As they’ve done most of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, the Corvette Racing entries battled tooth and nail Thursday evening at Watkins Glen International.

On this occasion, it was Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R getting the better barely of teammate Nick Tandy in the No. 4, in GT Le Mans (GTLM) qualifying for Friday’s IMSA WeatherTech 240 at The Glen. Taylor nipped Tandy by 0.220 seconds on a last-lap dash by both drivers to win the class pole position.
It is the 17th career pole position for Taylor and first since WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last October.

“It was a good lap, obviously,” Taylor said after being clocked at 1 minute, 43.821 seconds (117.895 mph).
“This session was a bit different and stressful with different conditions leading into it. We didn’t know whether to go slick or wet (-condition tires).
Thankfully, the guys made the right call with slicks, and then it was all about building temperatures in the tires and nailing it at the end.”

The Corvettes swapped the top spot at least four times in the last five minutes of the 15-minute session on Watkins Glen’s historic 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course.
On their final lap as the checkered flag waved, Taylor crossed the stripe just ahead of Tandy, who couldn’t gain enough advantage of any draft effect to claim the pole.

“When you’re head-to-head with a guy like Nick Tandy, you really need to make the most of it,” Taylor said.
“He’s a guy that I’ve grown up watching and respected, so I knew I had to be nailing everything and on my ‘A’ game. I’m glad it worked out.”

Cooper MacNeil qualified a cautious third in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 that underwent significant repairs after catching fire Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. MacNeil and co-driver Matt Campbell used Thursday’s lone practice session and qualifying to work out issues in the car and focus on race performance.