Acura Breaks BMW’s Pole Streak at Detroit’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic
In a significant turn of events at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Acura’s Nick Yelloly secured pole position for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in Detroit, ending BMW’s run of four consecutive poles. Yelloly, driving the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 for Meyer Shank Racing, clocked a blistering 1m05.762s lap, stunning the competition with his performance.
Following a strong showing from BMW M Team RLL’s Sheldon van der Linde, who led early with a fast time of 1m06.078s, Yelloly reclaimed the top spot with just minutes remaining in the qualifying session. Tom Blomqvist, also from Meyer Shank Racing, took the second-fastest time at 1m05.908s, resulting in an all-Acura front row.
Dries Vanthoor’s streak came to an end as he qualified fourth in the No. 24 BMW, while the two Porsche Penske Motorsport entries—Matt Campbell in the No. 6 and Nick Tandy in the No. 7—rounded out the top six. Tandy retained his championship lead despite losing his best lap due to a red flag in practice.
In GTD PRO, Ford Multimatic Motorsports clinched the front row, with Sebastian Priaulx in the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 securing pole at 1m10.922s. Christopher Mies qualified alongside him in the No. 65, slightly behind at 1m11.251s.
The session was marred by an incident involving DragonSpeed’s Rasmus Lindh, who crashed into the wall, bringing out a red flag. His No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 will start at the back of the GTD PRO grid.
Jack Hawksworth placed third in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, followed closely by Neil Verhagen and Dan Harper in the Paul Miller Racing BMWs. Tommy Milner’s No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R qualified sixth, while championship leader Klaus Bachler will start eighth.
A 20-minute practice session is scheduled for Saturday morning, followed by the 100-minute race at 3:40 p.m. ET, streamed on Peacock and IMSA’s official channels.
Key Qualifying Results:
-
GTP
- Nick Yelloly (Acura ARX-06) – 1m05.762s
- Tom Blomqvist (Acura ARX-06) – 1m05.908s
- Sheldon van der Linde (BMW M Hybrid V8) – 1m06.078s
- Dries Vanthoor (BMW M Hybrid V8) – 1m06.276s
- Matt Campbell (Porsche 963) – 1m06.409s
- Nick Tandy (Porsche 963) – 1m06.598s
- GTD PRO
- Sebastian Priaulx (Ford Mustang GT3) – 1m10.922s
- Christopher Mies (Ford Mustang GT3) – 1m11.251s
- Jack Hawksworth (Lexus RC F GT3) – 1m11.662s
- Neil Verhagen (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) – 1m11.915s
- Dan Harper (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) – 1m12.013s
- Tommy Milner (Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R) – 1m12.306s
- Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R) – 1m12.723s
The race promises exciting competition as teams gear up for a battle on the streets of Detroit.
