First Pilot Challenge Pole For Machavern
Dillon Machavern collected the first IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge pole of his career in qualifying for the Sahlen’s 120 at The Glen. The 2017 Grand Sport (GS) champion and driver of the #95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 posted the fastest lap among the 20 GS entries, at 1:54.897 (106.530 mph), putting him and co-driver Bill Auberlen at the head of the field for Friday’s two-hour race.
Ryan Hardwick qualified second in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, at 1:55.058 (106.381 mph).
Harry Gottsacker led a Hyundai swarm at the top of Touring Car (TCR) class qualifying. Driving the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR, Gottsacker sped around Watkins Glen in 1:57.444 (104.219 mph) to secure his first Motul Pole Award of the season.
Brian Henderson, in the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR, was second quick (1:57.605, 104.077 mph) and the only non-Hyundai in the top five. The two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race takes the green flag at 2:35 p.m. ET Friday.
Krantz Tops Prototype Challenge Qualifying For Muehlner Motorsport
The top two in the IMSA Prototype Challenge point standings finished 1-2 in qualifying for Friday’s race at Watkins Glen. Championship leader Moritz Kranz edged Josh Sarchet by 0.379 seconds and will lead the field to the green flag in the one-hour, 45-minute race.
Kranz’s fast lap in the #21 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine D08 was 1:41.228 (120.915 mph) and made him a perfect 4-for-4 in Motul Pole Award qualifying this season. The German has won two of the first three Prototype Challenge races this season.
Sarchet, who shares the #54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 with Dakota Dickerson, was timed at 1:41.607 (120.464 mph) to earn the outside front row starting position. Sarchet and Dickerson, who have finished on the podium in all three 2021 races but have yet to win, trail Kranz by 40 points leading into the race.
Pics Jake Galstad/ IMSA
