Brendan Iribe topped the Hyperpole session in his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, entered under the Inception Racing banner, with a 3m58.120s lap that put him 0.808s clear of Alexander Malykhin’s #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche that leads the LMGT3 standings in the WEC.
The Optimum-run Inception outfit that competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and GT World Challenge Europe earned an invitational entry to Le Mans after Iribe, who shares with Ollie Millroy and Frederik Schandorff, finished as the best-placed bronze driver in IMSA’s GTD ranking last season.
Team boss Shaun Goff told Motorsport.com that he was optimistic his squad could go toe-to-toe with the WEC regulars in the championship’s blue ribband event, in the first outing for McLaren at La Sarthe since 1998.
«Qualifying is about a small part of the package, really,» Goff said. «The team will show its strength in the race on Saturday and Sunday.
«If we can stay out of the box, we’ve certainly got the drivers and the team to go against the WEC regulars.
«We love a challenge and McLaren deserve to be on the grid. Hopefully we can pull all that together for Sunday.
«I can’t be more proud of everyone at the moment, so I’m pretty stoked.»
#70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo: Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy, Frederik Schandorff
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Iribe set two laps quick enough for pole on his third appearance at Le Mans, spinning while set to improve in the Ford Chicane shortly before a red flag caused by Dries Vanthoor’s BMW M V8 Hybrid LMDh crashing at Indianapolis.
The American was the only driver to improve following the red flag.
«The whole team are buzzing for him, he’s a mega hard-working guy and he deserves that pole position,» added Goff.
«He’s a super positive guy, Brendan. He’s quite experienced now, and he kept his cool and just did the job. He was having fun out there.»
Neither of the two United Autosport McLarens entered in the full WEC made the Hyperpole session, and will start from 11th and 19th positions, although the #59 car topped Friday’s FP3 session.