Rutronik Racing will start the final Sprint Cup contest of 2024 from pole position after Patric Niederhauser pipped Jules Gounon to top spot in this morning's qualifying session at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The #96 Porsche led the way after the first flurry of laps, but was then beaten by yesterday's race-winning #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG. There was more to come from the Swiss ace, however, as Niederhauser set a 1m39.681s, bettering Gounon by just 0.039s. In doing so, he gave Porsche its maiden Sprint Cup pole.
Tom Gamble qualified third aboard the #159 Garage 59 McLaren, narrowly beating Mattia Drudi (#7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin). Simon Gachet took fifth overall and a crucial Gold Cup pole, securing a bonus point that could prove crucial in today's title showdown.
There was no bonus point for Maro Engel, but sixth on the grid was reward enough for the Winward Racing Team-Mann Filter squad. The #48 Mercedes-AMG will start nine places ahead of its title rival, the #32 Team WRT BMW, and appears on course to seal the crown this afternoon.
The Silver Cup pole sitter will start seventh overall. Karol Basz followed up on yesterday's podium to put Eastalent Racing on top with its #84 Audi, just ahead of César Gazeau (#10 Boutsen VDS Audi). Luca Engstler (#6 Liqui-Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup Audi) and Tom Fleming (#71 AF Corse Ferrari) completed the top 10.
It was a double celebration for Rutronik Racing, which secured Bronze Cup pole thanks to Dustin Blattner in the #97 Porsche. The American posted a 1m41.427s to edge out Rob Collard (#78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini), placing 21st overall.
Qualifying was delayed by a little over an hour due thick fog, which took considerably longer than expected to dissipate. When it eventually did, a total of 31 cars contested the session. They included the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, which was using a spare car after yesterday's accident. However the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, which was also involved in the crash, did not compete.
The deciding race of the 2024 Fanatec GT Europe Sprint Cup gets underway at 14:00 CEST and will be broadcast live on the GT World YouTube channel.
> RESULT: Barcelona Qualifying 2