Land Audi
Photo: SRO

Christopher Haase (#29 Audi Sport Team Land R8) confirmed the speed of his car by taking pole position for the inaugural Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours, by lapping the Laguna Seca Circuit in 1’23.961. He beat Markus Winkelhock (#44 Audi Sport Team Magnus R8) by less than two tenths of a second. The top eight cars were separated by less than a second.

IGTC California 8 Hours Resources

For most of the Pole Shootout session it looked like Markus Winkelhock would take pole position for the tomorrow’s Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours, but a couple of minutes before the end of the session the lap time of the Audi Sport Team Magnus driver was beaten by Christopher Haase, current leader in the Intercontinental GT Challenge driver standings. At the wheel of the #29 Audi Sport Team Land R8, a car that has been among the frontrunners for the whole weekend, Haase was the only driver to break the 1’24 barrier with a lap of 1’23.961.

The second row of the grid will be shared by the #58 Porsche Motorsport North America by Wright Motorsport 911 and the #11 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8, driven in the Pole Shootout by Patrick Long and Robin Frijns respectively.

Fastest of the Pro-Am cars was the #54 Black Swan Racing Porsche, with Jeroen Bleekemolen at the wheel. The Dutchman drove the car to seventh overall. In GT4 the #07 TRG Aston Martin of Brandon Davis was the only car to compete in the Pole Shootout. The TRG crew managed to repair the car just in time, after a suspension problem in the qualifying session this morning. The fraternal duel between the MARC Cars Mazdas in the Invitational Class was won by Australian Jake Camilleri in the #193 car.

Tomorrow’s Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours starts at 9.15 local time and will be streamed live on tRL TV.