Tunjo Takes COTA Pole, Goes Two-for-Two in Airbnb Qualifying

Oscar Tunjo is two-for-two in pole positions in IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge action, but even he had to admit his Friday pole in the No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport Duqueine D08 Nissan at Circuit of The Americas was a surprise.

At the track where Tunjo made his first IMSA start of 2025 with Gebhardt, the Colombian set a best lap of 2:00.060 on his seventh and final flying lap of the Grand Prix full length 3.4-mile COTA circuit, as opposed to the shorter National Course that IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge competitors raced in both 2025 and this season.

Tunjo emerged on top after a back-and-forth battle with Titus Sherlock, who received a late call-up to join the No. 95 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325 Toyota earlier this week filling in for Lincoln Day.

The No. 95 Ligier topped all three practice sessions, including the 15-minute session added immediately prior to qualifying when the track conditions were most representative of what teams would face in the 15-minute dash for pole.

Tunjo said he was surprised to extract what he did in the session. Nonetheless on his final lap, he finished 0.081 seconds ahead of Sherlock.

Tunjo will share his car with Valentino Catalano, while Sherlock will share with Wyatt Brichacek.

Travis Hill qualified third, best among Bronze Cup-classified entries, in the No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325 he shares with Nicole Havrda.

Toney’s second car, the No. 30 Ligier JS P325 of Ari Balogh and Garett Grist, was fourth ahead of the debuting No. 17 Crown Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan of Brady Clapham and Chris McMurry.

Two mandatory pit stops are required in Saturday’s race, in a change from the first endurance race of the season at Sebring. They can be served anytime after the first 15 minutes have elapsed until the final 15 minutes are underway.

Saturday’s two-hour race takes the green flag at 11:05 a.m.. CST (12:05 p.m. EST) and streams globally on IMSA’s YouTube channel.

RESULTS: Qualifying