Statement from Cadillac after qualifying results
Cadillac Racing programme manager, Keely Bosn, said the following after the #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 was penalised after qualifying, handing the top three positions on the grid to the three V-Series.Rs:
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the 1-2-3 qualifying result today. To take the first pole of the season and have all three Cadillacs qualify in the top three shows the strength and depth of our programme this season. The lap times were incredibly tight, and that just shows how competitive we are right now. Our drivers were on it and the entire team has worked tirelessly to make this happen.
“We’ve got a solid foundation heading into tomorrow’s race, and we’re all focused on fighting for the win. It’s a long race, but we have the pace, strategy, and driver talent to make it happen.”
“I’m pretty pleased. I think all the Cadillacs showed pretty well,” polesitter Jack Aitken said after he initially qualified second. “We had an OK practice, but it wasn’t entirely smooth. The nature of having so many cars on track here means getting clean laps, which was quite difficult. I think we’re in a good place. I’m pleased that we’ve come out today with a strong car and clean qualifying session, and I think a strong car for tomorrow.”
Aitken qualified first in the #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R, ahead of the two Wayne Taylor Racing cars.
Points after qualifying
Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet have extended their GTP championship lead over Porsche Penske Motorsport stablemates Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy via Campbell’s impressive qualifying run. The gap went from 75 points at the start of the weekend, to 81 points.
Similarly in GTD PRO, Corvette Racing’s Antonio García and Alexander Sims extended their championship lead over Albert Costa from 53 to 58 points.
The biggest gainer was Casper Stevenson, who went from 171 points behind Winward Racing’s Russell Ward and Philip Ellis, to 164 – still a big gap, but he is still within reach going into tomorrow’s race.
In LMP2, Daniel Goldburg gained two points on leaders PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron, cutting the gap just a little bit to 105 points.
Habul: Feeney ‘always on radar’ for 75 Express
While 75 Express’ third-place qualifying run was stricken from the books due to a technical infringement, Kenny Habul is looking forward to having Repco Supercars Championship leader Broc Feeney in his car for the first time.
“He’s a good friend of mine, he’s very quick, and I said, ‘Why don’t you come and have some fun?’ And I like it,” Habul said of the young Australian making his IMSA debut. “He’s always sort of on my radar.
“It’s been nice to see him as he’s got a little older, he’s found his rhythm, he’s just got raw speed – and it’s really impressive. And he’s a mate, and Chaz (Mostert) is a mate that drove with me here last year.”
Business commitments have curtailed Habul’s racing schedule this year but he hopes to make more appearances in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge.
“Hopefully next year I’ll do more of the IMSA series; that’s been the goal for the last three years, and I said, ‘Next year, we’ve got to do it,'” Habul said about his vision for next season.
“I think there’s some plans for the IGTC to be expanded a little bit next year, and add a few races. I’m a big supporter of that series, and we’ll do anything I can to help. As I am for IMSA – I’m a big supporter of this series, too.”
Jeansonne scores first Porsche Carrera Cup win; Yardley extends points lead
Given a second chance to convert pole into his first Porsche Carrera Cup North America win, Aaron Jeansonne led wire-to-wire for his first win aboard the #24 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
The MX-5 Cup graduate became the seventh different race winner this season, and came away from Indy with two podiums.
The #78 Topp Racing car of Ryan Yardley finished second, followed by Race 1 winner Zachary Vanier, who made another aggressive start and went from sixth to third on the first lap in his #9 JDX Racing car.
The #91 Kellymoss car of Riley Dickinson finished fourth, and with Yardley and Dickinson’s results, Yardley will take a provisional 10-point lead into Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta over 2023 champion Dickinson.
GMG Racing’s James Sofronas won in Pro-Am, while JP Martinez bounced back from his Race 1 incident to finish second. And after Alan Metni received a late penalty for incident responsibility, Martinez stretched his class championship lead to 38 points with four races left.
And with four races left, Scott Blind and Ruckus Racing have provisionally clinched the 2025 Masters class championship, following Blind’s ninth class win of the season.
Blind also won the championship in his class in the USAC-sanctioned Porsche Endurance Challenge North America, Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, and Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West.
Formal and Eriksson sweep Super Trofeo weekend
Danny Formal and Hampus Eriksson swept both Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America races at Indy, with Formal taking the chequered flag in Race 2 for the #1 Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán ST.
Bouncing back from swoons at Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen, the #1 duo have now won four races in a row to grab the points lead away from TR3 Racing’s Will Bamber and Elias de la Torre.
Jackson Lee and Trent Hindman took Pro-Am class honours and finished second overall once again in their #69 WTR Lamborghini.
The #4 ANSA Motorsport car of Colin Queen and Enzo Geraci was originally third overall, ahead of the #29 TR3 Racing car of Bamber/de la Torre. But both cars received 57 second post-race time penalties for overtaking outside of track limits late in the race, dropping them to 20th and 21st overall, and 8th/9th in the Pro class.
Thus, the #22 World Speed car (Scott Huffaker/Jaden Conwright) and the #8 WTR car (Nick Persing/Giano Taurino) finished third and fourth overall, rounding out the Pro podium.
Mateo Siderman swept the Am class in his #63 TR3 Racing car, and Nick Groat in the #57 ONE Motorsports car, with his seventh LB Cup class win, has unofficially clinched the championship in his category.
The race was interrupted by a lengthy safety car intervention after a three-car crash on the frontstretch; Conrad Geis, Sean McAuliffe, and Dean Neuls (whose car caught fire) all walked away.
Images © Jack Webster / dailysportscar.com
