Montoya Leads Acura Team Penske Front Row Lockout

Photo: IMSA

Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves have given Acura Team Penske a front row lockout for this afternoon’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Montoya, in the No. 6 Acura ARX-05, scored the team’s fifth consecutive pole of the season, thanks to a 1:15.174 lap time.

The Colombian was 0.159 seconds quicker than Castroneves, who had rebounded following a controversial on-track run-in with the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R in Saturday’s second practice session.

It marked Montoya’s third career WeatherTech Championship pole and third straight for the No. 6 car after co-driver Dane Cameron’s top qualifying runs in the last two races.

The No. 77 Multimatic-run Mazda RT24-P of Oliver Jarvis will roll off third on the grid ahead of Pipo Derani, who qualified the Whelen Engineering-sponsored Cadillac in fourth.

Tristan Vautier completed the top-five in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling/JDC-Miller Cadilac.

DPi championship leader Ryan Briscoe will roll off seventh on the grid with a 1:15.729 lap time by the Australian.

LMP2 champions-elect PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and Patrick Kelly took to the track for the first time since opening practice on Saturday, with Kelly claiming pole in the class, which featured only a single entry this weekend.

Corvette Claims Fourth Consecutive GTLM Pole

Jordan Taylor claimed the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R’s fourth consecutive pole in GT Le Mans, continuing the team’s mark in the class.

Taylor’s 1:21.483 lap time, a new class qualifying track record, was 0.242 seconds faster than the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Laurens Vanthoor in second.

The Belgian’s time came after an off-course excursion in Turn 1, which did not result in any damage to his Porsche.

Teammate Fred Makowiecki, who only joined the session late, did not set a representative time after calling off his flying lap.

Oliver Gavin qualified third in the No. 4 Corvette, followed by the pair of Team RLL-run BMW M8 GTEs in fourth and fifth in class.

MSR Acura on Top in McMurry’s First GTD Pole

Matt McMurry scored pole in GT Daytona for Meyer Shank Racing and Acura, in an effort to keep their championship hopes alive.

McMurry reeled off a best time of 1:25.126 in the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo to edge out Robby Foley’s No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 by just 0.014 seconds.

It marked McMurry’s first GTD class pole in the car he will share with Mario Farnbacher this afternoon.

The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Cooper MacNeil will start third ahead of Misha Goikhberg in the sister MSR Acura in fourth.

Frankie Montecalvo completed the top-five in class, while teammate and championship leader Aaron Telitz will roll off from 11th after not setting a representative time due to a slow right-rear puncture that forced the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 to pit early.

The Monterey Sports Car Championship gets underway at 1:05 p.m. PT with live coverage on Trackpass on NBC Sports Gold and IMSA Radio. The race will air on a tape-delayed basis on NBCSN starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John