VDS Panis Racing will start tomorrow’s ELMS Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone from pole position, after a rapid 1:42.343 lap of the UK circuit by Esteban Masson in LMP2 Qualifying this afternoon.
The team’s #48 ORECA 07 continues to look like the car to beat as we reach the business end of the season, with Masson, Oliver Gray and Charles Milesi’s lead in the championship now up to 21 points with the additional point earned for the team’s first pole of the year. The French-flagged team can clinch the title tomorrow by stretching its advantage to 27 points or more ahead of the season finale next month.
“We’ve been strong all week; we had to put it together, and Esteban put a stonking lap together. I think we know we have the pace, we just need a clean race because Inter Europol are quick here,” Gray said after the session.
Iron Lynx Proton’s ORECA will start alongside the #48 crew on the front row of the grid thanks to Matteo Cairoli’s 1:42.704. That got the Italian within four-tenths of a pole and pushed VDS Panis Racing’s closest title rivals at Inter Europol down to third.
The #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA will start fourth alongside IE’s #43 car off the back of a 1:43.037 by newly-minted Peugeot factory Hypercar driver Théo Pourchaire. CLX Motorsport’s #47 ORECA will start fifth.
AO By TF, meanwhile, edged closer to the LMP2 Pro/Am championship leaders by securing a point for pole following a rapid run from PJ Hyett. The American clinched his second pole of the season by 0.017 over Proton Competition’s qualifying maestro Giorgio Roda. The pair traded fast times throughout the Pro/Am run before Hyett set the pole time with three minutes to go, a 1:45.318.
The additional point for the #99 could prove vital as the gap between Hyett and his teammates, Louis Deletraz and Dane Cameron, and the championship leaders from Algarve Pro Racing, has been reduced to just two points. The APR crew have a lot of work to do tomorrow as Kriton Lentoudis was unable to fight for grid spots at the top end. His #20 ORECA will start eighth and last in class.
Elsewhere, it was a welcome sight to see the TDS Racing ORECA take part in the session after Rodrigo Sales’ shunt at the start of Free Practice 2. Sales did well to put the incident behind him, sticking the car on the second row in third with a 1:46.228.
CLX Motorsport’s streak of pole positions in LMP3 was snapped before the LMP2 cars emerged from the pit lane. Griffin Peebles, with the track dry after a brief downpour before LMGT3 qualifying, put in a stunning performance for WTM by Rinaldi. It scored his first, the team’s first, and the Duqueine D09’s first pole of the season with a 1:53.038 at the death.
Peebles’ final heave vaulted the #12 D09 to the top from third, placing him above both Gillian Henrion, who ended up second for RLR M Sport after a string of improvements and rising Danish star Theodor Jensen, who missed out on pole by almost four tenths.
“He’s a monster. We found a good setup; we knew if it was dry, then we could make it to the pole,” Peebles’ teammate Torsten Kratz said. “I hope we have a bit more luck in this race than we had at the others. We have to be flawless.”
While there’s no reason for CLX’s #17 drivers to panic, their form has dipped considerably since Imola. The dominant crew of Adrien Closmenil, Paul Lanchere and Theodor Jensen retired from Spa after winning the first three races and have now missed out on a point for pole for the first time.
How will they respond tomorrow? Their lead in the points standings is still 31 points, and a strong run tomorrow can seal the title.
In LMGT3, it was jubilation for Iron Dames, as Célia Martin claimed her first ELMS LMGT3 pole position in the #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
The Frenchwoman kept it neat and tidy in the damp conditions on wet Goodyear tyres, snatching pole from Martin Berry on her final flying lap by almost a second with a 2:11.819.
The pole was significant for two reasons: the point gained puts the Iron Dames’ drivers level on points with the Racing Spirit of Leman crew in the championship standings, and marked the team’s second pole of the day after Vanina Ickx took GT3 pole in Le Mans Cup Qualifying.
“I’m very happy for Celia,” Sarah Bovy said of her teammate’s performance. “She deserved it; she’s been working so hard on qualifying. We hadn’t driven in the rain all weekend, but in these conditions, she trusted her instincts. Tomorrow we expect the unexpected; the weather forecast is tricky.
“We will do what we do best: take things one step at a time. With this point, we are now joint leaders in the championship, so every point matters.”
Martin Berry, who was quick early in the first two-thirds of the session, ended up second in the Iron Lynx Mercedes AMG GT3. The Australian found himself unable to improve on his 2:12.784 in the closing minutes as the track dried out, while pushing to claim what would have been his fourth pole in five race weekends.
Racing Spirit of Leman’s Aston Martin will start on row two from third alongside the United Autosports McLaren, which was driven nicely by Michael Birch.
Tomorrow’s 4 Hours of Silverstone is set to get underway at 11:00 local time, an hour earlier than initially scheduled due to the weather forecast. You can stream it live, for free, on the ELMS YouTube channel.
