Esteban Masson has claimed back-to-back European Le Mans Series pole positions, with the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis ORECA 07 – Gibson LMP2 driver following up his performance at Circuit Paul Ricard by triumphing in qualifying at Imola this afternoon.
Masson set a 1:30.866 with five minutes to go in the LMP2 qualifying session, a time neither the Frenchman nor any of his rivals were able to beat, with Masson’s efforts hindered after a run through the gravel on the exit of Villeneuve the lap after he recorded the pole time.
“We knew it was going to be very close on a track like this,” Masson said. “I would have liked a bit more of a margin, to be honest, but it is what it is. We start in the best position tomorrow.”
Ian Aguilera led the challenge to the Frenchman, with the young Mexican coming up just 0.032 seconds short aboard the #37 CLX Motorsport ORECA in his first ELMS LMP2 qualifying session.
Third went to the #22 United Autosports ORECA of Gregoire Saucy, who recorded a 1:30.928. The championship leader will share the second row of the grid tomorrow with their closest challenger in the standings, after Reshad De Gérus qualified the #34 Inter Europol Competition ORECA in fourth.
Fifth went to the #28 IDEC Sport ORECA of Job van Uitert, ahead of the #24 Nielsen Racing, #18 IDEC Sport and #25 Algarve Pro Racing entires.
LMP2 Pro/Am pole position went to the #30 Duqueine Team ORECA of Giorgio Roda, with DKR Engineering’s Jean Glorieux coming up just 0.007 seconds shy of an upset pole.
Roda recorded a 1:33.195 on his final flying lap, surpassing the 1:33.202 set moments earlier by Glorieux. Any chance of an improvement from the Belgian disappeared when he spun on the exit of Rivazza 2 on his following lap, gently making contact with the inside wall.
Steven Thomas was third in the #11 TDS Racing ORECA, only 0.056 seconds off Roda, with PJ Hyett’s #99 AO by TF and Jens Reno Møller’s #7 Vector Sport entries rounding out the top five.
The bonus point for pole position has improved Duqueine Team’s margin at the top of the championship up to six points over the #83 AF Corse ORECA, which qualified eighth.
Louis Iglesias made a dream start to his ELMS career in LMP3 qualifying, with the Frenchman claiming pole position on his debut in the #17 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 – Toyota.
An entertaining LMP3 session saw Iglesias, the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine D09 of Pierre-Alexandre Provost and #4 DKR Engineering of Wyatt Brichacek traded the top spot on a dozen occasions, as all three drivers improved lap after lap.
Provost was ahead as the chequered flag waved, and improved further on his final flying lap to a 1:38.599, only for Iglesias to snatch pole with a mighty 1:38.367.
Brichacek ended up third, ahead of the #31 Racing Spirit of Leman and #8 Team Virage Ligiers, with the championship-leading #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier qualifying at the back of the field.
And in LMGT3, TF Sport’s Blake McDonald triumphed in a thrilling duel with the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 of Clément Mateu to score his first pole position of the season, after qualifying second at both Barcelona and Circuit Paul Ricard.
Mateu established the initial benchmark, setting a 1:42.724 on his first run, before both the Frenchman and the #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R of McDonald pitted for a fresh set of Goodyear Eagle Medium tyres.
The pair then swapped the top spot on three separate occasions. McDonald set a 1:42.664, before improving further to a 1:42.476 with seconds to go on the clock. Mateu, who was in McDonald’s slipstream, snatched the top spot with a 1:42.441, but the Corvette driver was the only one of the pair to improve on their final lap, setting a 1:42.339 and securing his maiden ELMS pole.
Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi, pole sitter at the opening two rounds, qualified third in the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3, with Custodio Toledo’s #50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo and Martin Berry’s #77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) LMGT3, the latter qualifying a Porsche for the first time, making it five different manufacturers in the top five.
The championship-leading #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari qualified 11th, with the #75 Proton Competition, which sits second in the points, in seventh.
The 2026 4 Hours of Imola will take place at 13:00 CEST tomorrow.
More to follow…
Image courtesy of Forestier Racing by Panis
