Adrian Fernandez claimed his third pole position of the season and the fifth for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing in qualifying this afternoon for Saturday’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Fernandez and teammate Luis Diaz returned to form after a lengthy break in the schedule, opening the day with strong showings in the two one-hour practice sessions leading up to qualifying. Under hot and muggy conditions, the pair were second-quickest overall in the opening session and third overall in the second and final practice.
It was an eventful 20-minute qualifying session. With the threat of rain looming, it was important to set a quick time early. Fernandez did just that, claiming the top spot on the timing screen as a red flag brought the session to a brief halt in the early stages. The Acura LMP1s were able to advance to take the front row with Fernandez maintaining third position overall despite a spin in the closing minutes.
Fernandez and Diaz will be mounting a challenge for their fifth class win of the season in tomorrow’s 2-hour 45-minute race.
Qualifying Results (Overall):
1. de Ferran/Pagenaud – LMP1 Acura ARX 02a 46.971 = 114.965 mph
2. Brabham/Sharp – LMP1 Acura ARX 02a 47.345 = 114.056 mph
3. Fernandez/Diaz – LMP2 Lowe’s Acura ARX-01b 48.281 = 111.845 mph
Adrian Fernandez, #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX-01b: “The car was very good. We had a little bit of a miscue coming out of the pits at the start of the session. I came out behind quite a few cars and I was worried about the rain and putting a good time, but I was P1 at the start. Obviously our car gets up to speed a lot quicker than the P1 cars but we knew they would be quicker. I put my time in and asked what speeds the Mazdas were doing and they were quite close. I was pushing hard and spun in the first chicane, but I didn’t do any damage. I was going to try again but it started raining. Thankfully, everything stayed the same. It’s nice to get another pole. It is good for the team. It has been a long break and it feels good to get back in the car and continue the momentum we have from the start of the season.”
Luis Diaz, #15 Lowe’s Acura ARX-01b: “It was a good day. The car was pretty good, pretty stable all day long. Adrian did a great job in qualifying to put the car on the pole. We have to wait to see how the weather will be for tomorrow and fine tune the car for the conditions. Everything else is good. The team is looking strong again. We have the momentum from the last four races. I am looking forward to the race tomorrow. I think it is going to be a tough one. The Mazdas are right there and we have to keep pushing and do our best.”
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