David Ostella will start Saturday’s Pirelli World Challenge SprintX race from the pole, having taken M1 GT Racing’s Audi R8 LMS to the top spot in qualifying for the season-ending round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Ostella lapped the 2.238-mile Northern California circuit with a best time of 1:25.390, edging out the No. 79 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Cooper MacNeil by 0.183 seconds.
It marked the first SprintX pole for the team, with Ostella set to share driving duties with Dion von Moltke in the pair of 60-minute races, which feature a mid-race pit stop and driver change.
“Temperature was hotter this afternoon and that is tougher for us,” Ostella said. “But we made the adjustments and the car was outstanding. Hopefully the car is now good for the whole weekend.”
The No. 24 De La Torre Racing Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of Lars Vilojen will start third overall and in the GT class, followed by Tim Pappas in the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Porsche in fourth.
Championship leader Michael Mills, who has teamed up with BMW factory driver John Edwards this weekend, completed the top-five in his No. 46 BMW Z4 GT3.
The No. 37 Calvert Dynamics Ford Mustang Boss 302R, a late entry for this weekend’s event, grabbed GTS class pole in the hands of Kurt Rezzetano.
Rezzetano’s 1:31.271 lap outpaced the competition, comprised of a half-dozen Aston Martin Vantage GT4s, as well as the debuting Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR from GMG Racing.
David Askew, meanwhile, claimed the GT Cup class pole in his No. 63 DXDT Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo.
Askew reeled off a 1:31.392 lap in his V10-powered beast, adapted for PWC competition, enough to give the Italian manufacturer a 1-2 sweep in class in the car’s series debut.
The first SprintX race of the weekend gets underway Saturday at 4 p.m. PT.
RESULTS: Qualifying