Louis Delètraz and Wayne Taylor Racing each picked up their first IMSA pole positions since 2014: Delètraz won the pole at Watkins Glen that year, and Filipe Albuquerque qualified ‘P1’ in Road America the following round.
It was the first pole since WTR switched from Acura to Cadillac in 2025. The team’s struggles to return to victory lane since have been well-documented, but will the team finally grab that elusive first win with the V-Series.R tomorrow?
“Big thank you to Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing, because I think we really improved a lot the last six months,” Delètraz said following his third career IMSA pole. “The car has been consistently strong, and I think today is a good reward for everyone to put it on pole.
“Everyone saw last year. We had to learn, we definitely struggled more than we wanted. But since the start of this year, we’ve been a bit unlucky…but we’ve definitely had pace. If you ask all four drivers at Wayne Taylor, we all enjoy a lot more driving. We’re very happy with the car.”
For Jack Hawksworth, his 16th career pole position ties him with Ben Keating for the most poles in any class during the post-unification era (since 2014).
Lorenzo Patrese has won two poles in consecutive qualifying attempts, after winning the GTD pole at Motul Petit Le Mans for Conquest Racing last October.
Conquest Racing, which had been away from big-time motorsport for nearly a decade before returning to IMSA in 2024, took its first pole since the 2012 American Le Mans Series round at VIRginia International Raceway when the Morgan LMP2 of Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier Hansson won the P2 class pole. Much of that last statement reflects how times had changed.
But for both Hawksworth, who drives for car owner Jimmy Vasser, and for Italian driver Patrese, the memory of the dearly departed Alex Zanardi was with them both.
“I grew up and remember seeing the videos of him passing Bryan (Herta) into the corkscrew and things like that,” recalls fellow IndyCar alumnus Hawksworth. “And Jimmy was obviously teammates with him, and very good friends. It’s certainly extra special to the team and for Jimmy to be starting on the pole this weekend.”
“My dad (Riccardo Patrese) was also very close with Alex,” Patrese added. “And obviously, it’s not the easiest of days. But I’m happy to start on pole, in such a day. And for sure, it’s very nice how the world of motorsport in general is remembering him.”
Wickens optimistic of return for home race
Robert Wickens remained on site at Laguna Seca even after DXDT Racing’s withdrawal, addressing the media and supporting his colleagues at Bryan Herta Autosport ahead of the Michelin Pilot Challenge series race.
Wickens, who described Long Beach as his “most well-rounded event so far” since his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship return, said: “We were looking forward to this weekend to keep building on that momentum and to keep moving forward. Corvette was quick here last year, I’m sure they’re going to be quick here again. And we were really looking forward to the chance to continue what we already started in Long Beach.”
The primary car for Wickens and Mason Filippi was involved in DXDT’s transporter fire, along with the only Bosch hand control braking system constructed for the paraplegic racer.
“I don’t see any reasons why we can’t have something together for me by Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which is my next scheduled race anyway,” he confirmed. “Everyone at Bosch has been so supportive, and they’ve been no different here.
“The biggest delay will likely be adapting a new chassis with my hand controls, but all the development’s been done. It’s just the time and the mechanics and everything to do it. I joke that if we have a month, it’s going to take us a month – but if we have seven days, it’s gonna take us seven days!”
New Apple CEO chooses Laguna Seca over Miami
The two Apple Computer-liveried Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s have a big backer this weekend at Laguna Seca, one who’s as familiar with the circuit as any of the IMSA drivers in competition this weekend.
John Ternus is the Senior VP of Hardware Engineering at Apple and will succeed Tim Cook as the company’s CEO on 1 September 2026. Ternus frequently drives around Laguna Seca in his Porsche 911, and is reportedly quite quick if a recent Wall Street Journal profile is to be believed.
He is also a big fan of Formula 1, it has to be said, coinciding with Apple TV assuming the United States’ broadcasting rights to the series.
Not to engage in the classic punch-up of other series taking a swing at F1, it is a matter of fact that Ternus will forgo an appearance at F1’s first US round of 2026 in Miami to be at Laguna Seca instead, supporting the rare instance of Apple taking a brief moment to recognise its past on IMSA’s throwback weekend.
WTR’s Persing, Ericsson win Super Trofeo Race 1
The #29 TR3 Racing of Elias De La Torre and Dennis Lind took pole position for Race 1, finding their best pace on their final lap in the red-flag-shortened Qualifying 1 session. Lining up beside the #29 was the #33 XONINE Racing Huracán ST with Will Bamber and Darius Trinka at the wheel in second. In third was the #1 Wayne Taylor Racing machine driven by Nick Persing and Hampus Ericsson.
Joel Miller and Andrew Heffring in the #36 Kaizen Motorsports car were fastest in ProAm and fourth overall, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor car, second in class and fifth overall. The Am class was headed by the #47 Precision Performance Motorsports car, and the LB Cup class saw the #65 Taurino Racing car go quickest.
In Race 1, the #1 Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán finished first with Nick Persing and Hampus Ericsson showing their pace once again on Saturday after two strong performances in the practices and a good qualifying result.
After pitting earlier than the P1 and P2 cars in Pro with just under 30 minutes remaining, Persing in the #1 was quickly back up in net second position, three seconds back of Elias De La Torre in the pole-sitting #29 TR3 Racing machine.
Persing reeled in the #29 before closing up completely on De La Torre with ten minutes remaining, and in fact, causing a spin that would drop the TR3 car to second place. Race control handed the #1 a post-race ten-second time penalty. Persing pushed hard to build an 11-second gap in the final minutes of the race to retain the P1 finish despite the penalty.
Persing and Ericsson’s Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Graham Doyle and Danny Formal won in Pro-Am with the #10 car, keeping their nose clean and finishing one position better than they started the race. It was a 1-2 in Pro-Am for the Wayne Taylor cars, the #41 finishing 12 seconds back of the #10.
In the Am class, it was Anthony Bullock’s #12 XONINE Racing machine bringing home the victory, having started the race second in class, followed by the #57 XONINE Huracán with Nick Groat at the wheel.
LB Cup honours went to the #11 TB Autosports car driven by Canadian Philippe Touchette, who had a relatively quiet couple of practice sessions, followed by a strong P3 qualifying result that set him up nicely for today’s win.
There were three retirements, including the #55 Topp Racing Huracan, which caused the first and only full-course caution of the race on the second lap after beaching in turn three. The #70 TR3 Racing retired on lap ten, and the second-place qualifier, #33 XONINE Racing, stopped running on lap 11 immediately after its pit stop.
The Trofeo field has another shot at it Sunday with Race 2 beginning at 10:35 am PT (local time).
Images © IMSA
