We already knew the Le Mans style GT class racing in North America was the most competitive in the world but this year’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship has highlighted that with nine different pole winners in nine races this year.

Pierre Kaffer added his name to the list today with a lap of 1:43.797 at Virginia International Raceway. Amazingly, the top eight were covered by only .625 of a second.

BMW had set the pace in practice and Bill Auberlen continued to show speed with second in qualifying ahead of SRT’s Marc Goosens.

“A couple of races ago it was no so easy for us. Even today it wasn’t easy for us. I have to say the races are always competitive,” Kaffer said.

“Like we saw in Road America. It was not an easy victory there. It was definitely our pit stop strategy that gave us the opportunity for success at Road America. That is our aim tomorrow, for a podium.”

“The competition in this GT class is like in Europe, there is no doubt. When you see how close the gaps are here, you have to be 100% in the race,” Kaffer said.

“If you have one thing go wrong you are dropping from 4th to 5th to 6th or more. That is how tight we are together. How big is the key in traffic is another story. It’s not the WEC where there are not so many cars. Here, you have to be quick, you have to be smart, you have to be clever, you have to be always a step ahead of the next corner.”

The pole was a great fightback for Ferrari who suffered damage during the morning practice session.

The biggest fightback came from Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia. Jan Magnussen followed Porsche’s Richard Lietz in sliding off on fluid dropped on the track – the pair suffering a huge crash. Despite the extensive damage, the Corvette Racing squad were able to not only repair the car but enable Garcia to qualify sixth fastest.

The damage from the No.911 Porsche’s crash however prevented them from taking part in qualifying.

2014 GTLM POLE WINNERS

DAYTONA: Marc Goossens (SRT)
SEBRING: Michael Christensen (Porsche)
LONG BEACH: Jan Magnussen (Corvette)
MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA: Antonio Garcia (Corvette)
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL: Andy Priaulx (BMW)
CANADIAN TIRE MOTOSPORT PARK: Kuno Wittmer (SRT)
INDIANAPOLIS: Giancarlo Fisichella (Ferrari)
ROAD AMERICA: John Edwards (BMW)
VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: Pierre Kaffer (Ferrari)

Top three in class:
(1) #62-GTLM Pierre Kaffer (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:43.797
(2) #55-GTLM Bill Auberlen (BMW Z4 GTE) 1:44.053 (0.256-)
(3) #91-GTLM Marc Goossens (Dodge Viper SRT) 1:44.072 (0.275-)

(10) #007-GTD James Davison (Aston Martin V12 Vantage) 1:47.660
(11) #22-GTD Leh Keen (Porsche 911 GT America) 1:47.957 (0.297-)
(12) #94-GTD Dane Cameron (BMW Z4) 1:48.043 (0.383-)