Adrien Chila stormed to pole position in the #87 COOL Racing Ligier JS P320 in Le Mans Cup Qualifying at Paul Ricard this afternoon.
The Frenchman’s best time was a 1:52.443, set with four minutes remaining in the LMP3 session which no other driver could match.
With time running down both MV2S’ Matthias Luethen and CD Sport’s Shahan Sarkissian pushed hard to improve and better Chila’s time, but neither would succeed.
Luethen ended up second in the #29 MV2S Racing Ligier with an improvement at the end of the session. A 1:52.725 was 0.282 off pole but good enough to put him on the front row.
Sarkissian meanwhile, would lead an all-CD Sport second row in the #11 Ligier, with a 1:52.984 set on his final flying lap. Fabien Michel, who was on provisional pole early in the session, ended up fourth in the sister #2 Ligier.
LMP3 championship leader Julien Gerbi, who sat atop the timing screens before Chila’s hot lap, completed the top five in the #16 Team Virage example.
The fastest Duqueine in the session was the #3 from DKR Engineering, which ended up seventh, seven-tenths off the pole-sitting COOL Racing Ligier.
“I am very happy, it’s my first pole position. The car was fantastic,” said Chila. “It was not easy, because the track was so hot.”
GT3 Qualifying held prior to the LMP3 shootout was a thriller, with Hiroshi Hamaguchi in the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO snatching pole from Arnold Robin at the death.
There were multiple improvements throughout, with Arnold Robin taking control early with a 1:58.117 banker in the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin. With each flyer he would go quicker, eventually setting his best time, a 1:57.234, with two minutes remaining.
But it wasn’t good enough, as Hamaguchi, who had also been improving with each tour, set a 1:57.153 on his final flying lap to go top. Robin had one last shot, but was unable to improve despite setting a ‘purple’ Sector 1.
“I am so glad to be back here, it’s been a while. Before Qualifying we had a tyre pressure issue, but we put everything together and the team gave me a great car,” said Hamaguchi
“Our car has better long run pace, so we are quite confident for the race.”
Third and on the second row of the grid will be the #19 Leipert Motorsport Huracan. Gabriel Rindone, who was quick throughout, set a 1:57.489 on his final flyer to get within four-tenths of pole.
The HCR With CaffeineSix Porsche of Tim Creswick that leads the class championship will start alongside the #19 on row two.
AF Corse’s #83 and #51 296 GT3s ended up fifth and sixth. After the session though, it all went wrong for #51 driver Hiroshi Koizumi on his was back to the paddock. According to the stewards, Koizumi “drove to Parc Fermé without taking the necessary precautions” and “crashed (into a kerb) at the end of the Pit Building turning to the Parc Fermé area.”
The damage sustained to the front end of the #51 Ferrari from the impact was significant and resulted in a €1000 fine and 1 license penalty point being handed to the Koizumi.
Today’s two-hour Le Mans Cup race at Paul Ricard is set to get underway at 17:10 local time.
