Richard Westbrook took Spirit of Daytona Racing to its first pole of the year as the team look to turn its fortunes around at Laguna Seca.
The defending winner of the Laguna Seca round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series set a time of 1:21.557 seconds, putting the #90 Corvette DP on the front of the grid, just 0.021 seconds ahead of the fellow Corvette DP of Velocity Worldwide, driven by Max Angelelli.
“I like this place,” said Westbrook, taking his fourth career pole and second in two attempts at Laguna Seca. “It was not easy for us here last year, but the competition is so much stronger this year, you really have to work to get an advantage. We’re not happy with the way this season has gone; it’s been really tough for everyone. I’m proud of the way the team has bounced back. Tomorrow is very important for us.”
Third was taken by the #42 Team Sahlen BMW/Riley of Dane Cameron, who will be joined on the second row by a pair of Indy 500 winners, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon in a similar BMW/Riley.
Going in to the final two races of the season, only five points separates the top ten drivers, with Angelelli and co-driver Jordan Taylor out front. They will have a strong chance to pull out a margin on their rivals going in to the final race, as Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa will start down in fifth, while reigning champions Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas could only manage to qualify in seventh.
GT Class pole went to John Edwards in the #57 Stephenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro, beating road course veteran Boris Said to take his third pole of the season, while Tristan Nunez took his third straight pole in the GX class with his #00 Mazda 6.
“We’ve got a really good car on sticker tires,” said Edwards. “Our goal for tomorrow is to get better on older tires.”
