Magnussen scores VIR pole

August 27, 2016

Magnussen scores VIR pole

August 27, 2016

jan_pole

Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen scored pole position today in a stunning qualifying session where his team went 1-2 in preparation for tomorrow’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.

The Danish ace recorded his first series pole since Long Beach 2014 when he stopped the clocks at 1:41.557 – a mere 0.011 quicker than his teammate, championship leader Tommy Milner.

Magnussen had earlier set the pace in the final practice session this morning.

jan_pole_2In qualifying Milner was the first man to get into the break the 103 second barrier after five minutes before BMW’s John Edwards held the pole briefly at 1:42.533.

Milner responded with pole worthy laps of 1:42.055 and 1:41.568 before Magnussen recorded the 1:41.557 with five minutes remaining. Nobody was able to topple the Danish ace in the final moments of the session.

Magnussen will start from pole tomorrow before handing over to teammate Antonio Garcia. Championship leader Milner will share his Corvette with Oliver Gavin.

“I’m so happy. It’s an overall pole so that is even better!” Magnussen said.

“The team has done a fantastic job with our Corvette C7.R. It’s so close out there. I knew I needed every single hundredth (of a second) to beat the No. 4 Corvette! It’s a fantastic effort for everyone at Corvette Racing.

“We really pulled things together after a great test earlier this week and were able to use some of that here. We can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully the two Corvettes can have a great race together from the front.

jan_pole_3“I’ve always been a huge fan of VIR. It’s a fantastic place to drive; you spend lots of time down through the Esses and the new surface makes it a great experience. I can’t remember when a GT car went around here with this much grip. It feels like a whole different category.

“The tarmac has a lot more grip than last year. We like it a lot. We thought the track would be a lot slower this afternoon but it wasn’t by much if at all.”

Joey Hand was third fastest for Ford Performance Racing ahead of Risi Competizione’s Giancarlo Fisichella.

Magnussen’s qualifying time was nearly a second faster than last year’s pole record of Nick Tandy at 1:42.532.

In the GTD class the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini continued to dominate with Madison Snow taking pole position. He and teammate Bryan Sellers have led every session in the class so far this weekend.

Matt Bell’s Audi was second fastest ahead of the Lamborghini of Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.

 

 

WATCH THE ENTIRE QUALIFYING SESSION BELOW

//results.imsa.com/Results/16_2016/16_VIRginia%20International%20Raceway/01_IMSA%20WeatherTech%20SportsCar%20Championship/201608271155_Qualifying/03_Results.PDF

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