BMW Team RLL Sweeps GTLM Front Row In Sebring Qualifying As Auberlen Breaks Track Record

Last year, Bill Auberlen desperately wanted to give BMW another trophy to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the manufacturer’s first victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. However, that race didn’t quite go according to plan.

Fast forward to 2016, and the famed driver is making good on his promise to honor BMW during a milestone year. Auberlen captured his 42nd career pole on Friday – his second in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – running a track-record lap of 1:58.402 (113.714 mph) in the No. 25 BMW Team RLL IHG Rewards Club BMW M6 GTLM co-driven by Dirk Werner and Bruno Spengler.

“Today was a picture-perfect day,” said Auberlen. “I’ve been racing here since the Eighties, when you would see people win by 15 to 20 laps. Today, the days of winning by even 15-20 seconds are gone. These manufacturers are making cars that are so strong that the weakest link is now the driver. You keep beating on these cars for hours and they just keep turning laps. It’s going to be a dogfight - let’s get through 10 hours and when we get to the last we hours we’re going to see what this M6 has left.”

BMW Team RLL teammate John Edwards completed the front row with a lap of 1:58.592 (113.532 mph) in the No. 100 IHG Rewards Club BMW M6 GTLM co-driven by Lucas Luhr and Kuno Wittmer. He was followed by Daniel Serra in the No. 68 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GTE and Richard Westbrook in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.

The entire 10-car GTLM field was covered by 0.768 seconds.

Segal Captures GTD Pole In Debut Of Ferrari 488 GT3

Scuderia Corsa made a triumphant debut of the Ferrari 488 GT3 in GT Daytona (GTD) competition, as Jeff Segal captured his first career WeatherTech Championship TOTAL Pole Award with a track record lap of 2:02.350 (110.045 mph) in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3.

"It’s a little more special this weekend with Ferrari’s 60th anniversary of its first win here,” said Segal, who will co-drive with Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan. “We’re going against all new cars; the GTD class is crazy in that sense. You don’t really know who is going to be fast. Our strength is that while our car is different, it’s based on the Ferrari 458, which basically won anything it ever entered. For us, it’s a little less new than some of the other cars, so that is a bit of an advantage for us."

Jeroen Bleekemolen qualified second in the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R with a lap of 2:02.386 (110.013 mph).

The No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 with Jens Klingmann and defending race-winning No. 23 Team Seattle Porsche 911 GT3 R with Mario Farnbacher will start from the second row, with Porsche also sweeping the third row.

• The top 4 GTD qualifiers included representation from four different manufacturers: Ferrari (No. 63 Scuderia Corsa), followed by Dodge (No. 33 Riley Motorsports), BMW (No. 96 Turner Motorsport) and Porsche (No. 23 Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing).

• Alex Job Racing was inducted into the Sebring Hall of Fame Friday afternoon in recognition of the team’s record 10 Twelve Hours of Sebring wins, including last year’s GTD class victory. The team has two Porsche 911 GT3 R race cars competing at Sebring this weekend.

"It's a big emotional moment," Alex Job said of being inducted into the Sebring Hall of Fame. "I never, ever expected this. It's beyond my wildest dreams. To be part of the history here at Sebring go forward is just incredible.” He also added, "This is the epitome of team sport I always say. It takes everyone doing the best job they can - drivers and crew included - to be successful."

• Last year’s GTLM class winner Antonio Garcia, who is starting fifth in No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, said close qualifying speeds could indicate lots of leader changes tomorrow.

“It opens up the race for everybody,” Garcia said. “We are all in six or seven tenths (of a second), at least the majority of us. Except for the first two cars, the rest of us are within three tenths. It is a classic, tight GTLM grid. It was difficult to judge what the track would be like in qualifying. It’s way different from this morning definitely. Based on how everything went in practice and how the car was, I think we are in good shape."

The 64th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida takes the green flag on Saturday at 10:40 a.m. ET (live, FS1).

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