Trent Hindman earned his first Motul Pole Award in two years on Saturday, laying down the fastest lap in GT Daytona (GTD) in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R in the grid qualifying session to lead the 13-car field in the class. It was a welcome relief for Hindman and co-driver Patrick Long, as the No. 16 team has started second three times already this year.

“I told the guys before we went out to qualify that if we’re second for the fourth time this year, I think some heads are going to roll,” Hindman said after posting a lap of 1:24.505 (95.340 mph). “There was a lot of motivation to make sure that didn’t happen again. Tons of work from the Wright Motorsports guys from Practice 1 to Practice 2 and going into qualifying, so the least we can do is repay them for all their time and effort.”

Starting at the head of the class, Hindman added, is the best remedy on the tight, low-grip WeatherTech Raceway circuit.

“You come to a relatively tight racetrack like this – low grip, lots of slow to medium-speed corners – it’s super hard to get close enough to execute a pass,” he explained. “Sometimes it happens but more often than not the track position is made up in qualifying or through strategy. That’s why there’s so much focus throughout Practice 1, Practice 2 to get the balance right and get what we need to get that one big lap in.”

In the ensuing GTD session for championship points, Ross Gunn led the way with a lap of 1:23.805 (96.137 mph) in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3. However, Gunn was subsequently penalized for getting out of his car before the checkered flag was displayed in the session, moving him from first to last.

As a result of the penalty, Gunn and co-driver Roman De Angelis now trail GTD leaders Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley by 32 points, 1,962-1,930. Foley qualified the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 second in the grid session, with Auberlen also taking second in the points-paying segment.

Ferriol for Team Hardpoint EMB qualified 10th with a time of 1:25.813 (93.887 mph) for the GT Daytona class. with his team mate Legge who was one position higher in the “pro” portion of qualifying, which awards championship points.

Pfaff Motorsports qualified in sixth position and first in points!

Sunday’s race airs live at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN and IMSA Radio.