If qualifying is anything to go by, we are going to be in for a treat here at Zolder.
A magnificent lap by Laurens Vanthoor of 1:28.580 in the shootout secured pole position at his home track for the #1 WRT Audi after beating out Jeroen Bleekemolen in a thrilling session in the sun at Zolder.
Q1
As the teams and drivers came out to start qualifying, putting in their first laps, it looked as if Austrian Stefan Landmann would be able to go quickest in the #27 Grasser Lamborghini. He went fastest early with a 1:32.341 and then a 1:30.445 one lap later to secure the top spot ahead of Romain Rusinov’s G-Drive Lambo in second.
But the Gallardo dominace wouldn’t last the entirety of the session as Stefan Ortelli would gradually get quicker as the session continued, climbing to second by the halfway point, then taking the top spot briefly with a 1:30.128 later, much to the delight of the WRT crew.
In the end however, Andy Soucek – who’s Aston Martin debut is going swimmingly – would top the times with a 1:29.949 with less than three minutes to go. Caca Bueno also improved late and put the Team Brasil BMW to third.
There was a small drama for Fortec in the session, as Miguel Toril had a spin at the final turn and was unable to get going again towards the end of the session, ruining a few drivers’ flying laps. It’s going to be tough time for the team, as they are due to start a lowly 21st on the grid.
Other things of note was the sister Grasser Lamborghini having issues with Martin Procyk finishing 24th and the Vita4One BMW made an appearance after the team repaired a cracked chassis overnight.
Q2
The times plummeted, and created a thrilling Q2 to decide which 13 cars would make the shootout. Jeroen Bleekemolen changed the #24’s fortunes in the end, and put the Lambo on top with a 1:29.320 in a session that saw the top 19 cars all within a second of each other!
Chris Van Der Drift put the Bhaitech McLaren on the top of the screens early on, but it wouldn’t last, and he ended up 15th by the session’s end; only managing a 1:29.987.
It then turned into a shootout between Bleekemolen and Laurens Vanthoor in the #1 WRT Audi, who traded places at the top until René Rast’s WRT R8 and Nicky Catsburg in the NSC Lambo joined in as the session wound down.
Catsburg went second, Rast then went third, leaving Bleekemolen at the top and Vanthoor fourth. But seemingly out of nowhere Dominik Baumann put the Schubert BMW on a front row spot with a 1:29.356, where he would stay for the final couple of minutes – just 0.056 off the Grasser Lambo.
It was a disappointing session for the Beechdean team, as Johnny Adam couldn’t find the pace, finishing just outside the top 13, not making the final session, because the most of the field beat Soucek’s quick time from Q1. Max Götz also had a scare, barely making the cut in 13th for HTP, looks like it’s going to be a tough round for the SLS teams, the #84 Merc will start 12th.
Q3
The man of the morning was indeed local boy Laurens Vanthoor, who’s stunning 1:28.580 lap with less than two minutes to go gave WRT the pole over the #24 Grasser Lambo of Bleekemolen.
“It was difficult to get a run together, I made mistakes and ran into problems, but by my third lap I managed to put everything together and get pole, its so nice to do this at home, in my back garden,” said Vanthoor afterwards.
“I think the tyres lasted a bit longer than one or two laps like they usually do on other tracks so it played to the strategy which we planned to do, so it worked out.”
Tomas Enge came into the session confident, all smiles before heading out for his laps, but by the time he returned to the pits after the session, he wasn’t so cheery as he was held up on a flying lap by Vanthoor, sparking a confrontation in the pit lane after the session.
It looked as if Matheus Stumpf in the #0 Brasil BMW would be a contender for pole after a quiet weekend, with the Brazilian going quickest during the initial flurry of laps with a respectable 1:29.267. But in the end it wouldn’t be good enough, as the front runners started trading best times leaving him seventh when the chequered flag was shown.
Bleekemolen became the first driver of the weekend to post a sub-1:29 lap (1:28.882) as the session started to come to a close. Baumann showed his pace again, and went second behind Bleekemolen for Schubert, but was blown away by Georgio Pantano’s Bhaitech McLaren and then Rast and Catsburg who ended up third and fourth respectively on the grid.
Vanthoor’s final flying lap was supreme though, allowing him to leapfrog the top three and claim pole position by over three tenths! Bleekemolen had no answer.
“He was very quick, I had no chance to beat that, even with a very good lap,” admitted Bleekemolen. “As I did the lap I knew I couldn’t go any quicker because I made no mistakes, he did a really good job, it’s his home track which helps but he’s always quick.
“The car seems to be on the pace now, we look forward to strong races.”
Stephen Kilbey
