The new Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R will start from pole in its competition debut, with Lawson Aschenbach taking Blackdog Speed Shop to P1 in qualifying for Friday’s Pirelli World Challenge GTS season opener.

Aschenbach reeled off a quick lap of 1:18.855 in the brand-new Pratt & Miller-built GT4 car, edging out the No. 19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta G55 of Parker Chase by 0.238 seconds.

The two-time class champion was the only driver to break into the 1:18 barrier, with Andrew Aquilante ending up third quickest in the No. 32 Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R.

“Obviously, it is very exciting to get pole in the first race debut weekend,” Aschebach said.

“Getting the pole is a pretty good feeling. We care about the race more than anything else and we really want to win this one for everyone involved.”

Aquilante, in a one-off run with his family-run team, topped the time charts in the afternoon’s practice session.

The No. 45 Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4 of Jade Buford and Frankie Montecalvo’s No. 13 ANSA Motorsports KTM X-BOW GT4 were fourth and fifth, respectively, putting five different manufacturers in the top-five.

The debuting Panoz Avezzano GT of Ian James qualified 9th, less than two seconds off Aschenbach’s pole time, after initially struggling in the test session and practice.

Race 1 for the GTS class gets underway Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Qualifying