UPDATE: The #32 WRT BMW has received a drop of five grid places for contact with the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG during Qualifying.
The #98 ROWE BMW has therefore inherited pole position for today’s race. AF Corse’s #51 Ferrari will start alongside it on the front row.
Original story
BMW squads locked out the front row of the grid for the fourth round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at the Nürburgring later today, with Team WRT’s fastest M4 GT3 Evo edging out Rowe Racing’s example.
WRT’s #32 BMW of Kelvin van der Linde, Charles Weerts and Ugo de Wilde combined to set an average lap time of 1:54.426 around the Eifel venue, averaging only 0.020 seconds faster than Rowe’s #98 trio of Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn and Raffaele Marciello.
The BMW pair weren’t the fastest in any of the individual qualifying sessions, but were the only cars to finish inside the top 10 in all three parts, as consistency proved critical under changing conditions. After Q1 took place in the dry, light rain at the start of Q2 and end of Q3 made being on track at the right time crucial.
“It was a typical Nürburgring kind of session,” de Wilde said. “We were struggling so far this weekend, and the team turned it around for quali. The rain made it even more difficult, but we are on pole and that’s the most important thing.”
The pole is Team WRT’s first in the Endurance Cup since moving to BMW at the start of 2023, and the point for pole position brings the #32 crew level with the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER at the top of the championship.
There is, however, an investigation looming over the #32 BMW, after Weerts collided with the #17 Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed AMG GT3 Evo of Jules Gounon during Q2. Whilst Gounon was weaving in an attempt to generate tyre temperature, Weerts attempted a pass, and the resulting contact sent the Mercedes-AMG into the wall and out of qualifying. The incident is currently under investigation by the stewards.
AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors looked like the team to beat for most of qualifying, but saw pole position slip through their grasp in the final part. After Alessio Rovera and Vincent Abril led the opening two sessions, the #51 Ferrari 296 GT3 was 0.080 seconds clear of the #32 BMW, but Alessandro Pier Guidi struggled to set a competitive lap time in Q3.
The last of the pole contenders to start his Q3 run, Pier Guidi caught the worst of the weather, and his 1:54.521 saw the Ferrari fall to third on aggregate times, 0.087 seconds down.
The sister #50 Ferrari was also in contention for pole, until halfway through Q2 when Antonio Fuoco collided with the #25 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Paul Evrard at Turn 1. The Red Flag was brought out, and the damage was too significant for Fuoco to bring the 296 GT3 back to the pits for Arthur Leclerc to contest Q3.
Fourth, and fastest in the Gold Cup, was the #58 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo of Adam Smalley, Louis Prette and Dean Macdonald, which averaged a 1:54.547. Silver-graded Prette was an impressive fourth in Q2, whilst Macdonald was only beaten by Pure Rxcing’s Thomas Preining in Q3.
Preining’s Q3 effort, a 1:53.612, was the fastest individual time in qualifying, and vaulted the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) from 34th to 15th on the grid.
The #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo qualified fifth, ahead of the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche and the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER AMG GT3 Evo.
The drivers’ championship leaders failed to shine in any of their respective individual sessions, with results ranging from ninth to 22nd, but consistency has kept them in contention for this afternoon’s race.
They will be joined on the fourth row of the grid by one of their major rivals, the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche. The defending pole sitters at the ‘Ring had a similar session to the #48 Mercedes-AMG, with Sven Müller’s 10th in Q2, after a spin at Turn 12, their best individual result.
The top 10 overall was rounded out by a pair of Gold Cup runners, the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW and #5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren.
Garage 59 will start from pole position in the Silver Cup, with Guilherme Oliveira, James Baldwin and Thomas Fleming combining for 11th overall. They’ll start three places clear of the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, with the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin qualifying third in class.
And in the Bronze Cup, the championship-leading #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari scored its first pole position of the season. The Swiss outfit entered Q3 0.006 seconds behind the #991 Paradine Competition BMW, but Dustin Blattner managed to overhaul Darren Leung to secure pole for himself, Conrad Laursen and Dennis Marschall by 0.031 seconds.
HRT Ford Performance had its strongest qualifying to date, with its Pro #64 entry equalling the Mustang GT3’s best Endurance Cup qualifying result in 18th, and the sister #65 qualifying fourth in Silver. Arjun Maini was an impressive fourth in Q1, but the timing of the Red Flag in Q2, which came about before Jann Mardenborough finished his first flying lap, cost them dearly.
24 Hours of Spa winner GRT – Grasser Racing Team, meanwhile, has struggled for pace all weekend, and its #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 will start from 13th. The defending race winners at the Nürburgring were languishing in 30th after Q2, but a strong Q3 run by Jordan Pepper vaulted them up the field.
The penultimate race of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup begins at 15:00 CEST.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
