Adrian Fernandez made himself at home in Long Beach as he took his first overall pole position in the ALMS series.
Fernandez, who drives a Lola-Aston Martin prototype with Harold Primat, outpaced Simon Pagenaud by only 0.072 seconds. An experience of 16 starts in Long Beach could have given him the advantage.
The pole came as a surprise to the Aston Martin team as they expected to be much slower than the LMP2-spec cars this weekend.
In LMP Challenge, Christophe Bouchut (Scott Tucker) took his first career pole in front of Gunnar Jeannette (Elton Julian). JR Hildebrand , who will be sharing the wheel with Tom Sutherland, took the third position.
Jaime Melo took the GT pole of this event with his Ferrari F430 GT he drives with Gimmi Bruni. Wolf Henzler and his Porsche 911 GT3 took the second position in front of Johnny O'Connell and his Corvette C6.R. The top-eight cars of the class were within one second of each others.
The GT Challenge class was dominated by Andy Lally and his Porsche 911 GT3. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas (Porsche RS Spyder) had initially been awarded the pole but failed a post-qualifying inspection due to fuel infraction.
Henri Richard and Lally will therefore lead their class in front of James Sofronas and Bret Curtis. Butch Leitzinger and Juan Gonzalez complete this qualifying podium.
American Le Mans Series at Long Beach; Friday Qualifying:
1. Adrian Fernandez, Paradise Valley, AZ; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Lola B09 60/Aston Martin (LMP), 1:13.213, 96.770
2. David Brabham, Maidenhead; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon; HPD ARX-01c (LMP), 1:13.285, 96.675
3. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Lola B09 86/Mazda (LMP), 1:14.191, 95.494
...
7. Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Christophe Bouchut, France; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:17.273, 91.685
8. Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Elton Julian, Los Angeles, CA; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:17.520, 91.393
...
10. Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; JR Hildebrand; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:18.186, 90.615
...
12. Jaime Melo, Milan; Gianmaria Bruni, Rome; Ferrari 430 GT (GT), 1:19.581, 89.026
13. Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:20.179, 88.362
14. Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (GT), 1:20.308, 88.220
...
27. Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.098, 84.245
28. Bret Curtis, Valencia, CA; James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.256, 84.087
29. Juan Gonzalez; Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, PA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.288, 84.055
...
36. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Joeren Bleekemolen, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:23.857, 84.487
Fernandez, who drives a Lola-Aston Martin prototype with Harold Primat, outpaced Simon Pagenaud by only 0.072 seconds. An experience of 16 starts in Long Beach could have given him the advantage.
 |
| Adrian Fernandez (photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com) |
The pole came as a surprise to the Aston Martin team as they expected to be much slower than the LMP2-spec cars this weekend.
In LMP Challenge, Christophe Bouchut (Scott Tucker) took his first career pole in front of Gunnar Jeannette (Elton Julian). JR Hildebrand , who will be sharing the wheel with Tom Sutherland, took the third position.
Jaime Melo took the GT pole of this event with his Ferrari F430 GT he drives with Gimmi Bruni. Wolf Henzler and his Porsche 911 GT3 took the second position in front of Johnny O'Connell and his Corvette C6.R. The top-eight cars of the class were within one second of each others.
The GT Challenge class was dominated by Andy Lally and his Porsche 911 GT3. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas (Porsche RS Spyder) had initially been awarded the pole but failed a post-qualifying inspection due to fuel infraction.
Henri Richard and Lally will therefore lead their class in front of James Sofronas and Bret Curtis. Butch Leitzinger and Juan Gonzalez complete this qualifying podium.
 |
| Jaime Melo (photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com) |
American Le Mans Series at Long Beach; Friday Qualifying:
1. Adrian Fernandez, Paradise Valley, AZ; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Lola B09 60/Aston Martin (LMP), 1:13.213, 96.770
2. David Brabham, Maidenhead; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon; HPD ARX-01c (LMP), 1:13.285, 96.675
3. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Lola B09 86/Mazda (LMP), 1:14.191, 95.494
...
7. Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Christophe Bouchut, France; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:17.273, 91.685
8. Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Elton Julian, Los Angeles, CA; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:17.520, 91.393
...
10. Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; JR Hildebrand; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:18.186, 90.615
...
12. Jaime Melo, Milan; Gianmaria Bruni, Rome; Ferrari 430 GT (GT), 1:19.581, 89.026
13. Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT), 1:20.179, 88.362
14. Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (GT), 1:20.308, 88.220
...
27. Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.098, 84.245
28. Bret Curtis, Valencia, CA; James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.256, 84.087
29. Juan Gonzalez; Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, PA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:24.288, 84.055
...
36. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Joeren Bleekemolen, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 1:23.857, 84.487