Aitken Secures Pole Position at 12H Sebring, Defeating Blomqvist
Jack Aitken has secured pole position for the upcoming Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, overcoming fierce competition from Tom Blomqvist. This pivotal qualifying session marked the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Aitken achieved a record-setting lap of 1:46.153 in his No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, edging out Blomqvist by just 0.109 seconds.
Qualifying Round Highlights
- Pole Position: Jack Aitken (Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R)
- Second Place: Tom Blomqvist (Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06)
- Third Place: Filipe Albuquerque (Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac)
- Fourth Place: Kevin Estre (Porsche Penske Motorsport – Porsche 963)
- Fifth Place: Louis Deletraz (WTR Cadillac)
Aitken’s performance comes after a disappointing start to the season, where his earlier pole position at the Rolex 24 was disqualified due to technical issues. In addition to Aitken and Blomqvist, Filipe Albuquerque also performed well, qualifying third in his Cadillac. Kevin Estre claimed fourth place, showing strong pace in his Porsche. The top five was rounded out by Louis Deletraz.
Notable Incidents During Qualifying
Philipp Eng faced challenges during his run, experiencing a high-speed off-course moment but managed to qualify in 11th place after setting the slowest lap time. Other drivers who made headlines included Sheldon van der Linde and Ross Gunn, placing eighth and tenth, respectively.
LMP2 and GT Class Qualifying Results
PJ Hyett dominated LMP2 qualifying but had his top lap time disqualified due to a red flag incident caused by an earlier crash. Misha Goikhberg secured pole in the LMP2 class with a 1:51.182 lap time, with Daniel Goldberg and Jeremy Clarke following in second and third places.
GTD and GTD Pro Highlights
In the GTD Pro category, Jack Hawksworth marked his 100th WeatherTech Championship start by claiming pole with a stunning lap of 1:58.480. Luca Stolz qualified second in GTD Pro, while Eduardo Barrichello took the pole position in the GTD category with a time of 1:58.856.
Race Day Information
The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is set to commence at 10:10 a.m. EST on Saturday. Fans can catch all the action live on Peacock and IMSA’s official YouTube channel.
