Théo Pourchaire took pole position for Sunday’s 4 Hours of Imola in this afternoon’s weather-hit ELMS Qualifying. The Frenchman’s time was a stunning 1:37.919 in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA 07 Gibson, set after a thunderstorm and heavy rain delayed the start of the LMP2 Pro/Am and LMP2 shootouts by an hour.
The pole lap eventually came after a brief red flag caused by an off for the #37 CLX Pure Rxcing ORECA at Tosa in the final session. Tristan Vautier ended up understeering off the circuit and into the barriers, which excluded him from taking part the final 2.5-minute showdown for pole on the rapidly drying circuit.
Pourchaire, who sat top of the times with a 1:41.129 before the red, came through to improve by multiple seconds to take his first ever ELMS pole by almost a second right at the death.
“It was a crazy session, with such a long delay that was stressful,” the former F2 champion explained. “I don’t have much experince in an LMP2 car in the damp or wet conditions, but I knew the conditions could suit me a bit better because I’m a bit tall and heavy so sometimes I struggle on longer circuits in the dry. I did it, thanks to APR, and I have my first pole since Monza 2023 in Formula 2.
“I wasn’t thinking about slicks before going out for the final lap,” he continued, “but when I got out there I could see a totally dry line, so maybe it could have worked. Either way it’s good info for tomorrow as there’s a bit more rain forecast.”
Prior to the #25 ORECA crossing the line, Maceo Capietto held provisional pole for Iron Lynx Proton. But he was dethroned and eventually dropped to third after the final efforts from Pourchaire and Luca Ghiotto, who put the #34 Inter Europol ORECA second moments later with a 1:38.890.
The #9 Iron Lynx Proton ORECA will start on row two ahead of the #43 Inter Europol example that nabbed fourth. Duqueine’s car completed the top five.
The LMP2 Pro/Am drivers were first to tackle the circuit after the heavy rain, and it was Giorgio Roda who came out on top. The Proton Competition driver managed a 1:47.528 after multiple improvements as the racing line began to dry out.
Nobody else in the class could touch the rapid Italian, who kept everyone at arm’s length even as the times tumbled during the 15-minute run. The battle for second on the grid was hard fought, though, between Le Mans class winner PJ Hyett, Rodrigo Sales, Giorgios Kolovos and Tony Wells.
Hyett emerged fastest from that group for AO by TF. His best lap was 2.9 seconds off the pole time to go second. Kolovos, meanwhile, put DKR’s ORECA third with a late flyer before the red flags came for an off for Wells in Nielsen Racing’s #27 car.
The #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 took the top honours in LMP3. Theodor Jensen, in for Qualifying for the first time this season, posted an early 1:45.844 moments before the heavy rain arrived, which ultimately prevented further improvements.
“I had to push on my first lap because we knew it would start raining a lot,” Jensen said after extending the #17 CLX points leading crew’s pole streak to three on the season.
“I was on the limit, I pushed a bit too much at times, but it was enough, then on the next lap it was wet and I had an off moment. On the in-lap, I had to go slowly to avoid putting the car in the gravel.”
Ian Aguilera put the #11 Eurointernational Ligier second and was the only driver to get within a second of Jensen’s time.
Quentin Antonel slotted in third for M Racing as the #4 DKR Ginetta took fourth thanks to a strong effort for Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen to get within two seconds of pole in the scramble for a banker lap.
Before the LMP3 cars headed out on track, Martin Berry set the pace in LMGT3 for Iron Lynx for the second time this season. The Singapore-based Australian set a 1:43.799 to put the #63 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 on class pole with the weather front rolling in.
His lap came before the session was stopped for an off into the gravel for Custodio Toledo at Piratella in the #50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari. Toledo, who sat fifth on the screens at the time of the incident, had all his laps deleted for causing the stoppage, meaning he will start the race tomorrow from the back.
When the action resumed for a final six-minute dash, several drivers improved their times as lightning strikes began to flash in the distance, but there were no major changes to the order.
“The team definitely nailed the strategy of going out there and pushing hard before the red flag and then the rain,” Berry said post-session. “There was definitely more in the car, but by the time we were on push laps again, it had started to rain, so it wasn’t worth the risk.”
Paul Ricard pole-setter Clement Mateu put the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin second with a 1:43.926 on his final flying lap.
Celia Martin and Takeshi Kimura took the spaces on the second row for Iron Dames and Kessel Racing. Martin set a 1:44.085 in the #85 Porsche, while Kimura’s best lap in the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari was a 1:44.496.
The 2025 4 Hours of Imola is set to begin at 12:00 local time tomorrow.
