Van Berlo Storms to Michelin Encore Pole

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

Kay van Berlo has claimed pole for this afternoon’s Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring International Raceway, in an impressive qualifying run for the young Dutchman in his U.S. racing debut.

Van Berlo reeled off a 1:57.102 lap in the No. 26 K2R Motorsports Ligier JS P3 Nissan to clear the LMP3 field by more than 1 second in the fast-paced session.

The 17-year-old outran the second-placed No. 13 ANSA Motorsports Ligier of Roman De Angelis by 1.161 seconds.

Van Berlo will share driving duties of the AERO-sponsored Ligier with Matt Bell and Jim McGuire in the four-hour enduro.

Guy Cosmo qualified third in the No. 84 JDC Motorsports Ligier, which bounced back from a broken header, while the No. 33 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier of Max Hanratty was fourth.

The No. 40 Polestar Motor Racing Ligier of Keith Grant completed the top-five overall and in LMP3.

Martin, Cirone Claim GT4, TCR Poles

Dean Martin took his No. 60 Roush Performance / KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 to a commanding class pole position.

Martin recorded a best lap of 2:11.352, outpacing the No. 22 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Jason Bell by more than three seconds.

The No. 93 Carbahn Motorsports Audi of Mark Siegel qualified third in class.

While Martin will share driving duties with Nate Stacy and Kyle Marcelli, Andy Lally has been a late addition to the No. 22 GMG Audi, alongside Bell and team owner James Sofronas.

Mark Motors’ Marc Cirone, meanwhile, picked up the pole in TCR, thanks to a 2:14.426 lap time in his No. 82 Audi RS 3 LMS TCR.

The Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore gets underway at 12 p.m. ET with live coverage on IMSA.tv.

RESULTS: Qualifying (LMP3)
RESULTS: Qualifying (GT

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