The #72 BMW M Team RMG M4 GT3 completed a sweep of session-topping times ahead of the Top Qualifying shootout, after Max Hesse set a rapid 8:13.518 late in Qualifying 3 this afternoon.
This time improved on Daniel Harper’s Q2 best last night of 8:17.236 and was 2.5 seconds clear of the rest of the field.
The 75-minute-long Qualifying 3 session was held in cool, dry conditions. This allowed drivers up and down the pit lane to push for improvements in what was the final session to set the grid for the cars outside of SP9 and SPX.
Prior to Hesse’s hot lap, the #16 Scherer Sport PHX Audi looked poised to finish up with the best time. Ricardo Feller went top with an 8:16.634, before his time was bettered by Hesse and later Franck Mailleux in the Glickenhaus.
“It’s an advantage to have a car as sophisticated as ours,” Feller said.
“But I also have to say that the team is doing a great job – we’re very well sorted out in terms of set-up and settings. In my stint I had a lap with little traffic and we were able to take the top spot.”
The 8:16.051 from Mailleux was a head-turner, the first real flex from the Glickenhaus outfit ahead of the race, pushing the #16 Audi to third.
Unfortunately, the fan-favourite team will not take part in the shootout later, as the team is set to change the car’s engine change post-session.
“We have a problem with the engine,” team owner Jim Glickenhaus said. “The new racing engine had vibrations. We removed it and sent it to the engine builder.
“It has now arrived and we want to install it. In order not to put too much strain on the crew, we forgo the Top Qualifying. Otherwise, you would have had to work at night. But it’s a long race and we feel good.”
Another late improvement came from the #130 AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes, which slotted in fourth with an 8:16.982 from Fabian Schiller.
The #911 ‘Grello’ Manthey Porsche ended up fifth, the fastest 911 of the six-car fleet from the German marque. Laurens Vanthoor set the car’s best time early on – a 8:17.420 – which briefly put him second on the leaderboard.
Qualifying 3 was a relatively clean session, though there was a notable issue for an SP9 runner to report. The #4 HRT AMG GT3 of Daniel Juncadella stopped on the right-hand side of the circuit as the session came to a close with a rear-right puncture after spinning into the barriers on the exit of Hohe Acht.
Elsewhere in the class, there was better news to report from ROWE Racing.
Following lengthy repairs overnight, the #98 ROWE BMW M4 which crashed out of Q3 made it out for the session and looked as good as new.
“We replaced everything except the engine and the chassis: steering, radiator, chassis, drive train and body. We even drove to St. Ingbert tonight and unscrewed parts from cars in the workshop so that we could use them here,” said ROWE team boss Hans-Peter Naundorf.
“At 6.30 a.m. this morning we started the engine again and checked the drivetrain, but then we continued to work on the car throughout the morning and sent the mechanics to the hotel in small groups so that they could take a shower and get some rest.
“The fact that the car is now ready for use again was a huge achievement from the entire team.”
As for the Porsche involved in Raffaele Marciello’s off – the Cup 2 Krohn Racing-liveried RPM Porsche of Nic Jonsson – the team was forced to source a replacement chassis for the race due to the level of damage sustained. The good news is that the team will take part in the 24 as planned.
Next up on the schedule is Top Qualifying to decide the grid order for the SP9 and SPX front-runners at 17:30.
