Monterey SportsCar Championship: Qualifying Summary
In a decisive qualifying session for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Dries Vanthoor and BMW M Team RLL continued their streak of pole positions, securing the top spot for the fourth consecutive race. Vanthoor’s lap of 1:12.854 placed the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 at the front, edging out the competition by a mere 0.005 seconds.
The intensity of the session was palpable as Vanthoor initially set the benchmark mid-way through, nearly matching last year’s GTP course record. Close behind, Matt Campbell in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 claimed second with a lap of 1:12.859. Nick Tandy also performed strongly for the No. 7 Penske Porsche, rounding out the front row in third with a time of 1:12.932.
Ricky Taylor’s late charge in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R secured fourth, while Tom Blomqvist’s performance in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 placed him fifth. Sheldon van der Linde’s sixth-place effort in the No. 25 BMW M further indicated the competitiveness of the field, with the top ten comprised of notable competitors including Jordan Taylor, Nick Yelloly, and Gianmaria Bruni.
In the GTD PRO class, Giacomo Altoe delivered a standout performance, driving the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 to pole position with a lap of 1:20.608, successfully navigating the tight competition from Chevrolet Corvettes. Alexander Sims and Dan Harper followed in tight succession, with devices measuring the difference between their times within mere fractions—Sims ultimately qualifying fourth, pushed back by Harper’s strong final lap.
Kenton Koch’s record-setting lap secured pole position for the GTD class in the No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3. His 1:20.810 edged out the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette by just 0.009 seconds, further emphasizing the razor-thin margins present throughout qualifying. Following Koch were Casper Stevenson and Onofrio Triarsi, the latter showing impressive resilience after a recent major rebuild of his car.
The Monterey SportsCar Championship race commences on Sunday at 12:10 PM PT, set to broadcast on Peacock and internationally via IMSA’s YouTube channel.
Notable Changes: Following post-qualifying inspections, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Vantage was disqualified, pushing Triarsi up to third and affecting the starting positions for multiple competitors.
This championship weekend promises exciting competition as teams vie for dominance in one of the series’ key events.
