Laurens Vanthoor immediately threw down the gauntlet on his first flying lap in the top 10 shootout and took pole position by over four tenths with a mighty time of 1:23.269. It was a perfect way to cap off the day after his shunt during Free Practice 2; which saw him damage the rear of the #1 R8 significantly following an off on the GP loop.
He did one flyer and parked the car, his lap six tenths quicker than last year’s pole time.
“I could feel that the peak of the tyres was gone after my first lap, so we saved them for tomorrow.” Said Vanthoor after the session. “It was a perfect lap, I can’t think of how I could have done better. I’m so thankful for the mechanics though, as they had to work on the car before FP1 and then after I wrecked the car in FP2 just to get me out for Qualifying. Vincent Vosse has said we won’t bother taking part in Free Practice from now on, it’s not worth it!”
It’s an important result for the #1 crew, after a shunt prior to the races in Nogaro forced them to leave the circuit in France without any points.
“There’s pressure on us this weekend after coming away from Nogaro, arguably the strongest track for the R8, with zero points. So this is all about recovery, being consistent and getting a good result.” He added.
Quickest in Q1 was Kevin Estre who put the #55 Attempto McLaren on top after setting a 1:24.234 with under seven minutes left. Sean Walkinshaw placed the MRS Nissan in good stead by going second, just under five tenths behind and Atila Abreu putting the #77 Brasil BMW third.
Vanthoor went out in the second of the three sessions, and in what was effectively a preamble to the shootout, went fastest, being the first driver to dip into the 1:23s with a tour of 1:23.529. He definitely looked poised for pole by the time the top 10 were decided.
As it turns out he was good for pole position but aside from his flyer, the shootout was still extremely competitive. The top four runners were all within half a second of each other, with the top 10 separated by just over a second when the flag fell.
Nick Catsburg would end up putting the #88 Reiter Lamborghini Gallardo second overall setting a 1:23.703. Christopher Mies jumped to third with a late lap almost identical to Catsburg’s to push Craig Dolby and the MRS Nissan out of the top three. The GT-R has looked good in every session so far though, with Walkinshaw and Dolby both looking strong, showing good pace.
“It wasn’t a perfect lap,” Catsburg admitted. “But I must say I couldn’t be happier after our showing at Nogaro to be second on the grid here.”
Heading the Pro-Am class, like in two practice sessions, was Joe Osborne’s #888 Triple Eight Racing BMW Z4. His time of 1:24.018 was good enough for seventh overall, though he admitted that it wasn’t his best lap:
“I was on the limit,” he chuckeled. “I got greedy on the brakes on my lap and lost a couple of tenths.”
Another man who wasn’t content with his performance in Qualifying was Jules Szymkowiak, who set the pole time in the Silver Cup. His best effort wasn’t good enough to advance the #83 Bentley to the top 10 shootout, so he’ll start the car 15th on the grid tomorrow.
“We were had a lot of trouble in Practice an ABS issue,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with my lap, we got pole in Silver Cup but I look at the standings overall, and that’s not that good.”
The first of the two races tomorrow starts at 11:10 local time.
Stephen Kilbey
