Earl Bamber secured the top spot in qualifying for the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, clocking a 1:05.313 lap in the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R and delivering the first GTP pole of his career.
GTP grid reshaped by red‑flag drama
Louis Deletraz, piloting the #40 Cadillac fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing, rounded out the front row, just 0.322 seconds shy of Bamber’s time. Acura’s Nick Yelloly claimed third in the #93 ARX‑06, while Marco Wittmann placed the BMW M Hybrid V8 fourth. A late incident involving Felipe Nasr’s #7 Porsche 963 and teammate Kevin Estre’s #6 forced a red flag, erasing Estre’s two quickest laps and ending the session early.
Following the stoppage, Sheldon van der Linde (BMW), Tom Blomqvist (Acura), and Filipe Albuquerque (Cadillac) completed the top ten, with Ross Gunn (Aston Martin) and Kevin Estre (Porsche) filling the ninth and tenth positions respectively.
GT‑D Pro pole contested by Corvette duo
In GT‑D Pro, Alexander Sims earned pole for the #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R with a 1:09.354 lap, edging teammate Tommy Milner by a razor‑thin 0.043 seconds. Sims highlighted the team’s progress over the weekend, citing improved balance on Detroit’s uneven streets. Milner’s surge on the final lap secured the sister car’s second‑place start.
Ben Barnicoat (Lexus RC F GT3) completed the podium, while Ford’s Ben Barker and Frederic Vervisch occupied fourth and fifth in the #64 and #65 Mustang GT3. Supercars veteran Chaz Mostert, driving Vasser Sullivan’s #15 Lexus, qualified seventh, just behind Niel Verhagen’s BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
What the grid suggests for Sunday
The Cadillac‑led GTP front row indicates a strong showing for Wayne Taylor Racing on home turf, yet the early red‑flag could shuffle strategies for Porsche and BMW. Corvette’s tight 1‑2 in GT‑D Pro underscores their qualifying pace, but the narrow margin leaves room for rapid shifts once the race begins. As teams fine‑tune setups for Detroit’s bumpy circuit, the start promises a closely contested battle across both classes.
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