Jimenez Claims I-PACE eTROPHY Pole; Sellers Crashes

Photo: Jaguar

Sergio Jimenez rebounded from a puncture to claim pole for this afternoon’s penultimate round of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY in New York City, as title rival Bryan Sellers suffered a heavy crash.

Jimenez took his No. 10 Jaguar Brazil Racing entry to a best lap of 1:28.211, improving on his initial 1:28.826 lap time set prior to sustaining a left-front puncture early in the session.

The Brazilian was 0.393 seconds quicker than Katherine Legge, who qualified second in the No. 3 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Jaguar ahead of Caca Bueno in the sister Jaguar Brazil entry in third.

The 30-minute session ended early following a heavy crash by Sellers in the No. 6 RLL entry in Turn 12 with just moments left on the clock.

Sellers, who had posted the fifth quickest time prior to the accident, climbed from his Jaguar under his own power, although considerable damage was sustained to the left-side of the car.

Jimenez’s pole has now put him seven points ahead of Sellers in the title race, although it’s unclear if the Sellers’ Jaguar could be repaired for the remainder of the event.

Sellers told e-racing365 that he brushed the wall on the previous lap and pitted for an inspection, which did not find any damage at the time.

It’s understood damage from the initial incident led to the session-ending impact.

Bandar Alesayi, meanwhile, picked up another pole in the Pro-Am class, qualifying sixth overall in his Saudi Racing entry.

The first race of the weekend gets underway at 2 p.m. EDT.

RESULTS: Qualifying

Photo: John Dagys

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John