Andrea Caldarelli has claimed the top starting spot for the upcoming Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. Driving the #9 Lamborghini Temerario GT3 for Pfaff Motorsports, the Italian racer recorded a blistering lap time of 1 minute, 44.773 seconds on the challenging 3.27-mile, 18-turn road course, securing his third career IMSA pole.
In the fiercely contested GTD Pro class, Nicky Catsburg, representing Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, finished a mere 0.151 seconds behind Caldarelli. Paul Miller Racing's Neil Verhagen, driving the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, secured the third position, trailing Caldarelli by just 0.184 seconds. Early in the session, Frederic Vervisch of Ford Racing set an initial pace of 1m45.684s, followed by Alexander Sims, but Caldarelli eventually overtook them with his leading lap. Verhagen briefly held the top spot before Caldarelli's decisive lap. Despite a penalty for causing a red flag in practice, Verhagen's final time placed him third. Max Esterson in the RLL Team McLaren's #59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and Valentin Hasse-Clot in the Car Blanche #68 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo completed the top five in GTD Pro.
Meanwhile, in the GTD category, Casper Stevenson of DragonSpeed secured pole position with a lap of 1m45.188s in the #81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. This marks DragonSpeed's second consecutive pole at VIR, despite the team announcing its departure from IMSA next season. Lorenzo Patrese from Conquest Racing, driving the #34 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, secured second place, just 0.058 seconds behind Stevenson. Russell Ward of Winward Racing, in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3, took third. Danny Formal of Wayne Taylor Racing, despite a momentary incident, managed to place the #45 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo in fourth, with Patrick Gallagher of Turner Motorsport finishing fifth in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 Evo.
These qualifying results set the stage for an exciting race, showcasing the talent and precision of the drivers and the advanced engineering of their machines. The competition highlights the relentless pursuit of excellence and the dynamic nature of motorsport, where every fraction of a second can determine victory.