Blancpain Endurance Series: Monza, Qualifying Report
Q1
The Audis got among the Ferraris in the first part of Saturday evening’s three-part Blancpain Endurance Series qualifying session. New Sainteloc Racing recruit Edward Sandstrom put his R8 at the top of the timing screens with a 1:49.260, several tenths up on his closest competitor Francesco Castellaci in the Villorba Corse Ferrari, which is looking stronger with every passing session.
Franky Cheng gave BES newcomer Brothers Racing a boost by going third-quickest in the #55 Audi, just ahead of Michael Broniszewski, who was fourth for Kessel Racing this time out.
The session was largely free of incident, save a trip to the Parabolica gravel trap for Harold Primat in the #84 HTP Mercedes. The car was undamaged and got back to the pits under its own power after some assistance from the marshals.
One car didn’t set a time in Q1 – the #80 GT Academy Nissan, which Nick McMillen was scheduled to drive. A cracked manifold was causing a reduction in boost pressure, but the RJN mechanics were able to resolve the issue in time for Q2.
Q2
Ferrari came to the fore early on in this session, and stayed there. Alessandro Bonacini and Stefano Gai traded fastest times in their #11 Kessel Racing and #90 Villorba Corse machines respectively, and would finish the session in first and second.
The closest competition once again came from Sainteloc Audi, driven by Stephane Ortelli to third-fastest time, but Guy Smith showed particularly well in the #7 M-Sport Bentley. The Continental GT slotted in fourth, just three tenths off the quickest Ferrari and beating highly fancied runners WRT Audi (Frank Stippler), HTP Mercedes (Sergei Afanasiev) and ART McLaren (Kevin Estre) into fifth, sixth and seventh positions respectively.
Q3
The 15-minute run-off session to decide Sunday’s final grid order began with a very quick lap from McLaren factory driver Alvaro Parente in the #98 12C, ably backed up by team-mate Andy Soucek in the sister #99 car. Giacomo Petrobelli (Kessel Ferrari) was third after the first set of laps, with Stef Dusseldorp fourth for HTP Mercedes. Parente would improve his time twice during the session, eventually setting a searing pace of 1:47.603 – the only driver in qualifying to dip below the 1:48 mark.
“It all went to plan: it was part of our strategy really to be all in for tomorrow,” Parente explained afterwards. We kept a fresh set of tyres for Q3, and it paid off quite well. The laps that I put in were good, I was able to attack the track well, it was mostly down to setup.”
Petrobelli wound up second, and fastest Pro-Am Cup runner overall, in the #11 Ferrari. “ I think I got blocked by the Bentley on my quickest lap, which was disappointing,” he said. “But I’m pretty happy, we are P2 so I am confident for the race. We have a good team and the Ferrari has good top speed, which is crucial here, but we will see good competition in the race.”
Kessel’s closely matched Ferrari rivals Villorba Corse will line up third tomorrow, thanks to a late charge from Francesco Castellaci. Team principal Raimondo Amadio was unsurprisingly pleased with such a strong showing on the squad’s BES debut. “We are delighted with this debut,” he commented. “Looking at our performances we are doing very well. However, we have to pay attention to high temperatures. We are still working on that, because this is a crucial issue in endurance racing; above all on a very fast track like Monza.”
Also on a late charge this session was Steven Kane in the #7 Bentley, but after putting in a time good enough for fourth place on the grid, he went from hero to zero by attacking the kerbs at Ascari too aggressively, jumping the big coupe in the air. On landing, the rear end stepped out, and with limited run-off area at the chicane exit, a head-on impact with the wall was unavoidable. An annoyed but unhurt Kane was quickly out of the car, but the M-Sport mechanics will be up late tonight repairing the #7 car’s seriously damaged nose. His mishap brought a slightly premature end to the session as the red flags came out.
The #1 WRT and #26 Sainteloc Audis look well placed for tomorrow’s race in fifth and sixth on the grid, ahead of the consistently quick Marco Seefried in the #333 GT Corse by Rinaldi. Franck Perera (Pro GT Porsche), Christopher Mies (#3 WRT Audi) and defending drivers’ champion Max Buhk (HTP Mercedes) complete the top ten.
Meanwhile, the quickest Gentlemen Trophy car was the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Peter Mann, Filipe Barreiros and Francisco Guedes. The trio have dominated this class thus far and are a solid bet to win the amateur drivers category tomorrow.
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