immediate runner-up spot on the grid in his No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. He’ll start and Robert Wickens, back for his first WeatherTech Championship since winning the pole and finishing sixth with Filippi at Long Beach, should finish.
“Our Corvette was really hooked up in that first sector,” Filippi said. “It’s my first time ever qualifying in GT3, and it was a lot of fun… probably the most fun I’ve had in a racecar ever. DXDT Racing gave me a great car, and I really appreciate them giving me such a good Corvette today. We’re looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
The first Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, Lamborghini and BMW apiece made it six different brands from the top six positions heading into Sunday’s race in GTD.
Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix goes green at 2:10 p.m. ET, with flag-to-flag streaming live on Peacock in the U.S. and the IMSA Official YouTube channel starting at 2 p.m. ET.