Alpine Endurance Team’s #36 A424 will start from pole position in tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Fuji, after FIA WEC Qualifying for both LMGT3 and Hypercar classes was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
Heavy rain through the morning and early afternoon, and the resulting low visibility, caused race director Eduardo Freitas to call off the Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions after a red flag before any competitive lap times were set in the first stage of qualifying in LMGT3.
The stoppage came after Francois Heriau in the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari aquaplaned off into the Armco barriers at the exit of Turn 2. It was a big hit, damaging the front-right corner of the car substantially.
Article 10.2.2 of the WEC Sporting Regulations states that if neither qualifying session takes place, the grid is established based on the best times across all three practice sessions. A subsequent bulletin confirmed this.
This means the #36 Alpine will be the pole-sitter in Hypercar, after Victor Martins’ hot lap to top the timing screens in Free Practice 2 yesterday. It’s Alpine’s first pole with the A424.
“It’s a bit weird. I just woke up for a nap ahead of qualifying. We have a strong car in the dry, we are there, it’s just weird to get pole without going out for Qualifying,” Martins told WEC TV.
“It’s frustrating to not achieve the real time on quali, but in the end we have to take what the Japanese spirits gave to us. Thanks to the team for making the strategy in FP2 to run a qualifying simulation. It was a good plan, and we will enjoy starting from this position,” Alpine team boss Philippe Sinault said. “I will continue to cross my fingers until tomorrow evening.”
The #007 Aston Martin was shown as second on the TV graphics, but it will drop to fourth due to a two-place grid penalty for the collision with the #27 Aston Martin in FP3 this morning. That means that the #35 Alpine will rise to second, making it an Alpine front row lockout.
The second row will see the #19 Genesis start third, with the penalised #007 Aston Martin fourth. The #17 Genesis and #009 Aston Martin make up row three, with the #38 Cadillac seventh and the #8 Toyota eighth on the fourth row.
In LMGT3, the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang will lead the field away thanks to Ben Tuck’s performance in FP2. The #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 will join it on the front row. The #78 Lexus is third, with the #58 Garage 59 McLaren fourth.
“It would have been nice to have done qualifying, but I’m happy for Ford, happy we’re starting up front; the car has been strong this weekend,” Ford factory driver Sebastian Priaulx said after Ford captured its first WEC pole since COTA last year.
Tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Fuji is set to start at 11 am local time.
More to follow…
