Tomy Drissi with the Motul Pole Award at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
LEXINGTON, Ohio – A motivated Tomy Drissi drove a flying lap in the last minute of qualifying to win the Motul Pole Award for Sunday’s Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Shocked when he heard that his best lap so far had been hit when he drove onto the pit lane, Drissi returned to the track and drove a lap of 1: 22.315 seconds – just under his eight-year course record of 1: 21.241 – to catches his second pole of the season and the ninth of his career.
The driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro was leading qualifying when he rolled back into the pits with three minutes to go. Then came the overwhelming news on his radio that Simon Gregg had driven a lap of 1: 22,642 in the Peter Gregg Foundation’s No. 59 Chevrolet Camaro.
That would have been Gregg’s fourth career Pole – and his first in eight years.
“I relaxed and someone said on the radio that Simon was up by a tenth,” said Drissi. “When I got to P1 earlier, it was a relatively short lap and I think we had a 21 (one minute, 21 seconds) in the car. Then I had about two minutes to get around because I was in the pit lane and had to cruise. Thank god I did. I went out knowing it was quick once I got through the hard part. I wanted a 21, but I didn’t want to risk the car. I only had to drive a few tenths faster. “
Gregg secured the outer front row with his fast lap.
“We went out really hard from the start,” said Gregg. “The car was really well connected, we had great horsepower and good grip. I couldn’t believe it when they said I was P1 until the very end when my teammate took pole. It was a good day for Burtin Racing, both cars started from the front row. “
Chris Dyson led at the beginning of the session and finally drove a best lap of 1: 22.642 in the number 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang, as the first three were separated by half a second. Dyson is supported on the second row by Paul Fix, who ran a 1: 23,722 in the StopFlex.com/Car Coach Reports Corvette.
Defending champion and seven-time Trans Am champion Ernie Francis Jr. missed qualifying due to his commitment to the SRX race on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway. With seven starts unbeaten in Mid-Ohio, Francis will start the Ford Mustang with the number 98 Future Star Racing from the end of the grid in the race on Sunday.
Erich Joiner was the only XGT car in qualifying and took his third pole in a row with a lap of 1: 24.031 seconds in the Number 10 Good Boy Bob Coffee Roaster Porsche 991 GT3 R.
“What I like most about Mid-Ohio is how challenging it is to do three blind turns,” said Joiner. “But the fans are here for barely a second. I didn’t realize how much I missed them here last year until I saw the crowd this year. It’s just so exciting to see the families enjoying the race together and all the campers around the track as we drive around. “
Justin Oakes won his fifth SGT pole in 1: 28.723 seconds in the No. 11 Droneworks Corvette. This is his first foray into Mid-Ohio.
“This place is great fun,” said Oakes. “We only have 25 laps here (all from this weekend), so we had to get up to speed quickly and getting pole here the first time was a great achievement by the whole team.”
Sunday’s race takes the green flag at 2:15 p.m. ET, scheduled for 45 laps, with a 65-minute time limit.