The TC America Powered by Skip Barber had 15 minutes to lay it all on the line in the Saturday morning qualifying session, pushing their machines to the limit around Road America in search of every extra bit of speed. Although the cool morning breeze began to settle in, the drivers took their own opportunities to bring the heat.
It was an intense showdown across the board, but in the end it was Pombo, Williams, and Bucknum who walked away with pole position in their respective classes.
TCX
Matthew Pombo rose to the top of the leaderboard early in the session in his No. 73 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type-R TCX, with yesterday’s leader from the practice sessions, Dai Yoshihara, in hot pursuit in his No. 99 VGRT Honda Civic Type-R TCX. The margin between them remained closer than ever, but it was Pombo who walked away with pole position, just 0.019 seconds ahead of Yoshihara.
Colin Garrett added himself into the hunt in the No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup) and will be starting Race One from third place later in the day. The fourth and fifth spots on the grid will be occupied by Kenny Schmied and Adam Gleason in the No. 14 AOA Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup) and No. 21 Fast Track Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup).
TC
It looked as though MINI JCW Team would be taking over the front row in the TC class, with teammates Clayton Williams and Cristian Perocarpi climbing into the two top spots in their No. 60 and No. 37 Mini JCW Pro TC cars, but Jeff Rica was not going to back down without a fight. The driver of the No. 78 Genracer / Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC soon joined the conversation as the trio raced to the top of the timesheets.
In the end, it was Williams who emerged in the lead, followed by his teammate Perocarpi to make it a 1-2 for the MINI JCW Team. Ricca will be lining up just behind them in third position on the grid. Celso Neto will be commandeering his No. 7 Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type-R from fourth place, with Sally McNulty securing fifth place in qualifying in her No. 780 Genracer / Ricca Autosport Hyundai Veloster N DCT TC.
TCA
TechSport Racing were originally looking to lock out the front row with the likes of Devin Anderson and Shaoyi Che in the No. 22 and No. 23 Subaru BRZ, but it was Spencer Bucknum who came to swoop in and snatch away pole position. The driver of the No. 5 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1 laid down a mega lap in the final minutes of qualifying to claim the top spot, which was then followed up by another flying lap from P.J. Groenke in the No. 62 MINI JCW Team Mini JCW to secure second place.
Anderson and Che were therefore relegated to third and fourth, with Ruben Iglesias following very closely behind in fifth place in his No. 88 VGRT Honda Civic Si FE1.
LET’S GO
The series will be back on track for Race One at 11:20 a.m CT, followed by Race Two on Sunday at 9:50 a.m CT. Fans can follow progression with Griiip Live, live timing. The studio makes it easy to follow class battles, lap times, and pit strategy for the five SRO America series. Stream the races live on the YouTube page, GT World or join the conversation on Twitch.