Double IMSA poles for Porsche as Zacharie Robichon takes GTD pole at VIR

obichon earned the GT Daytona (GTD) class Motul Pole Award on the final lap of the 15-minute session.

Zacharie Robichon proved that every lap counts during his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying performance on Saturday at VIRginia International Raceway.

Driving the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, Robichon earned the GT Daytona (GTD) class Motul Pole Award on the final lap of the 15-minute session. His time of one minute, 45.826 seconds (111.238 mph) bumped Frankie Montecalvo from the top spot by just .324 seconds, which Montecalvo posted only one lap prior.

Sunday will be the second time Robichon leads the WeatherTech Championship GTD class to green this season. He was awarded the top spot at the Detroit Grand Prix in June following a disqualification of the initial pole winner.

“I mean credit goes out to the team on this one,” said Robichon, who will be co-driving with Scott Hargrove in Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge. “They made the right call. They got the timing right. I think we got the extra lap on everybody else. I was just a tenth behind before that, but I think because of that last lap we were able to put it in. It was a little bit exciting.”

Robichon and the Pfaff Motorsports team are currently riding a winning streak. They scored back-to-back victories at Lime Rock Park last month and Road America three weeks ago. Robichon and Hargrove will be seeking their first victory as co-drivers, with Robichon winning alongside Dennis Olsen at Lime Rock and with Matt Campbell at Road America.

“It was a new team at the beginning of the year, and we’ve been able to come together as a team,” said Robichon. “We’ve been working together now as a crew at this level, and everybody knows their task, everybody is executing perfectly. The potential has been there all along, but we’ve finally been able to start hitting our stride.”

Montecalvo’s time in the No. 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, ultimately held on for the outside front row starting spot. His teammate Richard Heistand in the No. 14 Lexus will start third.

A pair of Acura NSX GT3s swept the fourth and fifth positions, with Trent Hindman in the No. 86 Acura for Meyer Shank Racing posting the fourth quick time and Alice Powell, in her IMSA debut, earning the fifth spot in the No. 57 Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing Acura.

Laurens Vanthoor grabbed the GTLM pole in the No. 912 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR.

NBCSN will televise the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR live at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio.

Sights from the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, Saturday August 24, 2019

Source: Read Full Article