Vandoorne, Peugoet sniffing a podium at 6H Spa
Hometown hero Stoffel Vandoorne, who put the #94 Peugeot an impressive fourth on the grid, described the Ferraris as “a little untouchable”, yet feels the new tarmac has helped bring the 9X8s into the fight for the first time this season.
“It’s a little less bumpy, and as you know, our car is not always the best on bumps,” he said after qualifying. “It provides a little more grip in these areas, and it makes the car much more enjoyable to drive. We’ll see if it is enough for a podium. Ferrari does make mistakes, so we need to play our cards here.”
Hard work paying off for ASP
For Lexus, it was a historic day today in the WEC, one which deserves its fair share of recognition, after AKKODIS ASP scored the Japanese OEM its first ever FIA WEC pole position, off the back of an impressive hot lap from young Finn Gehrsitz.
Racing Spirit of Leman’s Aston Martin had real pace, both Proton Competition Ford Mustangs looked to be in with a shout too, but in the end it was the #78 RC F LMGT3, which sits second in the points standings, that set the bar. And it may have been an even better result for the team had the #87 not suffered a steering problem prior to Hyperpole which prevented Clemens Schmid from pushing for a front row spot.
Nevertheless, it’s still a real feel-good story. This is a team that struggled mightily throughout 2024, racing with ageing, unfamiliar machinery in a new championship. Yet here it is, a year on from the start of its WEC journey, competing at the sharp end.
“Last year, it was a dream to reach such a championship. It had been the ultimate goal of our team for the past 25 years,” team owner Jerome Policand told DSC. “Unfortunately, it turned into a nightmare as we were last in the early part of the season. We never gave up, though. That’s motor racing!
“Later on in the campaign, we showed flashes of speed. No one noticed it, but we could feel that we were getting close. Then, over winter, we tried to list all of our weak points. We worked on each one of them. It is paying off now”.
“I am very proud also to have Finn in the team. It has always been a policy of ours to try and find young, unknown drivers. He delivered today on a difficult track, where you need to be committed. He did a lap and kept it together. His lap time even surprised me.
“For sure, it’s an important step for all of us to be on Pole today, but the hardest part is yet to come.”
Toyota relying on “misfortune of others” to contend
It was a tough afternoon for both Porsche Penske Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing in Qualifying, as neither brand got a car into Hyperpole. The latter was left particularly frustrated with the qualifying times produced by its GR010s, which will line up a lowly 15th and 16th on the grid. Only Aston Martin THOR Team’s new-for-2025 Valkyries were slower.
The reigning World Manufacturers’ Champions would never admit defeat, but the drivers acknowledge that a flawless outing and a generous serving of luck may be needed to fight high up the order.
“I think we need to rely on others’ misfortunes,” said #8 driver Brendon Hartley, “which is obviously not a great thing to say. We have to wait for opportunities and maximise our race. I think there is a high chance of scoring points like that.
“If we look at practice, there were so many cars in the gravel or hitting the wall. We must not be one of them and take our chances when they come.”
Keating: “I feel like it’s a waste of my time”
TF Sport’s Ben Keating was visibly frustrated by the #33 Corvette’s lack of pace this week in Spa after Qualifying today.
The Texan, who leads the championship with Daniel Juncadella and Jonny Edgar, will start 17th in LMGT3 tomorrow with a best time almost 1.5 seconds off the Hyperpole cut.
“At Imola, I was disappointed; now I am getting angry,” he said to DSC. “I feel like it’s a waste of my time and money. I don’t ask to be at the top, but I feel like I have proven over the last five years that I don’t belong on the back row. I don’t feel like can complain because I am leading the championship, but it’s a really difficult position for me.
“I think without the success ballast we are carrying, it would make a difference. Tom (Van Rompy) is very good in the #81, he’s Belgian, this is his home track, and he did an amazing lap, and he was still out of Hyperpole by half a second and was one second quicker than me. I’ve been on pole here multiple times.
“Supposedly, the ballast is seven tenths of a second, so if you take that off, he’s still four or so tenths faster than me, and still out of Hyperpole.”
Spotted in the paddock
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson has been on-site this weekend in the company of ex-TRD president David Wilson and took a hot lap ride in a Goodyear-backed Porsche today.
Tom Kristensen was on Rolex Brand Ambassador duty today, presenting the WEC partner’s medals to the pole setting crews in both Hypercar and LMGT3.
Multiple FIA WEC LMP2 race winner Alex Brundle makes a return to the paddock this weekend joining TNT Sports TV presentational team for the 6 Hours of Spa.
2013 FIA WEC LMP2 Champion and Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Bertrand Baguette meanwhile is also present, but this time on race duty with the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. The 2022 Super GT GT500 Champion finished on the podium for the first of two races this weekend.
Peter Dumbreck is acting as a Stewards driver advisor for all of the WEC race meetings other than Le Mans this season. At the 24 Hours he will again join the International Feed TV commentary crew.
New Peugeot CEO Alain Favey is on hand this weekend soaking up his first experience of a WEC event.
He is understood to be staying for the duration of the race tomorrow and has spent hi time meeting with senior team personnel at Team Peugeot TotalEnergies and members of the media at an informal drinks reception this evening.
Stat attack
Peugeot’s fourth place on the grid for the #94 9X8 is the best qualifying performance since Monza in 2023, when the sister #93 car also managed fourth on the grid.
The #78 AKKODIS ASP Lexus set the team and brand’s first WEC pole position leading only Ford and Mercedes AMG not to have done so since LMGT3 debuted at the start of last season, 8 different LMGT3 marques then have set a pole position in 11 races!
Sebastian Buemi will match Christian Ried’s record 89 FIA WEC race starts tomorrow as the Swiss Hypercar star’s long stint at Toyota Gazoo Racing continues and the repeated retirement of Christian Ried finally allows his long-held record to be equalled.
Buemi then should pull ahead at next month’s Le Mans 24 Hours with both drivers currently set to contest the first of the 2025 flyaways at Interlagos., currently set to be Ried’s last appearance as he a=subs in the #61 Iron Lynx AMG for a planned absence of Martin Berry.
Five drivers will debut at Spa 2025 – Pascal Wehrlein, Yuichi Nakayama, Stephen Grove, Brenton Grove and Martin Berry – the most at a WEC 6-hour race since Portimao 2023 (also 5).
Wehrlein a late arrival
Reigning Formula E Champion Pascal Wehrlein is here this weekend with Porsche Penske Motorsport, preparing for his Le Mans debut next month in the third car. He is set to race the #6 in the absence of Matt Campbell, who like Mathieu Jaminet in the #5, has a clashing IMSA GTP commitment at Laguna Seca.
He was also a late arrival for the track action, having spent yesterday morning on the sim, meaning he didn’t turn a lap until FP2.
“I am feeling good and looking forward to this new challenge. I enjoyed some endurance racing experience in Daytona (with JDC Miller Motorsport, in January 2025) but it feels already like a long time ago,” he told reporters.
“I’m just looking forward to being back in the car, get to grips with my team and my teammates.
“The last couple of weeks and months have been very smooth (with Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor). We’ve had some test days and some more time together. We’ve chatted a lot about the car and about endurance racing.”
Images courtesy of Paul Foster
