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WeatherTech Championship

Aschenbach Takes Detroit GTD Pole

Lawson Aschenbach has Audi on the GTD pole at Belle Isle…

Photo: Brian Cleary/bcpix.com

Lawson Aschenbach fended off all comers to win a hotly-contested pole position in GT Daytona for Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic on the streets of Belle Isle.

Aschenbach’s fast lap came with just seconds remaining in the rapid-fire qualifying session, putting his Stephenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS GT3 at the top of the time sheets, trailed by Katherine Legge in the No. 93 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 who made her last lap count to leap from seventh to the outside of the front row.

2016 Detroit pole-sitter Bryan Sellers charged to third late in the session in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. He’ll have Corey Lewis’ Lamborghini starting outside of him Saturday after a strong performance in the No. 16 machine for Change Racing.

Scott Pruett briefly held the top spot in the final minutes before being shuffled to fifth, but it was still a strong performance in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 for Michigan-based 3GT Racing.

Daniel Morad in sixth and Christina Nielsen in seventh, along with the top-five qualifiers, all turned laps under last year’s pole time at Belle Isle.

Of note, the No. 86 Acura of Ozz Negri and Jeff Segal did turn a lap during the qualifying session after extensive repairs forced the car to miss the second practice due to damage sustained in an accident in Practice 1, but will start from the back of the GTD grid Saturday.

The 100-minute Chevrolet Sports Car Classic is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. ET on Saturday with live television coverage on FS2 starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying

Ryan Myrehn is an Indianapolis-based broadcaster and reporter. In addition to his work covering primarily domestic sports car racing for Sportscar365, he is the lead announcer for SRO America's TV coverage as well as a pit reporter for IndyCar Radio. Myrehn, a graduate of DePauw University, is also the host of Sportscar365's “Double Stint” Podcast.

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