Clarke: ‘The competition is really intense this year’
The #43 Inter Europol Competition squad just missed out on a great result last year with a massive crash from the lead, which injured driver Tom Dillmann. Today, Jeremy Clarke put in a massive lap, smashing the seven-year LMP2 lap record set by Matt McMurry in 2019 (since the separation of DPi/GTP from LMP2) and setting his team up for a redemption effort tomorrow.
“It’s a great start to the race tomorrow, and hopefully we just continue that momentum [into Sunday],” said Clarke.
“I think last year we were fighting from mid-pack and kind of had to get in, and now we’re starting to step up. So that’s hopefully a better end result than where we were towards the end of the race last year.”
The Bronze driver extracted every last bit from the car, pushing the ORECA to the limit. “I don’t know if there was a whole lot left. I think it was a couple of corners left when I was like, I knew I had to go, and when I thought I could, I just went full throttle, no matter what. I just had to trust the car.”
Clarke beat out regular LMP2 qualifying juggernaut PJ Hyett in the #99 AO Racing car, who finished the session in third position (before failing post-qualifying technical inspection), as well as Misha Goikhberg in the #52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen car, which topped both practice sessions this weekend. Just over half a second separated the top five cars in qualifying, an especially competitive session before Clarke threw down the gauntlet.
“I mean, the field’s super tough right now. You know, I’ve been very fortunate this year, but as you’ve seen, a lot of the qualifying has been very close the whole time. The competition is really intense this year, and so you have to really be able to focus and get that one lap in.”
Verhagen after consecutive GTD Pro poles: ‘I guess I do like this place’
In two appearances at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Neil Verhagen in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW has gone two-for-two in pole positions. The BMW M factory driver seems to shift into a new gear on the fast, demanding track because of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO’s particular attributes.
“I think this [track] works very well with out car, the long wheelbase of the M4 GT3 EVO, and the high speed corners here, give us a lot of high speed stability,” said Verhagen. “The confidence to be able to fire the car in on all the high speed stuff, I think, is where we make most of the difference.”
“Not a lot of very heavy braking zones as well too, which also suits our car. I think just the combination between those two things, and at the end of the day just switching the brain off and sending it and hoping for the best.”
“I guess I do like this place,” said the young American.
After winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the season, the #1 Paul Miller BMW of Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi has had some consistently good results this season, including a second-place finish last time out at Watkins Glen. Last year, the #1 crew weren’t able to convert pole to victory, but the BMW looks like the car to beat going into Sunday.
Eduardo ‘Dudu’ Barrichello put the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin on pole this afternoon in just a five-lap effort after recieving a penalty for a torque sensor infringement prior to qualifying, giving him a five-minute hold penalty and reducing the already short session. Barrichello was 0.243 seconds quicker than the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette, scoring the Heart of Racing team their third pole position of the day.
Counting the Michelin Pilot Challenge pole with Hannah Greenemeier in the #26 Vantage GT4 Evo, as well as the #23 Heart of Racing squad in the LMGT3 class at the WEC 6 Hours of São Paolo earlier today at Barrichello’s home race, it has been a good day for the Heart of Racing Aston Martins.
“Three poles in one day. It’s pretty rare that happened, and yeah, everybody’s been doing a really good job in the Heart of Racing, and I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Barrichello.
“You mentioned that it was pole position in Brazil… I’m pretty happy to be here, but it would be quite nice to be there as well.”
While the Brazilian driver is missing his home race to be here at CTMP, his teammate Roman De Angelis is making a guest appearance in the GTD car here at home for him. The two drivers in the #27 are good friends and even roommates, which helps with their chemistry in the car.
When asked when his team informed him of his five-minute hold, Barrichello said that he only learned five minutes before qualifying began. “They told me about five minutes before quali, so I wouldn’t stress out too much. It didn’t really work.”
It didn’t concern the driver too much to lose focus, clearly having the upper hand this afternoon. “I had to really push because I didn’t really know how the tyres should be warmed or anything like that. I just tried my best, and the car was pretty good. So here we are!”
Lampe scores first MX-5 Cup victory
Rookie Ethan Lampe in the #31 Hendricks Motorsports Mazda MX-5 won Race 1 of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup at CTMP with a comfortable gap to his fellow finishers, just in time for a last-lap caution which secured his victory.
Front-runners Jared Thomas in the #96 JTR Motorsports Engineering and Jeremy Fletcher in the #22 McCumbee McAleer Racing cars looked primed for a shot at the win before Thomas got spun in the exit of the final corner, bringing Fletcher to a halt on track and tumbling down the order. Fletcher lost a wheel onto the racing line in turn five earlier on the same lap, coincidentally, which caused the last-minute full-course yellow.
Bobby Gosset finished second in the #44 BSI Racing car, carving through the field from sixth with three laps remaining, making the move on Marcello Paniccia in the #38 McCumbee McAleer Racing car in the knick of time as they approached turn five with yellow flags looming.
Gresham Wagner was spotted expressing frustration early in the race after contact with the #95 BSI Racing car (Julian DaCosta) on the first lap, retiring the series veteran. Standings leader Justin Adakonis, who finished fourth in the #23 McCumbee McAleer Racing car, may be happy with a top-five result after knowing that the next closest driver to him in the standings, Jared Thomas, finished 15th.
It was a clean race by MX-5 cup standards. We will see if the hard, competitive racing will continue into tomorrow.
Images © IMSA
