Merrill, Wittmer Take Mid-Ohio Poles

Thomas Merrill (GS) and Karl Wittmer (TCR) will start from the front of their respective classes for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge headliner race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Merrill used a late-session flyer in his No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS to secure the top spot in GS, at a 1:26.331 to beat previous pacesetter Paul Holton in his No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO by 0.115 seconds.

The Portland-area based AR Motorsports team is new to IMSA – Merrill and co-driver David Hampton debuted in the series at Merrill’s home track of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – and to score a pole in only its second Pilot Challenge race came as something of a surprise to the IMSA veteran, who’s raced a variety of different cars and classes over his career.

The No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Dillon Machavern and Francis Selldorff, which has had strong pace all weekend, starts third. The point-leading No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS of Jan Heylen and Luca Mars will roll off eighth.

In TCR, Wittmer showcased Honda’s pace at a track very important to the manufacturer, one of its home venues.

The Canadian set a new lap record in qualifying in TCR in his No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR, 1:26.747, a lap that was quicker than all but five GS class cars.

Wittmer will share his car with LP Montour and Dai Yoshihara ahead of Sunday’s race; he broke his own record of 1:27.103 set last year.

The No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Harry Gottsacker and qualifying driver Mason Filippi was second, 0.306 seconds in arrears, with the similar Hyundai – the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team entry of Eric Powell and Tyler Gonzalez – in third.

The points-leading No. 76 BHA Hyundai of Preston Brown and Denis Dupont qualified 11th. That pair seeks its third straight four-hour Pilot Challenge race win, after also winning at Mid-Ohio last year and Daytona’s BMW M Endurance Challenge this year.

Sunday’s race goes green at noon ET on Peacock domestically and globally, ad-free courtesy of Michelin, on the IMSA Official YouTube channel.

RESULTS: Qualifying