Surprises in a three-car field may be few and far between, but the GT1 class still managed to cause some stirs in qualifying for the Generac 500 at Road America, round eight of the American Le Mans Series.
First and foremost, pole position went the way of Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell, only the third time they have been able to out pace Corvette Racing team-mates Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta all season.
A crucial weekend for the duo if they have any chance of keeping up with their rivals, Magnussen was pleased with the car's pace and is hoping it will see them score a second win of the season.
"Our qualifying run went very well," Magnussen said. "This is the first time I've been here since 2003 and I've been looking forward to driving the Corvette around here. Johnny is very strong here and should be very good for the race. The track has gotten better and better. The main thing about our car is that this is the most professional team out there. We always get the best out of them no matter the event."
It was the third place Doran Racing Maserati that was capturing all the attention though, the Grand-Am Rolex Series regular running the MC12 for the first time with Didier Theys and Fredy Leinhard at the wheel.
Although they were inevitably last of the trio, they were just a second behind the leaders, a hugely impressive achievement for a car that had barely turned a wheel before the weekend and is being driven by GT1 novices.
"The more competition the better," Magnussen said. "The Maserati is very fast. I'm not sure of its configuration but am very happy to see it here. Hopefully it will be back, and hopefully the Astons will be back for a couple of races. When I saw that its lap times were getting better, we were all waiting to see how low it would go. It's a very good car."
