Team WRT has secured the ROWE Pole Position Award for today's GT World Challenge powered by AWS Endurance Cup round at the Nürburgring. The Belgian squad led a BMW one-two ahead of ROWE Racing after both squads leapfrogged the #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari in Q3.
The Italian team looked to be nailed on for pole after topping both Q1 and Q2 with Alessio Rovera and Vincent Abril respectively. With Alessandro Pier Gudi stepping into the car for Q3, the result looked settled.
But the three-time Endurance Cup champion could not find a clean lap during his session, ultimately setting the 22nd fastest time. This allowed the two BMW squads to jump ahead, the #32 Team WRT crew of Charles Weerts, Kelvin Van der Linde and Ugo de Wilde shading the #98 ROWE Racing entry by just 0.020s on average times. The #51 Ferrari will start third.
There was drama in Q2, which was red flagged after eight minutes when Antonio Fuoco (#50 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari) made contact with Paul Evrard (#25 Saintéloc Racing Audi) at Turn 1. The Ferrari was third on average times and in firm contention for pole, but the accident ended its involvement in qualifying. There was another incident shortly after the green flag was shown when Weerts made contact with the rear of Jules Gounon's #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG, sending the car into the barriers. This remains under investigation.
Garage 59 secured P1 in the Gold Cup with its #58 McLaren. Louis Prette, Adam Smalley and Dean MacDonald combined to secure a fantastic fourth overall and a third class pole of the season. They have a five-place advantage over the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW, which will start ninth. The championship-leading #33 Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin struggled in Q3 and has ground to make up from 19th on the grid.
The third row will be shared by the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin and the #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche, followed by a pair of title contenders. The #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter and #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche both recovered from slow starts to the session to secure a place towards the front of the field.
Silver Cup pole also went to Garage 59 with its #188 McLaren. Guilherme Oliveira, Tom Fleming and the returning James Baldwin will start from 11th overall, followed by the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG (P14) and the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin (P16).
Kessel Racing took another step towards securing the Bronze Cup title by taking class pole with its #74 Ferrari. Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall and Conrad Laursen qualified 23rd overall, though this was just one place ahead of the rival #991 Paradine Competition BMW. A win this afternoon would give the Swiss squad the title with a round to spare.
This afternoon's three-hour race will get underway at 15:00 CEST and airs live on the GT World YouTube channel.
> RESULTS: Qualifying