Result: Qualifying 1
Bastian Buus secured a crucial ROWE Pole Position Award ahead of this afternoon's Sprint Cup race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche will start a long way clear of his nearest title rivals and could seal the crown as early as today.
The Danish ace posted a 1m39.542s during the first part of Qualifying 1 – which featured the Pro and Gold Cup cars – putting more than half a second between himself and the closest challenger.
This was to prove vital. After a series of rain showers on Friday, it was inevitable that lap times would improve during the second part of this morning's Qualifying 1, when the Silver and Bronze cars were on-track. Buus needed all the margin he could get.
It was immediately clear that the Dane was under serious pressure. Kiern Jewiss got within 0.085s of the Lionspeed Porsche, securing Bronze Cup pole in doing so. But the Q1 benchmark could not be beaten, ensuring that Buus bagged pole – and a bonus point towards his title assault.
Fabian Schiller qualified third (P2 in Bronze) in the #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG, followed by the #71 AF Corse Ferrari of Felix Hirsiger. The Swiss earned a first Silver Cup pole of the year and his best overall start in the series. Next, Marvin Dienst took P5 (P3 in Bronze) aboard the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG
Sven Müller qualified sixth overall in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche. The German's teammate, Dorian Boccolacci, retains a mathematical shot at the Sprint title. Among Lionspeed's main championship rivals, Thomas Neubauer was P11 in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari while Dani Juncadella was P21 for Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing.
Gold Cup pole went to the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, which was P5 overall after Q1 but slipped to 14th after Q2 was complete. Dylan Pereira will start one place ahead of his nearest class rival Tommaso Mosca (#51 AF Corse Ferrari), who can clinch the Gold title this afternoon.
The penultimate race of the 2026 Sprint Cup season gets underway at 14:00 CEST and will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube channel.