It turns out the Acura ARX-06 still knows how to dominate qualifying. At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Tom Blomqvist rocketed around the 2.54-mile course in 1 minute, 9.703 seconds for an average of 131.184 mph, securing pole position for the 29th annual Motul Petit Le Mans.
Driving the No. 60 machine fielded by Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, Blomqvist laid down the benchmark that left everyone else chasing. He will share the car Saturday with Colin Braun and Scott Dixon. Nick Yelloly made sure it was a dream session for the team by locking out the front row, putting MSR's No. 93 entry second with a lap of 1:09.925 at an average of 130.768 mph. Yelloly shares that car with Renger van der Zande and IndyCar champion Alex Palou, making them the only two entries to break the 1:10 barrier all afternoon.
the Pegasus livery for this weekend instead of the usual purple
Behind the Acura beasts, Sheldon van der Linde qualified third in the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 alongside co-drivers Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns. Meanwhile, Jack Aitken slotted into fourth aboard the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, positioning himself to secure the GTP championship as long as he leaves the grid for Saturday's race. His closest challenger, Laurin Heinrich, qualified seventh in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, leaving an unofficial gap of 151 points.
For Blomqvist and the Meyer Shank crew, this pole tastes extra sweet after a brutal Thursday. The No. 60 suffered through free practice issues that severely limited their track time, forcing the mechanics to work late into the night. It marks Blomqvist's back-to-back poles at Michelin Raceway and his third overall at the track, coming at a crucial moment as the manufacturer and team prepare for a planned pause after Saturday's 10-hour season finale.
Over in LMP2, PJ Hyett finally broke a 14-month drought to take his first pole since August of last year at Road America. Hyett wrestled the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07—adorned in a striking red "Rockie" the Pegasus livery for this weekend instead of the usual purple "Spike" the Dragon look—to a lap of 1 minute, 12.944 seconds at 125.356 mph. He shares the car with Dane Cameron and Jonny Edgar.
Hyett bested LMP2 championship leader Jeremy Clarke, who clocked a 1:13.167 in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 that he shares with Tom Dillmann and Bijoy Garg. Clarke and Dillmann head into the finale holding a 10-point advantage over George Kurtz and Alex Quinn, with Kurtz qualifying fifth fastest. While Hyett and Cameron still harbour outside championship hopes sitting 105 points back, putting "Rockie" on pole right out of the box was a statement start to the weekend.
