Aitken Propels Whelen Cadillac to Motul Petit Le Mans GTP Pole

OCTOBER 11, 2024

Jack Aitken turned the wick up in Friday’s GTP qualifying session at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

By Tony DiZinno

Cadillac Racing has been at the head of all its Motul Petit Le Mans starts since 2017 – finishing first or second in each – and is well-positioned to do the same from the front of the grid for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship curtain-closer.

Jack Aitken turned the wick up in Friday’s Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) qualifying session at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, lapping the 2.54-mile, 12-turn track in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with a best time of 1 minute, 9.639 seconds (131.305 mph).

Aitken’s flyer – a track record for the GTP class – came on his eighth lap, as he noted a gradual improvement over the life of the tire stint and a particularly strong balance through Sector 1, the uphill and fast-paced Turn 1.

“Generally, throughout the year, we have done our (fastest) laps later. I think we beat this one by less than a tenth,” Aitken said. “We were in the window and I eked what we could out of it.”

It’s the first Motul Pole Award of Aitken’s career and the team’s fourth as co-driver Pipo Derani won the first three of the year, and Cadillac’s sixth in nine races. Third driver Tom Blomqvist joins in the team’s pursuit of victory on Saturday, as he seeks his third consecutive Motul Petit Le Mans win.

Aitken was the fastest of five cars in the 1:09 bracket in the 11-car field. The top five, including four of the five GTP manufacturers, qualified within 0.356 seconds.

Matt Campbell came up just adrift of Aitken in his No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963, 0.070 seconds in arrears. Campbell serves as the third driver in support of championship leaders Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron, who entered the weekend with a 124-point gap on teammates Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet in the sister No. 6 car.

With Tandy qualifying eighth in the car he shares with Jaminet and Kevin Estre, the gap grows to 133 points heading into the race. The No. 7 Porsche can now clinch the title with a ninth-place finish or better.

BMW M Team RLL will roll off third with its No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 qualified by Connor De Phillippi and shared by Nick Yelloly and Maxime Martin.

In its final race with Cadillac, the Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared No. 01 entry – adorned in a one-off pink livery this weekend for Breast Cancer Awareness Month – qualified fourth with the best of the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 cars, the No. 10 car with Filipe Albuquerque at the wheel, in fifth.