Gil de Ferran back on pole at Mid-Ohio

Gil de Ferran

Gil de Ferran won his third straight pole position at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Friday…seven years apart. The storybook debut season for De Ferran Motorsports continued with de Ferran’s first pole in the American Le Mans Series, a record-breaking 1:07.969 (119.596 mph) for the Acura Sports Car Challenge.

De Ferran’s Acura ARX-01b led an overall sweep of the front row for Acura in a home race. The two-time CART and former Indianapolis 500 winner qualified 0.224 seconds ahead of Patr¢n Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham, who qualified on pole a week ago at Lime Rock and won the race overall with Scott Sharp.

“This pole is just fantastic," said de Ferran. "We are such a young team and we are learning the ropes of the American Le Mans Series. This is only our third race and we have been able to qualify on the front row at each of them. But now to win the pole is great for our Panasonic ELS team and for Acura. I have a great history with HPD [Honda Performance Development] and it is exciting to give them a pole today. To win the overall pole here is very emotional for me. The last time I raced here was back in 2001 with CART and I was able to win the pole then. Now, for an old guy like me to return and capture the overall pole position is very special. I have a great teammate in Simon [Pagenaud] and I believe we have a tremendous chance to win the race on Saturday. The Highcroft team did a superb job last week to win overall at Lime Rock. I know they will be tough just like the other Acuras, the Porsches and the Audis."

De Ferran, who will team with Simon Pagenaud, has a lengthy history at Mid-Ohio with consecutive pole positions in 2000 and 2001 with Team Penske’s CART operation. He finished second both years. Coincidentally, one of his closest challengers to Friday’s pole was Penske’s Timo Bernhard in a Porsche RS Spyder. Bernhard, who turned a lap of 1:08.238, and Romain Dumas have won the last two years at Mid-Ohio.

Marco Werner took his second LMP1 pole in three events with a 1:08.357 (118.917 mph) in the Audi R10 TDI that he will drive with Lucas Luhr. Werner won in class last season with Emanuele Pirro but is hopeful of contending for another overall victory. He and Luhr lead the P1 championship and last won an overall race at Long Beach in April. They have won four straight class rounds.

Next in P1 and seventh overall was Audi teammate Dindo Capello at 1:08.960 (117.877 mph). Intersport Racing’s Lola B06/10-AER of Clint Field qualified third in class at 1:11.053 (114.405 mph).

The top six cars qualified within 0.538 seconds of each other.

Corvette Racing’s Johnny O’Connell continued a dominating weekend in the Corvette C6.R that he will drive with Jan Magnussen and exacted a bit of revenge in the process. O’Connell captured the GT1 pole with a lap of 1:17.900 (104.349 mph) for a gap of 0.429 seconds back to Olivier Beretta in the sister Corvette.

O’Connell had qualified on top in last year’s race before failing a post-qualifying stall test when the engine would not shut off with the restrictor covered. There were no such problems this time around.

It was O’Connell’s first pole position since Petit Le Mans in 2006. He and Magnussen have been the quickest GT1 pairing in each session this weekend, just as they have the season. O’Connell and Magnussen have won four of the first five races this season.

Jaime Melo took his first GT2 pole position of the season, and Risi Competizione continued its upward trend. Melo’s late lap of 1:20.025 nipped Farnbacher Loles Racing’s Dirk Werner by 0.174 seconds.

Melo and Mika Salo are the defending GT2 Series champions but struggled in the first half of the season. A class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Gianmaria Bruni and a third-place finish last week at Lime Rock has the team pointed in the right direction again.

The top four cars qualified within 0.299 seconds with Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Wolf Henzler placing third at 1:20.226. Henzler will team with championship co-leader Jörg Bergmeister, and the team has won three times at Mid-Ohio in the last four years.

The Acura Sports Car Challenge presented by XM Satellite Radio is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 19 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. NBC Sports will televise the race from noon to 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 20. XM Satellite Radio will air the race from 5 to 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 20. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage on americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring.

Friday’s qualifying
1. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:07.969, 119.60
2. Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:08.193, 119.20
3. Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:08.238, 119.12
4. Raphael Matos, Brazil; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:08.320, 118.98
5. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:08.357, 118.92
6. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:08.507, 118.66
7. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:08.960, 117.88
8. Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:09.614, 116.77
9. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:09.912, 116.27
10. Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:10.029, 116.08
11. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:11.053, 114.40
12. John Faulkner, Pittsford, NY; Ryan Lewis, UK; Lola B06-10 AER (P1), 1:11.156, 114.24
13. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Creation CA07-002 Judd (P1), 1:16.316, 106.52
14. Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:17.900, 104.35
15. Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:18.329, 103.78
16. Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:20.025, 101.58
17. Richard Westbrook, England; Dirk Werner, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:20.199, 101.36
18. Joerg Bergmeister, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:20.226, 101.32
19. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:20.324, 101.20
20. Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:20.703, 100.72
21. Patrick Friesacher, Austria; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:20.844, 100.55
22. Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:21.072, 100.27
23. Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Panoz Esperante-Ford (GT2), 1:22.133, 98.97
24. David Murry, Cumming, GA; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:23.139, 97.77
25. Francesco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:23.388, 97.48
26. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 1:23.729, 97.08
27. Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 1:24.047, 96.72
28. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (GT2), 1:24.957, 95.68
29. Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Ben Devlin, England; Lola B07/46-Mazda (P2), No Time
30. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (GT2), No Time.