MacNeil and Horstmann take Pole in Hot Qualifying in Austin

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli enjoyed its first qualifying session of the weekend where tight times previewed intense competition under a setting sun at the Circuit of the Americas.  Each class was separated and had 15 minutes to set the order for that category in this evening’s races.

Trofeo Pirelli. Cooper MacNeil (Ferrari of Westlake) earned yet another pole position with a 2:09.546, an immense qualifying effort that put him two seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, Joe Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island).  Cooper has had a sequence of perfect weekends, dating back to the first round of 2020 where he has earned pole position and fastest lap for each race, befitting his extensive experience in IMSA competition.  Further back, the category was completed by Jordan Workman (Ferrari of Central Florida) and Ross Chouest (Boardwalk Ferrari).  

Trofeo Pirelli AM. Jean-Claude Saada (Boardwalk Ferrari) earned pole position in the Trofeo Pirelli Am category with a 2:12.199 lap time, besting Brent Holden (Ferrari of Newport Beach) by just 0.151 seconds and setting him up well for what will be a very competitive and challenging night-time race this evening.  Dave Musial (Ferrari of Lake Forest) rounded out the top three, just another .15 seconds back from Brent Holden.

Coppa Shell. Brad Horstmann (Foreign Cars Italia) set down an absolutely tremendous lap time, completing his flying lap in 2:11.996, beating out Kevan Millstein (Ferrari of San Diego) by just over seven-tenths of a second.  While the Coppa Shell class will start well back from the two Trofeo Pirelli categories, Brad will almost certainly have a pace advantage in the race.  Jim Booth (Ferrari of Atlanta) rounded out the top three, a further two seconds behind Kevan.

Coppa Shell AM. After a tremendous shunt brought the session to a premature end, the Coppa Shell AM field is a bit shuffled from its usual order, with Michael Watt (Ferrari of Atlanta) on pole with a 2:14.037 lap time.  He was followed closely by Christopher Aitken (Ferrari of Houston) who was four tenths behind and then championship leader Justin Wetherill (Ferrari of Central Florida) just a tenth further behind with a lap of 2:14.553.