Blomqvist secured pole position at the challenging Canadian road course during the qualifying session. His impressive lap time of 1m05.653s put him just 0.081s ahead of Ricky Taylor from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport ARX-06.
Derani Sets Benchmark, but Taylor Takes Second
Pipo Derani initially set the benchmark with a lap time of 1m06.502s in the Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R. However, Taylor managed to surpass this time with a quick lap of 1m05.734s. Despite his efforts, Derani remained in third place, 0.176s behind Blomqvist.
Bourdais and Nasr Secure Top Positions
Sebastien Bourdais from Chip Ganassi Racing finished in fourth place, while Felipe Nasr from Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 took fifth place. Nasr was eight tenths off the pole position, but his performance was still commendable.
The BMWs faced challenges during the race due to Mosport’s bumpy track. Despite this, Augusto Farfus managed to secure sixth place in the first M Hybrid V8, just slightly ahead of his teammate Nick Yelloly.
In the LMP3 category, Gar Robinson clinched pole position in his #74 Riley-run Ligier. He was followed by Orey Fidani in the #13 AWA Duqueine and Ari Balogh in the #30 Jr III Racing Ligier.
In the GTD category, the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantages driven by Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis initially led the way. Riberas set an impressive lap time of 1m15.314s in the Pro class car, while De Angelis followed closely behind with a time of 1m15.478s in the pro-am entry.
Jack Hawksworth set a new track record of 1m15.029s in his all-Pro #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F, taking over the lead in GTD. Jules Gounon secured second place in the WeatherTech Racing Mercedes with a lap time of 1m15.250s, but his performance was overshadowed by an incident with Hawksworth.
Behind the Aston Martins, Jordan Taylor’s Corvette C8.R finished in fifth place, with Frankie Montecalvo’s #12 Lexus following closely behind. Montecalvo secured second place in the pro-am class, ahead of Klaus Bachler from Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 and Madison Snow from Paul Miller Racing BMW M4.
Overall, the qualifying session at the Canadian road course showcased impressive performances and tight competition across various categories. Blomqvist emerged as the pole position winner, setting the stage for an exciting race.
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