Rebellion’s Jani Outmuscles Luhr For Petit Le Mans Pole

When the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón runs its final event in Saturday’s 16th Petit Le Mans Powered By Mazda, Neel Jani will be looking to make more history at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.

Jani captured his fourth career ALMS pole in Friday’s qualifying, turning a lap of 1:09.254 (132.036 mph) in the No. 12 Rebellion Timepieces/Lemo Connectors/Speedy Garage Toyota-powered Lola B12/60 co-driven by Rebellion Racing teammates Nick Heidfeld and Nico Prost. Jani won his first career pole at Road Atlanta in last year’s Petit Le Mans and went on to win, co-driving with Prost and Andrea Belicchi.

“It’s nice to be back racing in America, because we have a fight again with the Muscle Milk team,” said Jani, who captured 2013 poles at Long Beach and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca before Rebellion Racing took a sabbatical from the ALMS to concentrate on FIA World Endurance Championship competition. “In qualifying, we have been quicker but we have seen the race is just a different game. With the GTCs and the safety cars, the visibility in our car is difficult, but that just means the race is that much closer. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to turn our quick speed into a win.”

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, seeking its ninth straight victory in the No. 6 HPD ARX-03c, qualified second with a lap of 1:10.397(129.892 mph) set by Lucas Luhr. Klaus Graf and Luhr have already clinched the P1 championship, and will be joined by Romain Dumas at the finale.

The remaining ALMS class championships will come down to the wire on Saturday, with the contenders starting near the front of their respective classes.

David Brabham won the P2 class pole with a lap of 1:12.668 (125.833 mph) in the in the No. 01 Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b co-driven by Anthony Lazzaro and Scott Sharp with Extreme Speed Motorsports.

“We cut it very close, and winning the pole gave the team a big lift,” Brabham said. “Level 5 is very strong, we respect that. In race trim, it’s going to be a heck of a race. There is a lot at stake with the championship and I’m just happy to be involved. For me, being at the last ALMS race is very emotional. This championship has been a big part of my life and I’ve had some of my best racing here in the U.S. What I’ll miss most are the people, not just the racing.”

Level 5 Motorsports pilot Ryan Briscoe appeared to have won his ALMS-leading sixth pole in P2 qualifying, running 1:12.490 in the No. 551 Siemens/Alpina Watches/Ohiya Casino Resort Mazda-powered Lola B12/60 co-driven by Scott Tucker and Marino Franchitti. However, Briscoe ran out of fuel late in the session and brought out a red flag, costing him his fastest lap. Briscoe will start second, with his qualifying lap reset to 1:12.792 (125.618 mph).

Tucker enters the finale with a six-point lead over Sharp (149-143), and will need to finish second to capture the title if Sharp wins.

Dane Cameron took his third Prototype Challenge powered by Continental Tire (PC) pole in the last four races, running 1:14.955 (121.993 mph) in the No. 52 Molecule ORECA FLM09 shared by championship leader Mike Guasch and David Cheng and PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.

RSR Racing driver Bruno Junqueira originally qualified second in the No. 9 Johnson Controls ORECA FLM09 co-driven by Duncan Ende and Gustavo Menezes. However, the time was disallowed when post-qualifying technical inspection revealed an unauthorized modification to the car.

“It was very tough qualifying, a lot of back and forth with Bruno,” Cameron said. “We are off to a good start, and we’re really looking forward to getting it done tomorrow to get a team championship and a driver championship for Mike.”

Cameron co-drives with Mike Guasch, who enters the race with an 11-point lead over Chris Cumming (128-117), with Jon Bennett another point back with 116. BAR 1 Motorsports’ Cumming’s car will start third in the No. 8 Merchant Services LTD/Evident Capital/MBRP Performance Exhaust ORECA qualified by Kyle Marcelli. Bennett’s No. 05 Composite Resources ORECA starts second after being qualified by Tom Kimber-Smith.

Ferrari and SRT paced GT qualifying with Matteo Malucelli capturing the pole position.

Malucelli turned a fast lap of 1:18.861 (115.951 mph) to earn his second pole of the season in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia co-driven by Olivier Beretta and Robin Liddell. Malucelli, who won his first career pole at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May, joined Beretta in winning the most recent ALMS race at Virginia International Raceway.

“For sure we are in a great position for starting the race, but the race will be more than nine hours, so it’s only a starting point,” Malucelli said. “Tomorrow I hope we’re in dry conditions. We have a bit of a problem in the rain.”

Jonathan Bomarito missed the pole by .027-of-a-second, running 1:18.888 (115.911 mph) in the No. 93 SRT Motorsports Pennzoil Ultra Viper GTS-R co-driven by Kuno Wittmer and Tommy Kendall. His SRT teammate Marc Goossens was third fastest in the No. 91 SRT/Rush Viper GTS-R co-driven by Dominik Farnbacher and Ryan Dalziel, running 1:19.017 (115.722 mph).

Antonio Garcia qualified fourth in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6 ZR-1 co-driven by Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor, 1:19.128 (115.560 mph). Garcia and Magnussen enter the finale with a 16-point lead over BMW driver Dirk Muller (125-109). Muller qualified fifth in the No. 56 Crowne Plaza BMW Z4 GTE co-driven by John Edwards and Bill Auberlen for BMW Team RLL. Garcia and Magnussen will clinch the title by finishing seventh or better even if Muller wins.

Spencer Pumpelly captured his third pole of the season in GT Challenge (GTC) qualifying. He ran a lap of 1:24.118 (108.704 mph) in the No. 45 Venezuela/eSilicon/UIS Porsche 911 GT3 Cup he shares with Nelson Canache Jr. and Madison Snow for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Pumpelly, who also led qualifying at Lime Rock and Road America, now has four career ALMS poles.

“When you get a pole on a day like today, you really hold it with regard,” Pumpelly said. “This is a home race for me, living in downtown Atlanta, and the last qualifying session for the ALMS. Tomorrow we have a very slim chance at the driver’s championship, but we can end up with the team championship so we’re going to stay focused and do our best.”

Alex Job Racing driver Jeroen Bleekemolen, who led the division with four poles in 2013, was second with a lap of 1:24.433 (108.299 mph) in the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche he shares with his brother Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil. Jeroen Bleekemolen and MacNeil lead Canache and Pumpelly by 16 points (131-115) entering the finale.

Andy Lally, who co-drives the No. 27 Dempsey Racing Porsche with Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster, was third at 1:24.480 (108.239 mph).

The 1,000-mile (394 lap), 10-hour Petit Le Mans will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, with the green flag set to wave at 11:30 a.m. Coverage throughout the day alternates between FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports 1, including a live segment from 6:30-8 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. There will also be an encore presentation the following day on FOX Sports 1, beginning at 4 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the entire event will be available on FOX Sports’ new mobile application, FOX Sports Go.

American Le Mans Series
Road Atlanta – Braselton, GA
Petit Le Mans Qualifying – Oct. 18, 2013

1. (12-P1) Nick Heidfeld/Neel Jani/Nicolas Prost, Lola B12/60 Toyota, 1:09.254, 132.036 mph

2. (6-P1) Klaus Graf/Lucas Luhr/Romain Dumas, HPD ARX-03c, 1:10.397,

129.892

3. (01-P2) Scott Sharp/Anthony Lazzaro/David Brabham, HPD ARX-03b, 1:12.668, 125.833

4. (551-P2) Scott Tucker/Ryan Briscoe/Marino Franchitti, HPD ARX-03b, 1:12.792, 125.618

5. (552-P2) Jonny Kane/Guy Cosmo/Peter Dumbreck, HPD ARX-03b, 1:13.637,

124.177

6. (02-P2) Johannes van Overbeek/Ed Brown/Rob Bell, HPD ARX-03b, 1:13.929, 123.686

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8. (05-PC) Jonathan Bennett/Tom Kimber-Smith/Mark Wilkins, ORECA FLM09, 1:15.215, 121.571

9. (8-PC) Chris Cumming/Kyle Marcelli/Stefan Johansson, ORECA FLM09, 1:15.367, 121.326

10. (25-PC) Oswaldo Negri/Sean Rayhall, ORECA FLM09, 1:15.399, 121.275

11. (18-PC) Charlie Shears/Tristan Nunez, ORECA FLM09, 1:15.604, 120.946

12. (7-PC) James French/Rusty Mitchell/Tomy Drissi, ORECA FLM09, 1:16.001, 120.314

13. (0-P1) Andy Meyrick/Katherine Legge, DeltaWing LM12 Elan, 1:16.206, 119.991

14. (62-GT) Olivier Beretta/Matteo Malucelli/Robin Liddell, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:18.861, 115.951

15. (93-GT) Kuno Wittmer/Jonathan Bomarito/Tommy Kendall, SRT Viper GTS-R Viper V-10, 1:18.888, 115.911

16. (91-GT) Dominik Farnbacher/Marc Goossens/Ryan Dalziel, SRT Viper GTS-R Viper V-10, 1:19.017, 115.722

17. (3-GT) Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen/Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, 1:19.128, 115.560

18. (56-GT) John Edwards/Dirk Mueller/Bill Auberlen, BMW Z4 GTE, 1:19.228, 115.414

19. (17-GT) Wolf Henzler/Bryan Sellers/Nick Tandy, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:19.386, 115.184

20. (4-GT) Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook, Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, 1:19.440, 115.106

21. (06-GT) Colin Braun/Patrick Long/Michael Christensen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:19.947, 114.376

22. (55-GT) Uwe Alzen/Maxime Martin/Jorg Muller, BMW Z4 GTE, 1:19.954,

114.366

23. (48-GT) Bryce Miller/Marco Holzer/Emmanuel Collard, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:20.497, 113.594

24. (23-GT) Bill Sweedler/Leh Keen/Johnny Mowlem, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:20.506, 113.582

25. (45-GTC) Nelson Canache Jr./Spencer Pumpelly/Madison Snow, Porsche

911 GT3 Cup, 1:24.118, 108.704

26. (22-GTC) Cooper MacNeil/Jeroen Bleekemolen/Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:24.433, 108.299

27. (27-GTC) Patrick Dempsey/Andy Lally/Joe Foster, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:24.480, 108.239

28. (11-GTC) Mike Hedlund/Jan Heylen/Jon Fogarty, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:24.923, 107.674

29. (66-GTC) Ben Keating/Damien Faulkner/Craig Stanton, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:24.926, 107.670

30. (31-GTC) Nicolas Armindo/Christina Nielsen/Angel Andres Benitez, Jr, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:25.237, 107.277

31. (10-GTC) Charlie Putman/Charles Espenlaub/Darren Law, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 1:25.368, 107.113

32. (44-GTC) Seth Neiman/Dion von Moltke/Brett Sandberg, Porsche 911

GT3 Cup, 1:28.039, 103.863

*33. (16-P1) Chris Dyson/Tony Burgess/Chris McMurry, Lola B12/60 Mazda, no time

**34. (9-PC) Bruno Junqueira/Duncan Ende/Gustavo Menezes, ORECA FLM09, no time

*-Moved to rear of field for changing tires after qualifying

**-Moved to rear of field for technical infraction (unauthorized modification)