IMSA starting lineup: Wayne Taylor Racing will start from the IMSA pole position at Watkins Glen International after Ricky Taylor qualified first in the No. 10 Acura with a 1-minute, 30.022-second lap.
Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, who are teamed with IndyCar star Alexander Rossi for this Michelin Endurance Cup race, are leading the points standings after victories in two of the first four races this season.
“The Acura is a fantastic car here at Watkins Glen,” Taylor said. “Coming here, we knew we’d be strong and we were really looking forward to it. This chassis and engine package was really designed to perform best at European-style tracks: really fast, flowing, and smooth circuits. So when we come to Watkins Glen, we know we can run the car low [to the ground] and take advantage of the horsepower and aero platform the Acura provides. For sure, I wouldn’t want to be in any other car here. It’s a dream to drive.”
The Meyer Shank Racing Acura made it a sweep of the top two in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen qualifying for Acura as Dane Cameron (who is teamed with Olivier Pla) turned a lap of 1:30.141.
SIX HOURS OF THE GLEN: Details for Sunday’s race
“I think I made a couple of small mistakes on the quick lap and I think that made a difference, so I am a little disappointed on that,” Cameron said. “But overall, we’ve had a good competitive weekend so far [leading both practice sessions prior to qualifying] and we’ve got a good car. Six hours is a long time, and I think there will be some different weather conditions to come so we will see how we get along on Sunday.”
Renger van der Zande qualified third in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac that he shares with Kevin Magnussen.
Kamui Kobayashi was fourth fastest in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac with teammates Simon Pagenaud and Jimmie Johnson (joined this weekend by former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Chad Knaus and a contingent of Hendrick Motorsports team members).
POLE POSITION! Awesome stuff from @WayneTaylorRcng, @AlbuquerqueFil and @AlexanderRossi so far this weekend. Tomorrow we go for it! #IMSA pic.twitter.com/dgjyEXEC7L
— Ricky Taylor (@RickyTaylorRace) June 26, 2021
The rest of the DPi division: Pipo Derani, No. 31 Action Express Cadillac (1:30.824), Oliver Jarvis, No. 55 Mazda (1:31.075), Tristan Vautier No. 5 Mustang-Sampling Cadillac (1:31.324).
SPORTY EXPERIENCE: Chad Knaus loves his taste of IMSA
Sunday’s race will begin at 10:40 a.m. ET and will be televised on the NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. There will be a replay at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Here were the top qualifiers in other classes:
--LMP2: Steve Thomas, Tristan Nunez, Thomas Merrill, No. 11 WIN Autosport
--GTLM: Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R
--GTD: Kyle Kirkwood, Jack Hawksworth, Aaron Telitz, No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3
--LMP3: Austin McCusker, Niklas Kruetten, Edouard, Cauhaupe, No. 2 United Autosports
Click here for the starting grid in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and here for the starting grid by number.
QUALIFYING
Click here for the DPi And LMP2 results
Click here for GTLM results/GTD points
Click here for the GTD results
Click here for the LMP3 results
PRACTICE