Front Row Qualifying Sweep for Acura at Watkins Glen Sprint Race

July 2, 2021 by Acura

• Ricky Taylor's Wayne Taylor Racing Acura on the pole

• Olivier Pla notches front row strart in his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05

• Till Bechtolsheimer for Gradient Racing and Jeff Kingsley for Compass Racing both score top-five starts

Acura scored their second front row sweep in as many races, with Wayne Taylor Racing's Ricky Taylor taking pole position for the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at Watkins Glen. Fellow ARX-05 driver Olivier Pla will start alongside for Meyer Shank Racing to complete the second consecutive all-Acura qualifying sweep.

In damp, but drying, conditions for qualifying, Taylor edged Pla by 0.346 of a second—with the entire six-car DPi field was covered by just over one second.

In the production-based GTD category, Till Bechtolsheimer led the charge in his #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo, qualifying in the fourth position. Bechtolsheimer will start just one spot ahead of another Acura NSX, the #76 Compass Racing machine piloted by Jeff Kingsley.

Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen Qualifying Results

• 1st overall - #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi

• 2nd overall - #60 Dane Cameron, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi

• 4th GTD - #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo

• 5th GTD - #76 Jeff Kingsley, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Quotes

Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) pole qualifier; race co-driver will be Filipe Albuquerque: 'Watching the other qualifying sessions, it seemed like the track was improving all the time, since it was drying out from earlier rain. We DPi were the luckiest ones of all the classes as the track was really quite dry for the start of our session. I think everyone decided to run the entire session to make sure they got a good lap in. So we went out right away and obviously, the track continued to improve throughout. That alone gave you some pace as the laps increased. But I think the biggest factor is that, after a week since the six-hour race here last Sunday, everyone has a little bit of data on how to go a bit faster, but it was still very much a game of 'how much tire do I have left' vs. 'how much is the track drying'. Luckily, we got it right on that last lap for pole.'

Till Bechtolsheimer (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo): Qualified fourth; co-driver will be Marc Miller: 'We'll see how the conditions are for tomorrow's race. If it's a dry race, I am a little bit worried because most of the teams were here for the six-hour last weekend and we haven't done a single dry lap yet at Watkins Glen, but if it's similar to today's conditions or fully wet, we're feeling really good. The car felt great during qualifying, it's pretty well-known that the Acura NSX is good in the wet. It was really confidence-inspiring once we got some temperature into the tires—it felt great! This team has made such huge strides; last time out we ended up with our first podium in WeatherTech, which is a huge achievement, and to qualify P4, that is far and away the best position I've qualified in WeatherTech. It just feels like every time we're out, we're learning a bit more and getting more confident and just making huge strides.'

Fast Facts

The pole position is Ricky Taylor's 23rd in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.

Gradient Racing is coming off of their strongest-ever finish, and first-ever podium, in IMSA WeatherTech competition at the last Sprint Cup round last month in Detroit.

Where to Watch the IMSA WeatherTech 240

Live television coverage from Watkins Glen begins at 6 PM EDT Friday on the NBC Sports Network. Live flag-to-flag race coverage will also be available on NBC Gold Track Pass and the NBC Sports App.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Photo credit: Acura
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