United Autosports’ #5 ORECA 07 Gibson will start from pole position in both Asian Le Mans Series races this weekend in Dubai, after a dominant performance from Giorgio Roda this morning.
The Italian, known for his ability to deliver in qualifying, set a 1:47.996 to take Race 1 pole and a 1:48.283 to claim the best spot on the grid for Race 2 before parking up in the pit lane for the final minutes of the LMP2 session.
“I missed out on double pole in Sepang, but I got it back here,” Roda told Asian Le Mans TV’s David Addison on the broadcast. “Really looking forward to the races today and tomorrow. The circuit here is so dusty every morning, so we only had two chances to do a lap time before the tyres suffered a big drop.”
Jens Reno Moller came closest to Roda’s fastest time, but the High Class Racing driver couldn’t get within half a second of it. With a 1:48.531 and 1:49.618, the Dane will start second in Race 1 and third in the second contest, after John Falb set times good enough for third today and a space on the front row tomorrow in Algarve Pro Racing’s #20 example.
Proton Competition’s #88 ORECA emerged as the fourth fastest car in the overall times following a strong performance from Horst Felbermayr Jr. The Daytona 24 Hours-winning Crowdstrike by APR ORECA was fifth, but George Kurtz will start ninth tomorrow, as his second-best lap was 1:50.395.
The championship-leading Cetilar Racing ORECA, which won both races in Sepang to kick off the season, will start seventh today and fifth tomorrow.
Two laps under 1:57 from reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Paul Lanchere secured another double pole for CLX Motorsport in LMP3. The Frenchman’s best tour was a 1:56.438, which put him top of the timing screens for today’s opener.
“I want to say thanks to CLX because the car is amazing,” Lanchere said after taking a second double pole of the season.
Romain Vozniak was his closest rival in the session. Driving the Team Virage #8 Ligier JS P325, he was second-fastest with a 1:56.801. A second-best time of 1:57.325 was enough to secure a spot on the front row for Race 2 by the barest of margins.
Tim Whale came within a tenth of taking second spot on the Race 2 grid for High Class Racing, but with a 1:57.080 and 1:57.339, he will start third for both races.
In GT, it was Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi who took pole position for both races in the QMMF by Getspeed in the #37 Mercedes-AMG GT3. He was the only driver to set two sub-2:00 laps.
His best push lap, to take the top spot for Race 1, was a 1:59.595, set at the death of the session. The lap he produced to take Race 2 pole was a 1:59.934.
“I was being told to keep pushing because one of my laps was deleted. We struggled in FP1, solved it for FP2, and the pace in the car looks mega,” he said after claiming his first Asian Le Mans Series pole. “It’s thanks to the team; they provide the perfect setup, and the car is easy to drive when it’s perfectly set up for each circuit.
Steve Jans made it a front-row lockout for Getspeed in both races. His two best times in the #9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 were a 1:59.771 and a 2:00.100.
Best of the rest was the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, driven in the session by Dustin Scott Blattner. That car will start third in both four-hour contests after he became the only other driver to dip into the 1:59s. A 1:59.961 was his best tour of the Autodrome.
The #87 Porsche from Origine Motorsport will line up fourth both days. Fifth place on the grid went the way of the #69 BMW from Team WRT for today and the #34 Racing Team Turkey Corvette for tomorrow.
With the grids set, Race 1 is next, and it is scheduled to get underway today at 14:10 local time in the UAE.
Images courtesy of the Asian Le Mans Series
