Aitken Feared Making Hyperpole Would Be a “Challenge”

Jack Aitken was unsure both Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars would even make Hyperpole for the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, let alone secure a 1-2, given the tightly-matched nature of the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

All 17 Hypercar entries were within 0.739 seconds in the first part of qualifying but both Cadillac V-Series.Rs progressed in first and sixth places.

They then topped the Hyperpole session with Aitken looking on course to take pole with a 1:23.089 in the No. 38 car until Will Stevens improved right at the end in the No. 12 machine to snare top spot with a 1:23.041.

The top-four were separated by less than a tenth, but the result marked Cadillac’s second successive pole around Interlagos after Alex Lynn topped qualifying last year ahead of the team taking a 1-2 in the race.

When asked if he was feeling confident going into qualifying, Aitken told Sportscar365: “No, I thought it was going to be very tight.

“Going into the first qualifying session, we were wondering if it was going to be a challenge to even get into Hyperpole because we’ve seen that some of the new manufacturers are showing a lot of pace now and some of the other cars are in the mix as well so we knew there was a bunch of manufacturers that could be quick.

“With two cars from each manufacturer, the spaces in Hyperpole very quickly fill up but obviously we executed it well and managed to get through.

“Last year the Cadillacs were very strong here so we know it’s a track that suits us a little bit but I think the pack has caught up.”

Aitken said it was the perfect response to the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Cadillac came away with just a fourth place after both JOTA-run cars had looked in contention for victory.

“It was really good from the team to bounce back from a disappointing Le Mans where we were hoping for our best result so far and we came very close to challenging for that win,” he said.

“We’ve been digesting that, dissecting it and looking at what we could do differently, so to come back here strong is really nice.”

Aitken had to conclude his Hyperpole session early after a mistake forced him to pit before the end and opened the door to his teammate Stevens.

“I did a decent lap to start and then at the end I was on a better lap but I didn’t finish it and made a mistake at the end and Will just managed to put it all together,” Aitken added.

“He did a really good job and it’s obviously fantastic we’re both on the front row and hopefully we can control the race a little bit at the start.

“I just went a little bit deep on the brakes at Turn 10 but the tire was starting to get away from me a bit.”

Stevens was delighted to take a first WEC category pole in a decade but admitted he does not know the “real answer” why Cadillac is so strong around Interlagos.

“I think we, as a team, understand these type of tracks pretty well,” he added. “Obviously, coming here from winning last year and being super strong, we had a good foundation and base to start from.

“Even this year, with our new aero package and everything, it’s a pretty different car.

“So, to be able to get back-to-back poles and hopefully repeat the success tomorrow, I think it just shows what work this team does, even with a different package, so kudos to the team.”

With some weather forecasts predicting rain for Sunday’s race, Aitken said that having both cars at the front provides “more options” for the team strategically but added that “we don’t want to sacrifice either of the cars for that.”