Jr III Racing Locks Out Front Row at Indianapolis

First Motul Pole Award for Garg as both team entries show impressive pace

Indianapolis, Ind. (16 September 2023) – Jr III (“Junior-Three”) Racing will complete the front row of the LMP3 field during Sunday’s TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks (live on NBC, 1:00pm) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) .

During Saturday’s fifteen minute qualifying session, a red flag halted the session with seven minutes left to go. IMSA officials added an additional two minutes after the clock expired during the red flag clean up. Those two minutes allowed for one last flying lap to set the grid for Sunday’s race.

Bijoy Garg made his second IMSA WeatherTech qualifying run at IMS after scoring a second place starting position at Road America in August during his IMSA WeatherTech debut. Garg is no stranger to IMS after having eleven starts at the famed Indiana track. The Californian was able to put that knowledge to good use as he scored the Motul Pole Award in the No. 29 Wing S2 Cyber Ligier with a 1:20.519 second lap time.

“It feels really good to be on pole here at IMS,” said Garg. “I wasn’t feeling the best during our practice sessions, but we got it right in the end. That’s one of the best cars I’ve ever had, the team did an awesome job. We knew we had a good car and it was just a matter of putting a lot together early and we did that. I’m really happy for the whole team. I’m really looking forward to the race. Hopefully, we can secure a one – two.”

Nolan Siegel qualified the No. 30 Airbnb Ligier, Siegel stepped in at the last minute to sub in for Ari Balogh. The No. 30 Airbnb team unloaded with a strong set-up, and continued to improve the car through the opening practice sessions, landing the top spot in first practice and setting the third fastest lap of the second practice. Siegel has a lot of experience at the track, with some thirteen open wheel starts at IMS since 2019. The No. 30 Airbnb team decided to fall to the end of the field to create room for a lap in clean air. Siegel was able to get one flier lap in before the red flag came out. When the track went back green, Siegel laid down one last flier, setting the second fastest lap of the session 1:20.982 second lap.

“Qualifying was hectic,” said Siegel. “The red flag didn’t help things, but I’m super happy for Bijoy and the team. His first WeatherTech pole and Jr III Racing one – two is a huge accomplishment. Looking to keep the top two spots on race day!”

The TireRack.com Battle of the Bricks will take the green flag at 1:10pm ET with live coverage starting at 1:00pm on NBC.