UPDATE: The #31 Team WRT BMW and #63 GRT – Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini have been awarded time penalties for missing their designated pit exit time by more than five seconds. The penalties are equal to the time they missed the five-second window by, and have dropped them to 14th and 19th, respectively.
Marvin Kirchhöfer has claimed McLaren’s maiden pole position at the 24 Hours of Spa, after topping this afternoon’s Superpole session aboard the #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo.
Kirchhöfer was the final driver to contest Superpole, after the #59 McLaren had the best average lap time across yesterday’s Qualifying sessions.
The German set a 2:15.113 on his first flying lap, comfortably eclipsing Jules Gounon’s benchmark of a 2:15.527.
None of the cars still out on track were able to threaten Kirchhöfer’s time, meaning the McLaren driver had already secured pole position for the car he shares with Benjamin Goethe and Joseph Loake by the time he completed his second flying lap, which was not an improvement.
“It was probably one of the best laps I’ve had. You really embrace the moment with the track to yourself, and I think I absolutely nailed it. It’s hard to get the perfect lap, but I think we achieved it as a team, and I am over the moon right now,” a jubilant Kirchhöfer said after the session.
“We’ve made huge steps forward since Paul Ricard, the guys are doing a good job and pushing to step up their game every weekend. We have a good car, but as you know, Spa is an unknown with the weather. Everyone is biting their nails, looking at the conditions. We will try to keep it clean and see where we end up.”
Gounon held on to second for the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed AMG GT3 Evo, ahead of Dries Vanthoor in the #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo. Vanthoor, however, is under investigation for a potential breach of Superpole procedure.
Fourth went to Maxime Martin in the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, which spent the majority of the session at the top of the times. Martin was the third of the 20 drivers to take to the track in Superpole, and it wasn’t until Gounon, the 17th, that his time was surpassed.
Alessio Rovera was fifth in the #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3, ahead of Lucas Auer in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER entry.
2024 pole sitter Franck Perera qualified seventh this time around, in the #163 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, ahead of defending race winner Mattia Drudi in the #007 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.
Gold Cup pole position went to Joel Sturm in the #92 Herberth Motorsport Porsche, with a 2:16.127 quick enough for ninth overall. The other Gold Cup entry in Superpole, the #33 Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin of Harry King, qualified 13th.
The top 10 was rounded out by Antonio Fuoco in the #50 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari.
The session was interrupted by a single Red Flag after Henrique Chaves, on his second push lap, ran wide out of Turn 13 and spun into the inside wall.
His #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin came to a rest in the middle of the circuit, with significant front-end damage. Aston Martin Racing has confirmed that Chaves is ‘okay’. However, it is not yet clear whether the #34 crew will be able to participate in the race.
Positions 21-75 were decided during Qualifying yesterday. Silver Cup pole went to the #42 Century Motorsport BMW, Bronze Cup honours to the defending class-winning #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, and Pro-Am pole position belongs to the #29 AV Racing by Car Collection Porsche.
The 2025 24 hours of Spa begins at 16:30 CEST on Saturday, 28th June.
Image credits: Frozenspeed & Marcel Wulf
