Sims Earns Chevrolet Grand Prix Pole in First CTMP Appearance for Corvette Z06 GT3.R

A brief interruption to the start of Grand Touring (GT) qualifying for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park created an extra sense of urgency for the 15-minute session. The pause to clear a stalled car from the bucolic 2.459-mile road course had no effect on Alexander Sims.

Sims uncorked a series of track record laps in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R to secure pole position for the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. He left his fastest lap for last, timed at 1 minute, 14.373 seconds (119.027 mph), breaking Jack Hawksworth’s GTD PRO track record by 0.656-seconds.

The 36-year-old Englishman owns six career race wins in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition and co-drove to the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class championship in 2023. This was the second time he earned the Motul Pole Award.

Sims made it look like an easy Sunday drive on Saturday, ending with a comfortable margin of 0.267-seconds over Hawksworth (co-driver: Ben Barnicoat) in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. They’ll comprise the front row for tomorrow’s two-hour, 40-minute race.

“The Corvette came alive for qualifying and was feeling really, really nice,” enthused Sims, who shares the No. 3 Corvette with Antonio Garcia. “Moments like that -- low fuel, new tires with a beautiful Corvette working well around an incredible circuit that I absolutely love – that was a real blast. That was really good fun.”

Corvette Racing has a peerless record at CTMP, scoring the most recent of its 12 wins there just one year ago with drivers Garcia and Jordan Taylor. Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner will line up third on this year’s GTD PRO grid with the No. 4 Corvette.

The GT3 version of the Corvette, new for 2024 and designated Z06 GT3.R, is seeking its first victory in IMSA competition. Catsburg earned the Motul Pole Award in the No. 4 entry at the Motul Course de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, while Garcia scored a pole for last month’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic on the streets of downtown Detroit.

“We’ve been learning, we’ve been improving through the season and I have huge confidence in the Pratt Miller guys,” said Sims. “With Antonio, I know the car is in safe hands and he’s super-fast. Hopefully we can continue this good pace.

“Starting on pole is obviously the ideal situation, but the huge challenge still is the race,” he added. “It requires perfect execution to beat the rest of the field, who are always operating at a really high level.”

GTD PRO championship points leaders Laurin Heinrich and Seb Priaulx qualified eighth in class in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Montecalvo Loves Mosport

The Vasser Sullivan Lexus team may have fallen one spot short of the Motul Pole Award Saturday in GTD PRO, but Frankie Montecalvo made sure the team that splits its two entries between IMSA’s two Grand Touring classes went home with a trophy.

Montecalvo was the fastest GTD class qualifier for the Chevrolet Grand Prix with a lap timed at 1 minute, 15.060 seconds (117.937 mph) in the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3. It was the second time in the last three years that he accomplished that feat, sandwiching a second-place qualifying effort one year ago.

The pole-winning lap established a new track record for the GTD class

“This is my favorite track,” Montecalvo acknowledged. “I’ve loved it ever since the first time I got here. Everything flows, everything connects, and you really have to put each corner here together. It’s really just an awesome circuit to be able to drive, and this track suits the Lexus perfectly. It really loves the high-speed circuits.”

Spencer Pumpelly was the second-fastest qualifier in GTD, lapping the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo he shares with Roman De Angelis in 1:15.392 (117.418 mph). Championship points leaders Russell Ward and Philip Ellis (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT GT3) start sixth in class.

Montecalvo hopes to avoid repeating what happened when he started on the class pole at CTMP in 2022. He was swept into contact on the opening lap and finished a distant sixth.

“This track is so difficult to pass, so starting up front and just kind of controlling the pace really helps here,” he said. “We’ve been fast all season with the No. 12 car but really haven’t been able to get some results for it. So I’m really happy to start up front here, and I’ve got my hometown advantage with Parker. We’re going to take the (No.) 12 car up front.”