In an endurance race any situation can be changed very quickly, which is why the pole position is more like a morale booster than a true proof of strength, and what a morale boost Huber Motorsport will have as Laurin Heinrich topped the Pole Shootout for the Indianapolis 8 Hour in their No. 20 Porsche 992 GT3R, beating predictions by putting a Pro-Am Cup ahead of the field of Intercontinental GT Challenge and FANATEC GT World Challenge America entries.
Indianapolis 8 Hour - Pole Shootout results
The No. 77 CRAFT Bamboo Mercedes was keeping pole secure from the Qualifying session with a 1:23.128, but once the drivers decided to loosen the ropes, the No. 999 GruppeM Mercedes, the No. 30 WRT BMW and the No. 20 Huber Porsche found more speed, with Luca Stolz passing again to the top by outpacing Laurin Heinrich, only for the German to reply a minute later with a 1:22.926.
Stolz was decided on exchanging more blows as he lapped 1:22.908, butJules Gouon put the No. 77 back on top with four minutes to go by lapping 1:22.740, and then Heinrich had a good sector 1 with the No. 20, and despite losing in the other two sectors, he had enough pace to pass Gounon again with 1:22.707. With the bar being set too high to be valid to take risks, most teams went to the pits and ended the day, which kept Heinrich on top.
While the race of the No. 20 might not be mixed with the Pro Cup cars, the pole position will potentially allow to control the Pro-Am Cup in the initial moments as the second in class, the No. 535 Tempesta Ferrari, will start only from ninth. The No. 77 CRAFT Bamboo Mercedes will lead the IGTC Pro Cup cars from second on the grid, while the best GTWC America Pro Cup car in the Superpole was the No. 94 Bimmerworld BMW, which will depart from fifth
The Indianapolis 8 Hour will start 12:15 P.M. local time (2:15 P.M. GMT).
PHOTO: SRO/Fabian Lagunas
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