Altoe Plays Support Role With GTD PRO Pole

ALTON, Va. — Giacomo Altoè is doing his part to support Albert Costa’s run for the title in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Altoè earned the Motul Pole Award on Saturday in GTD PRO for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway in the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3.

It was his third pole of the campaign and the fourth for the No. 81 car.

Costa entered the weekend 30 points behind class leaders Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims (No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R). With Garcia qualifying fourth, the No. 81 Ferrari will gain seven championship points on the No. 3 Corvette heading into Sunday’s race.

Altoè has been the most frequent co-driver alongside Costa this year, and their efforts have put Costa in position to challenge for the GTD PRO crown. Davide Rigon and three other drivers have also shared the No. 81 at various stages.

Neil Verhagen (No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO) swapped the top spot with Altoè no fewer than five times in the 15-minute qualifying session. Altoè’s pole lap was timed at 1 minute, 44.433 seconds for an average speed of 112.722 mph, while Verhagen was a fraction slower at 1:44.478 (112.674 mph).

Perhaps surprisingly, Altoè was unaware of his position as he turned a series of ever-faster laps culminating in the pole effort with just under four minutes remaining.

“I was absolutely alone in the car, just focusing on myself and on my delta in every corner,” Altoè said. “We built up the qualifying like that. I knew I could improve, so I stayed out and kept pushing. The lap came together, and it was a really nice lap on the limit.”

Because Altoè has competed in only four of the seven prior GTD PRO races in 2025, he’s not in contention like Costa for the driver’s championship. But he’s proud of his contribution to DragonSpeed and Ferrari’s strong performance in the team and manufacturer’s championships.

“The championship fight for me is the team championship; this is our goal, and I am focusing on that,” he added. “We have been working so hard, and every small detail makes the difference because the gaps are always so tight. This was the first goal of the weekend, and we achieved it. Staring on pole will make the race a little bit easier. We need points for the championship.”

Paul Miller Racing BMWs took second and third, with Verhagen second in the No. 1 car and Dan Harper inside of the second row in the No. 48 entry. Verhagen’s co-driver, Madison Snow, has won at VIR the last two years – once apiece in GTD in 2023 and GTD PRO and overall in 2024. The two Pratt Miller Corvettes rounded out the top five, with Garcia in the No. 3 topping Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4.

Jack Hawksworth believes Vasser Sullivan’s Lexus RC F GT3s aren’t the fastest cars at VIRginia International Raceway. But he still drove the No. 12 entry to the Motul Pole Award for the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class of the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.

Hawksworth and Parker Thompson arrived at VIR facing a 112-point deficit in the championship points standings to Russell Ward and Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Hawksworth’s qualifying effort reduced that gap, but by just three points because Ward qualified second fastest in class.

Ward held the top spot for about 10 seconds during the 15-minute session, but Hawksworth almost immediately restored the No. 12 Lexus to the top of the order. Hawksworth’s best lap was timed at 1:44.860 (112.263 mph), while Ward clocked 1:44.998 (112.116 mph).

“I’m happy with the pole,” Hawksworth said. “This has been a good place for us, qualifying-wise. It’s a lot of fun to drive around this track, especially when you’re qualifying and you’ve got new sticker tires and low fuel and the car is handling well.

“We know we’re a little bit up against it pace-wise this weekend, but here we are on the front row,” he added. “We’re just going to keep digging, keep giving it to ‘em and see what happens. We’re in the best position to start from, this team gives us a great car, and we’re going to keep fighting.”

There’s a slight chance of rain during the latter stages of Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race. Hawksworth believes that would work to Lexus’ advantage.

“We’d like some rain tomorrow, because we know we don’t have quite the pace in the dry,” he said.

The No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 qualified by Onofrio Triarsi was third ahead of the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo qualified by Casper Stevenson. So all three GTD title contenders, with Triarsi’s teammate and defending VIR GTD winner Kenton Koch lurking in fourth should any of them run aground of issues, start in the top four on Sunday.