IMSA Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen: Qualifying Report
Watkins Glen, NY – Renger van der Zande set a new GTP course record, earning pole position for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen alongside teammates Nick Yelloly and rookie Kakunoshin ‘Kaku’ Ohta in the #93 Acura ARX-06. Van der Zande recorded a blistering time of 1:31.558 on his first flying lap, surpassing Louis Deletraz’s previous record from last year.
The #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R, piloted by Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Frederik Vesti, qualified second with a time of 1:31.845. The #60 Acura MSR, driven by Colin Braun, secured the third position, while Wayne Taylor Racing’s blue #10 Cadillac took fourth, followed by Deletraz in the #40 car in fifth.
The qualifying session saw strong performances from the Team RLL BMWs, but Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor eventually finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Mathieu Jaminet qualified eighth in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, followed by Ross Gunn in a surprising ninth with the #23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie. Romain Grosjean rounded out the top 12 in the #63 Lamborghini SC63.
In the LMP2 class, PJ Hyett in the #99 AO Racing ORECA 07-Gibson dominated qualifying, clinching pole with a time of 1:35.878, despite a recent engine failure in practice. TDS Racing’s Steven Thomas followed closely in second, with United Autosports’ Daniel Goldburg and Nick Boulle securing third and fourth, respectively.
In GTD PRO, Andrea Caldarelli delivered a standout performance in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, achieving pole with a time of 1:44.595. Dan Harper in the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO qualified second, while Nicky Catsburg in the #4 Pratt Miller Chevrolet Corvette placed third. GTD points leader Klaus Bachler struggled, qualifying ninth in the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.
GTD witnessed Zacharie Robichon claim pole for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, with a time of 1:44.788. Alec Udell in the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette qualified second, and Daniel Morad and Russell Ward rounded out the second row in their Mercedes-AMG entries.
Race Details:
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen is set to start tomorrow at 12:10 PM ET, with coverage available in over 200 countries via IMSA’s YouTube channel and IMSA.TV. In the US, the race will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock.
