Aston Martin factory driver Jonny Adam put his #97 Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo on pole position at a sweltering Circuit Paul Ricard.
It marked Blackthorn’s maiden pole in the International GT Open, and the British manufacturer’s first at the venue since 2020 by TF Sport’s Charlie Eastwood.
Just 0.073 seconds covered the top three at the end of the 25-minute session, with Adam’s lap time of 2:02.112 narrowly beating Ben Tuck’s #707 Al Manar by Dragon Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo by 0.041 seconds.
Tuck emerged as a pole contender late in the session, jumping to third place with one minute remaining before improving to second with a 2:02.153 achieved.
GT Open debutant and McLaren factory driver Joseph Loake fought with Adam throughout the session.
His final flying lap showed improvement in the first and second sectors, but he was hampered by Andrzej Lewandowski’s #6 Baron Motorsport Ferrari in the final two corners, leaving him with a best time of 2:02.185.
“It’s very hot today,” Adam said after taking pole, “ambient is like 36 degrees (Celsius), so it’s quite warm here in the south of France.
“But yeah, it’s very good for Blackthorn to be on pole overall and in GT Open, it’s a milestone in their chapter in motorsport.
“The car felt really good. We’ve worked a lot yesterday on the balance of the car.
“The team have done a great job with it, and we improved on the second set of tyres.
“But you can see how close it is between the top three or four. There’s nothing in it around here, so it’s going to be an interesting and exciting race.
“Obviously we’re in Pro-Am but start on the front row and pole position, it’s a lovely feeling.
“Hopefully we can convert that to a good result this afternoon.”
Our most recent race winners, Elite Motorsport, were next in fourth position after Tom Emson’s 2:02.423 lap time in the #17 Ferrari.
Leonardo Moncini exhibited potential in the #63 Scuderia Villorba Corse Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, claiming fifth with a 2:02.475.
Dominik Baumann’s #28 Team Motopark Mercedes-AMG GT3 was sixth after his best time of 2:02.488.
