Weisenberg Takes Race 1 Pole in Sonoma

Photo: Fred Hardy/SRO

Lucas Weisenberg took the first Toyota GR Cup North America pole position of the season for Race 1 at Sonoma Raceway.

The Lucas Racing driver reeled off a 1:51.266 lap aboard his No. 46 Toyota GR86 to outpace a charging Westin Workman.

A late improvement from BSI Racing’s Workman saw him miss out on pole position by just 0.096 seconds, ahead of Spike Kohlbecker’s RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate machine in third.

Ethan Goulart managed the fourth-best qualifying time for TechSport, with Speed Syndicate’s Will Robusto rounding out the top five in his No. 2 Toyota, just over three-tenths off of Weisenberg’s pace.

Competition in GR Cup remains tight, with one second covering the top 14 times in the 31-car field and no newer than six different teams in the top 10 qualifying times.

Ethan Ayars served a drive-through penalty for leaving his pit stall early aboard the No. 78 Nitro Motorsports entry, before he and Patrick Brunson were later handed the same verdict for pit lane protocol violations.

Track position came at a premium during the 15-minute session, with Brett Kowalski running temporarily off-track and rejoining while battling for track position in traffic.

Throughout the session, Kohlbecker found himself constantly fighting for free air around the 2.520-mile road course on his way to setting the session’s third-best time.

Despite a crowded circuit and a few off-track excursions, the session ran entirely green.

The No. 41 Copeland Motorsports entry of Jenson Sofronas also found the runoff in the closing stages, but rejoined safely and without incident.

Race 1 is slated for 2:05 p.m. PST with live coverage on SRO America’s GT World YouTube channel and on grcup.com

RESULTS: Qualifying