Jack Aitken Breaks Watkins Glen Track Record in Chaotic, Red-Flagged Qualifying Session

Jack Aitken Secures Pole Position at Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

Jack Aitken delivered a powerful message to the rest of the paddock by securing pole position for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. With less than 10 minutes remaining in qualifying, Aitken pushed the Whelen Cadillac’s #31 Cadillac V-Series.R to an incredible lap time of 1m31.284s around the 3.4-mile, 11-turn natural terrain road course. This time was later confirmed as a new GTP track record.

Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist made a late attempt to challenge for the top spot but ultimately fell 0.197s short, finishing in second place. Louis Deletraz secured third place with the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, just 0.203s behind Aitken.

The session faced delays due to extensive track repairs after a piece of curbing broke during the Pilot Challenge race. Following a 2h40m delay, qualifying resumed but was interrupted again when an incident in the GTD class led to a red flag and a restart based on team points.

Aitken expressed his satisfaction with the result, stating:

“It turned out to be quite a long day waiting for the delayed session. But the car felt good. The track feels good and feels quick. Honestly, I’m really happy with the lap that I got together. I knew it would be close and there were a couple of guys within a few tenths. It’s very easy to over drive around here and it really invites you to keep pushing more and more so just trying to be controlled. It was nice and clean, and we have the best starting spot for tomorrow.”

GTP

Aitken set a time of 1m32.026s with just under 10 minutes left, followed by an even faster lap of 1m31.284s to solidify his lead. Despite strong competition from rivals, no one managed to surpass his time. Aitken credited the team’s momentum since Detroit for their current performance.

“Cadillac Whelen has been awesome for the last few races and we want to keep it going. (The win at Detroit) was really special. There were so many friends and family around with us. It was the local race for the brand. Seeing the joy in pitlane afterward was really cool for some really distinguished guests and everyone was jumping and cheering and hollering. They’re racers like the rest of us. Glad to get that win in the pocket and it gave us great momentum.”

Tom Blomqvist set a time of 1m31.481s with around two minutes remaining, moving him into second place. Louis Deletraz finished third with a lap of 1m31.487s in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. Renger van der Zande of Acura Meyer Shank Racing came in fourth, while Laurin Heinrich qualified fifth in the #5 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports.

LMP2

Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke delivered the fastest lap of the session with less than three minutes remaining, setting a time of 1m35.124s in the #43 ORECA LMP2 07. This marked his second pole of the season and first since the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

PJ Hyett initially took the top spot but was overtaken by Clarke. Hyett attempted to respond with a time of 1m35.216s, but due to causing a red flag at the end of second practice, he lost his fastest lap. However, his next-best time of 1m35.268s allowed him to remain in second place.

Daniel Goldberg of United Autosport USA finished third, 0.394s behind Clarke. George Kurtz (Crowdstrike Racing by APR) and Misha Goikhberg (Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen) rounded out the top five.

GTD Pro

Jack Hawksworth, driving the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 for Vasser Sullivan Racing, claimed the top spot with a lap of 1m43.827s with less than five minutes remaining. He improved further with a time of 1m43.701s on the following lap.

This marks the third pole of the season for Hawksworth, with previous wins at Sebring International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. It also marks his 17th career pole, breaking the previous record held by Ben Keating.

AO Racing’s Harry King in the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R made a late push for the class pole but ended up 0.213s behind Hawksworth. Neil Verhagen (Paul Miller Racing) finished third at 0.388s behind in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 Evo.

Christopher Mies of Ford Racing came in fourth, ahead of James Calado of Triarsi Competizione in fifth.

GTD

Frankie Montecalvo of Vasser Sullivan Racing took the lead with nine minutes remaining, setting a time of 1m44.906s. However, the session was halted shortly after when the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward lost control through the bus stop and collided with the tire barrier at the exit of Turn 5.

Due to the red flag, the class did not meet the minimum green flag time, resulting in a reset of the results. The final lineup was determined by team points, placing Zacharie Robicon of the Heart of Racing Team in first place in the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO.