Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) lapped the 7.004-kilometre circuit at the wheel of the #117 #Porsche #911gt3r in a time of 2:19.843 minutes. With this result, the KÜS Team75 Bernhard has qualified for Friday’s Super Pole, where the 20 fastest cars will fight for the best grid positions for the 24-hour marathon in the Ardennes.
A new qualifying format for the long-distance classic in Belgium was introduced this year: Each driver in a vehicle is given 15 minutes to turn a fast lap. The final qualifying time is determined by the average of the fastest laps set by all drivers in a team.
Driving for Manthey-Racing, Frédéric Makowiecki, Romain Dumas (both France) and Dirk Werner (Germany) also qualified for the top-20 session. With their #Porsche #911gt3r (#911), the trio achieved a time of 2:20.144 minutes, which ultimately put them on 13th place.
Putting in a strong qualifying performance, Herberth Motorsport planted the #991 #Porsche #911gt3r on second place in the Am-category. The crew from Black Swan #racing finished the session in the Pro-Am class on seventh. A total of 221 drivers and 63 vehicles tackle this year’s 24 Hours of Spa. Thirteen manufacturers are represented at the 70th edition of the Ardennes marathon, which is regarded as the largest and most important GT3 event in the world.
Qualifying quotesSebastian Golz (Project Manager 911 GT3 R): “Here at Spa, the vehicles are very close in terms of performance. That’s why with more than 60 cars on this track it’s important to get a clean lap during qualifying. We were hampered several times, but so were our competitors. All in all the result was good. Two pro-cars have qualified for the Super Pole. We’re now focussing on that and our aim is to achieve good grid positions for the race.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche #911gt3r #911): “I had a lot of grip in the first lap and was really fast, but I got held up by several slower drivers. That was annoying, but we qualified for the Super Pole and that’s what counts.”
Romain Dumas (Porsche #911gt3r #911): “There was a lot of traffic on the track and it wasn’t easy to get a clean run. But our competitors experienced the same conditions. We’re in the top 20 and that’s important.”
Dirk Werner (Porsche #911gt3r #911): “It was a difficult qualifying session. My first two laps weren’t so good, but ultimately it was enough to get into the Super Pole, albeit at the last minute. The car feels good, now we have to drive a flawless race, then everything’s possible.”
Earl Bamber (Porsche #911gt3r #117): “The car’s balance was great, but I was blocked by some cars. That won’t be the case in tomorrow’s Super Pole – we’ll get a free run.”
Timo Bernhard (Porsche #911gt3r #117): “I turned a really good lap and set the sixth quickest time in my session. The main goal was to get into the top 20 with the team so that we can aim for the front grid spots tomorrow. I’m happy that we did so well with eighth place.”
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche #911gt3r #117): “I’m satisfied with the qualifying. With so many cars out on the track, the main thing is to get a clear lap. That didn’t quite work for me, but our team has clearly qualified for the Super Pole.”
Marc Lieb (Porsche #911gt3r #540): “It didn’t go so well for me, I simply didn’t get a free lap. We have to drive a steady race and work our way up the field. That’ll be our game plan.”
Alfred Renauer (Porsche #911gt3r #991): “It could hardly have gone better for us. All the drivers in the team gave their best and the car was fantastic, too. We can tackle the race feeling confident and see what comes out at the end.”
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